10 HUGE NXT TakeOver: Portland Predictions You Need To Know
8. Dakota Kai Vs. Tegan Nox
Tegan Nox and Dakota Kai may well look to Shawn Michaels and Diesel's incredible No Holds Barred match from 1996's In Your House: Good Friends, Better Enemies for inspiration as they prepare to do battle in a Street Fight on Sunday.
There, 'Big Daddy Cool' battered the living f*ck out of his former friend until the smaller Shawn somehow found away to fight fire with seven-foot fire and emerge as one of the gutsiest babyface victors WWE had ever booked. It was a masterpiece of the genre informed by how well they knew each other and how personal the issue had become.
It was not a ten minute television match with a moderately satisfying conclusion. That is the worst case scenario, not least because it's already happened. The two rather bewilderingly went to battle weeks ago with Nox getting a measure of revenge with a victory. Their fury felt a little forced on NXT's Portland go-home show, but let the angle that kicked off their rivalry be the motivation of the damage here, rather than everything that's come since.
Kept relatively succinct and proactively violent, this could and should be one of the highlights of the night. Both deserve this showcase, here's hoping they're permitted to make the most of it.
Winner - Dakota Kai