Kickoff Show: Nathan Frazer, Dragon Lee, Valentina Feroz, and Yulisa Leon VS Meta-Four
The first match of NXT The Great American Bash took place on the Kickoff Show as NXT Heritage Cup Champion Nathan Frazer, Dragon Lee, Valentina Feroz, and Yulisa Leon all teamed up to take on Meta-Four. I’m going to say straight away that this match was better than it ever deserved to be. Everybody brought it and it was a lot of fun to watch. Nathan Frazer is genuinely one of my favourite people to watch in wrestling whilst you can tell the talent that Dragon Lee has. Noam Dar and Oro Mensah are also talented, but I was more impressed with how good all of the women looked. Valentina Feroz was doing crazy dives, Yulisa Leon did a dive to take out Noam Dar, Lash Legend brilliantly booted Nathan Frazer in the face whilst Jakara Jackson has a really good presence about her. In the end, after an incredible dive by the Heritage Cup Champion to take out the former Champion Noam Dar, Dragon Lee hit his finisher onto Oro Mensah to get the victory. I’m glad I watched this match because it was good fun.
Grade: B-
NXT Tag Team Championships: Gallus VS The D’Angelo Family
The first match of the main show saw Gallus put their NXT Tag Team Championships on the line against the D’Angelo Family. I thought this was a totally fine match, but there wasn’t anything special about it. Joe Coffey got involved a few times to try and help his brother Mark and Wolfgang who couldn’t seem to find control like they usually do whilst it was nice to see Tony D back on the big stage. Once again, Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo looked good and after D’Angelo hit Joe Coffey with a crowbar, the D’Angelo Family hit “Bada Bing Bada Boom” to get the victory meaning we have brand new NXT Tag Team Champions. Cool, it makes sense to give Tony D and Stacks a title run.
Grade: C+
Blair Davenport VS Roxanne Perez: Weapons Wild Match
Roxanne Perez returned home as she was about to face Blair Davenport in a Weapons Wild Match. Chairs, Tables, Cowbells, and Hammers were all used and whilst the action was decent, it felt like this could’ve been better. I like Roxanne Perez, and I think her acting in this match was arguably the best of her entire run in NXT. I also think Blair Davenport is very unique and that’s a good thing in anything, but especially professional wrestling. I also really liked the acting from Perez’s Mom and Sister (she even cried at one point), but I didn’t like the end result. After Roxanne dived onto Blair through a table, she chucked her back in the ring and hit Pop Rox onto a pile of steel chairs to get the victory. Whilst this protected Davenport in defeat, I wouldn’t have her lose so early in her run in NXT. You could’ve easily done this finish the other way round and it would’ve felt like a much better end result. Still, I’m intrigued to see where both women go from here.
Grade: C+
Baron Corbin VS Gable Steveson
Baron Corbin debuted with a new entrance which was pretty cool, and to be honest, that was the best thing of this entire match. Gable Steveson looked ok, but not someone that was ready to be on as big of a stage as this, and the crowd ripped him a part which is especially concerning when he was against a guy that’s been booed nearly his entire career. After a sort of nothing match, it ended with a Double Count out as both men brawled before Steveson suplexed Corbin through the barricade. This felt like a pointless match coming into the show, and the contest and ending only proved that further. The only reason this match isn’t getting a lower grade is because at least Baron didn’t lose (the finish wasn’t much better though).
Grade: C-
NXT North American Championship: Dominik Mysterio VS Wes Lee VS Mustafa Ali
It was then time for the NXT North American Championship to be on the line as Dominik Mysterio looked to retain his gold against the former Champion Wes Lee and the Disruptor Mustafa Ali. The match started off with Wes and Mustafa working together to “punish” Dominik and later on, we saw Lee and Ali team up again to deliver the three amigos to Mysterio which is something I’ve never seen before. After some back-and-forth action, Ali went to the top rope and attempted to hit the 450 whilst Dom and Wes were out on the ring apron. However, they both moved just in time meaning Ali crashed hard on the hardest part of the ring. This left Wes Lee to take out Dominik Mysterio with a dive and after Rhea warned him not to do it again, Wes jumped over Ripley to once again take out Mysterio. Unfortunately for Wes, this turned out bad for him as the Women’s World Champion picked him up and delivered a Riptide to send the Kardiak Kid crashing through the announce table. Rhea then chucked Wes in the ring as Dominik covered him, but somehow, Lee was able to kick out. The referee then got distracted by Dom’s North American title being in the ring which allowed Ripley to pass Mysterio her title before he smashed Wes in the head, but Lee was once again able to kick out. I genuinely think Wes Lee might have the biggest heart in wrestling since Johnny Gargano (and arguably Kofi Kingston). Mustafa Ali then took out “Dirty” Dom with a dropkick before the Disruptor hit the 450 to surely seal his first-ever Championship victory. However, it was not meant to be for Prince Ali as Rhea Ripley pulled him out of the ring at the last second before Dominik hit a really good-looking Frog Splash onto Wes Lee which was finally enough for him to retain his title. This was great, particularly the last 3-to-4 minutes. This match made Wes Lee look like an absolute star, and allowed Mustafa Ali to show everyone just how brilliant he is whilst the way Dominik Mysterio won was genius. This was without a doubt the greatest match in Dominik Mysterio’s career and probably Ali’s best in a while.
Grade: B+
NXT Women’s Championship Submission Match: Tiffany Stratton VS Thea Hail
Tiffany Stratton faced her toughest test yet as NXT Women’s Champion as she faced Thea Hail in a Submission Match. The intriguing part of this contest is whilst Hail has demonstrated that she’s really good at locking in the Kimura, we’ve really never seen any Submission offense from the Centre of the Universe. Thea Hail also showed that she’s a great underdog and the fact that she’s only 19 is absolutely crazy. The crowd were fully behind Chase U’s star pupil, but it looked to be all for naught after Tiffany hit the Prettiest Moonsault Ever before she locked in the Boston Crab. However, Hail refused to tap out despite being in complete agony which forced Andre Chase to throw in the towel. I thought the action in this totally fine, but I’m not a particularly big fan of Submission Matches because it takes away a lot of the drama. I liked the finish of Mr. Chase throwing in the towel because it shows that he wants to protect his students whilst making Hail look like a fighter in the process. However, I noticed earlier in the match that Chase had the towel around his neck so I wasn’t too surprised when he threw it in in the end. Had Mr. Chase kept the towel in his pocket until the end, this would’ve been so much better. Still, an important win for the Buff Barbie Doll (who very fittingly came out in Barbie-inspired gear).
Grade: C+
NXT Championship: Carmelo Hayes VS Ilja Dragunov
The Main Event of NXT The Great American Bash saw Carmelo Hayes put his NXT Championship on the line against Ilja Dragunov. The match started off at a slow pace, but that quickly changed when Melo slapped Ilja. This fired up the mad dragon who went on an absolute tear and never let off the throttle once. It got to the point where Trick Williams had to grab the NXT Championship to try and fire his buddy up. We then saw a lot of great offense and some of the moves were absolutely ridiculous. It’s also worth mentioning that Ilja Dragunov is a scary dude, but he looked even more creepier because he was wearing red eye contacts. As Melo went to the outside, he dodged out of the way as Dragunov dived over the steel steps and went straight into Trick Williams and more importantly, collided head-first with the NXT Championship. This completely whipped out Dragunov and allowed Hayes to throw him into the ring and delivered an awesome Nothin’ but Net to retain his NXT Championship. This was a great main event as both men brought their all. Ilja Dragunov is just on a complete tear this year and this was another example of that whilst Carmelo Hayes continues to prove why he really is the A-Champion!
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