5 surprising moments from NXT TakeOver: Portland
Why Johnny, why?
I had the absolute pleasure of seeing NXT TakeOver: Portland live in person. I have seen fifteen WWE shows at the Moda Center in Portland, but this was by far the best show to ever come to the Pacific Northwest.
NXT TakeOver: Portland was non-stop action for its entire run time, and it delivered some amazing athleticism and constant surprises. We had one of the best opening matches in NXT TakeOver history, a fun title change, and some shocking appearances. And NXT did it all in just over three hours. It was a bucket list item to see a TakeOver in person, I hope to have the experience again.
With all of this in mind and wondering when I can see my next TakeOver in person, I present my list of the top five most surprising moments of WWE NXT TakeOver: Portland.
#5 The athleticism of Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic
We have seen glimpses of the unique chemistry between Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic on their NXT television matches, but I was told that they had produced even better matches in other promotions. That was proven to be true in their remarkable twenty-minute match at TakeOver: Portland. The “Fight Forever” chant we gave them was well deserved.
The match will be remembered mostly for the rare athleticism of wrestlers their size. Keith Lee is over 300 pounds and Dominik Dijakovic is 6 foot seven inches, how can they move this way?
Some of the highlights were Lee doing a Hurricanrana, Dijakovic doing a Corkscrew Moonsault, and a Springboard Somersault dive by Dominik Dijakovic onto Keith Lee on a chair. I have never seen anything like that.
Lee won the war, but Dijakovic got a star-making performance. We all need more Lee vs Dijakovic matches in our lives.