8 Ups And 3 Downs From NXT TakeOver: Portland

DOWNS…

3. Street Fight Interference Falls Flat

We’ll dish out praise for the women’s street fight later, but we have to dissect the ending of the match a bit.

Teagan Nox looked to be in control and ready to hit the knockout blow with Dakota Kai laid out on a table, when an unfamiliar face appeared. Raquel (formerly Reina) Gonzalez stopped Nox as she climbed the turnbuckle, smashed her face and then slammed her off the top and onto the table (which didn’t break – ouch). That directly led to Kai picking up the win.

Here’s the thing: Literally no one knew who Gonzalez was. She’s been in both Mae Young Classics, losing in the first round each time. She’s jobbed on NXT a couple times, but this was a “Who?” moment, not a shocked at the interference moment.

Worse, Kai looked perplexed, so this likely wasn’t some insurance policy she had. Sure, it’s good to see new faces debut, and this might play out pretty well, but in terms of initial execution, it fell pretty flat.