NXT North American Champion Keith Lee def. Dominik Dijakovic
PORTLAND, Ore. — Chalk up yet another instant classic for Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic — but give the advantage to The Limitless One.
Lee is still the NXT North American champion after besting Dijakovic Sunday at NXT TakeOver: Portland in the latest chapter of their storied series. And much like the previous encounters, this one again brought sights we couldn’t believe.
With one win apiece and two draws between them in past meetings, neither competitor was able to surprise the other.
For two rivals who have always been ultra-competitive but full of mutual respect, things got nasty early with Dijakovic yelling in Lee’s face while pummeling him, but that only rallied the Portland NXT faithful behind Lee.
A second-rope Death Valley Driver by Dijakovic seemed to shake the entire arena, but wasn’t enough to keep Lee down. Not deterred, The Rare Breed again demonstrated gravity-defying athleticism, unleashing a springboard senton from the ring to a seated Lee on the outside, causing the Moda Center to come unglued.
With Dijakovic’s top-rope Spanish Fly not enough to finish off Lee, The Rare Breed tried to close things out for good by setting up The Limitless One for Feast Your Eyes — but he was unable to hoist him above his shoulders and Lee capitalized by hitting the Big Bang Catastrophe for the win.
With a “Maberry Strong” shirt in tow for his entrance, Lee’s performance was a worthy tribute to his high school football coach Daniel Maberry, who died earlier this month after a battle with Lymphoma.
The Limitless One shared a moment of sportsmanship with his foe afterward, pulling Dijakovic to his feet for an emotional embrace after once again tearing down the house.
