NXT TakeOver: Portland - 5 Potential finishes to Rhea Ripley vs Bianca Belair (NXT Women's Championship)
The Women's Division in NXT is absolutely loaded with talent, so it's no small feat that Rhea Ripley and Bianca Belair have elevated themselves above the rest of the roster over the last few weeks.
Ripley was on an absolute tear toward the end of 2019. The Nightmare reigned supreme at NXT WarGames and Survivor Series before defeating Shayna Baszler for the NXT Women's Championship. An absolutely devastating Riptide off the ropes put an end to the Queen of Spades' 416-day reign and ushered in the era of The Nightmare Rhea Ripley.
2020 has brought no shortage of challengers, including the most decorated women's wrestler in WWE history. After winning this year's Royal Rumble, Charlotte Flair has the right to choose any Champion she wants to face at WrestleMania 36.
The storylines in recent weeks are pointing to The Queen choosing Ripley, although the 10-time Women's Champion has yet to formally announce her decision. Maybe she's waiting to see if Ripley will still be holding the NXT Title come WrestleMania, because she has a major roadblock in her way in the form of Bianca Belair.
Belair is riding a wave of momentum herself following an impressive, and record-breaking, performance in the Royal Rumble. The E.S.T. of NXT dominated the first half of the match before eventually being tossed out by Charlotte.
Belair is anything but a bump along the road to WrestleMania for Rhea Ripley. She's a threat to win the Title, but will she? Will WWE pull the rug on a dream match-up? Will it be The Queen vs. The Nightmare? Or will they choose to go in an entirely different direction?
It's all going to come down to NXT TakeOver: Portland. There are a few ways this Championship match could go down. Let's take a look and see if we can figure out what the NXT Women's Title match at WrestleMania is going to look like.
#1 Bianca Belair's worst Nightmare comes true
Make no mistake about it, there's more than just a Title on the line this Sunday. Bianca Belair is going after more than a Championship in Portland. She's going out there trying to earn some respect from those who doubt her as real competition.
In particular, she's out there to prove to Charlotte Flair that the E.S.T. of NXT is just as worthy to face at WrestleMania as the current Champion Rhea Ripley. She's also going out there to show Ripley this match up isn't going to be a walk in the park.
Triple H and everyone else in charge of the Black and Gold Brand have done a fantastic job of building up Belair as a credible threat to Ripley over the last few weeks. At times, Ripley has even shown Bianca the respect that she deserves.
The question is, has the build up been for Belair's benefit or for Ripley's? A dominating win for The Nightmare would only further solidify her as the top dog of the NXT Women's Division and make her that much more of an attractive WrestleMania opponent for Charlotte.
Ripley says she's going to go right through Belair this Sunday. With the amount of build that's been going on between Rhea and Charlotte, it's certainly a possibility. If it does happen, what would happen N.E.X.T for the E.S.T?