Pete Dunne VS Trick Williams
Week 2 of NXT The Great American Bash kicked off with Pete Dunne colliding with Trick Williams! This was a good way to start the show, with both men showcasing their ability in what was actually quite a hard-hitting affair! Pete Dunne is very good at what he does, he just hasn’t always been allowed to show it whilst we all know what Trick Williams is capable of. This match also had the interesting dynamic of both men knowing the couldn’t lose, but in the end, a missed Trick Shot followed by the Bitter End was enough for The Bruiserweight to knock off Trick Willy! Nice!
Grade: B-
NXT Women’s North American Championship: Kelani Jordan VS Tatum Paxley, Ethan Page VS Oro Mensah: NXT Championship
We headed backstage to Hank and Tank’s Barbeque to see Lexis King and Eddy Thorpe have an argument about who plays better music again! We then got an eating contest between Mr. Stone and Stevie Turner before Ethan Page bumped into Nathan Frazer in what was quite an interesting interaction! Kelani Jordan was out next as she was ready to put her NXT Women’s North American Championship on the line against Tatum Paxley. This was another good match between two talented competitors, and this is exactly why NXT has the best-booked Women’s Division! The best part of this match came when Tatum got a genuinely believable near-fall following a 450 Splash, but in the end, it was Lani who scored the win and retained her Title after delivering a Frog Splash! After the match, Wendy Choo looked to embrace Tatum Paxley, but Choo ultimately choked out Pax to send a message to the Champion!
Grade: B-
After Tony D’Angelo offered to give Charlie Dempsey a rematch for the NXT Heritage Cup if Wren Sinclair won her match later tonight, Dempsey agreed that Wren could also join the NQCC if she picked up the W! Oba Femi then stormed past as Axiom and Nathan Frazer once again seemed to be on the wrong page before Trick Williams and Pete Dunne started a brawl backstage! To my surprise, the NXT Championship was on the line next with Ethan Page taking on Oro Mensah! This was another good match on this show, and it was a really good showing for Oro Mensah. Mensah actually hasn’t done a lot of in-ring wrestling since arriving in NXT two years ago so this was a good way to show that The Main Man can actually go! Ethan Page is also a reliable veteran who does a good job of making others look better, but this is still the “All Ego” Era and that showed when Page eventually picked up the W with the Ego’s Edge! Ethan Page then cut a good promo after the match calling the show “NX-Me” which I really liked!
Grade: B-
Joe Hendry VS Joe Coffey, Kendal Grey VS Wren Sinclair
Wes Lee cut a passionate promo backstage as MSK made it clear that they’re going to take back the NXT Tag Team Championships before Lola Vice, Sol Ruca, and Jaida Parker beat up this annoying guy! The crowd were then on their feet for the arrival of Joe Hendry as he was ready to take on Joe Coffey of Gallus! There wasn’t too much to this match, but I thought Joe Hendry looked good at different points and he was very smart when he got the rest of Gallus ejected by pretending to have been hit by a steel chair! This was very much done to give Hendry a win on a big NXT stage, and that’s exactly what happened following a Chokeslam! The crowd were happy (as was Vic Joseph) so this worked!
Grade: C+
Chase University have got a brand-new classroom as Ridge Holland announced that he and Andre Chase will be fighting for the NXT Tag Team Championships next week which seemed to really upset Duke Hudson. I don’t like Ridge at all! Hank and Tank then started a brawl with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson as Roxanne Perez, unfortunately, had to appear before it was time for Wren Sinclair to go one-on-one with Kendal Gray. For a “developmental” match, this was actually alright, and I think Wren Sinclair’s doing some decent work at the moment. Kendal Grey has also looked promising every time she’s stepped into the squared circle which is a good sign, and in the end, it was Sinclair who scored the win meaning Wren is now officially a member of the No Quarter Catch Crew! Let’s see how long Charlie Dempsey allows that to happen!
Grade: C+
NXT Tag Team Championships: Axiom and Nathan Frazer VS MSK
After a Je’Von Evans video package and Tony D’Angelo disrespected Oba Femi (Oba will make The Don pay for that), it was Main Event time of Week 2 of NXT The Great American Bash 2024 as Axiom and Nathan Frazer put their NXT Tag Team Championships on the line against MSK! As always, Axiom and Frazer put on the best match of the night (and probably of the two-week special) by just being incredible at what they do! It also helps when you have a team that’s as good as MSK, and seeing Wes Lee and Zachary Wentz back together fighting for NXT Gold was actually pretty surreal. We got some great moves, a great near-fall following Axiom accidentally Superkicking Nathan in the face (in a role reversal of their match at Heatwave), and a shocking ending that actually saw the Champions retain following a Golden Ratio. I was genuinely stunned by this, I felt certain that MSK were going to win their Titles back! However, that surprise was nothing compared to the aftermath as Wes Lee Superkicked Trey Miguel and then delivered a low blow to Zachary Wentz in a stunning moment! Wes then repeatedly shouted at Zach “You left me alone” before he took out Wentz with a horrible-looking Double Knees onto the steel steps! I watched this thinking I was going to go mad at The Rascalz dropping Lee, so for The Kardiak Kid to turn Heel was a genuinely awesome surprise. Wes Lee is one of the few good guys I actually like so the idea of him being a Heel is a weird one. However, if this Heel run works, Wes is set for Main Roster Championships down the line!
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