8 Ups And 3 Downs From NXT TakeOver: Portland

by Scott Carlson

1. Gargano, Balor Battle For NXT’s Soul

Finn Balor Johnny Gargano
WWE.com

OK, that title might be a stretch, but really, if you had to pick wrestlers who have defined NXT, these two would be at the top of the list.

Finn Balor and Johnny Gargano had a barnburner of a match, seesawing back and forth for what seemed like forever, as they battled inside and outside the ring. Balor’s 1916 was countered several times, but Johnny Wrestling couldn’t put Finn away with a slingshot DDT or the GargaNO Escape.

Balor would get a decisive victory, hitting a John Woo dropkick off the announce desk, a Coup de Grace and a 1916 DDT for the pinfall. But Gargano has proved to be resilient when it comes to recovering his standing among fans.

Whatever’s next for Balor, it’s good to see this side of him, rather than the smiling guy we saw on Raw and SmackDown.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.