The following is from our play-by-play coverage of the WWE NXT TakeOver 31 event:
WWE NXT North American Champion Damian Priest vs. Johnny Gargano
A back and forth star. Priest got tossed off the apron and landed hard on his back on the floor. Gargano with a series of punches and drop kick before hitting a front senton off the middle rope for 2. Gargano worked over the left leg of Priest.
Moments later, Priest fired up and landed a series of strikes. Priest hit a flatliner then the broken arrow for 2. Gargano blocked the Razor’s Edge and rolled him up for 2. Gargano was on the apron and Priest took out his legs. Back in the ring, there were some near fall moments. Gargano went for a spring board move, but was caught by Priest, who hit a chokeslam for 2.
Priest hit the Razor’s Edge onto the apron. Priest did an outside dive and took out some extras. Gargano connected with a superkick after hitting him with a low blow. Gargano locked in the Gargano Escape, but Priest got out of it. They battled on the apron until Gargano hit back-to-back superkicks. Priest blocked a springboard DDT and hit the reckoning for the win.
Winner: WWE NXT North American Champion Damian Priest
