By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT TV
Orlando, Florida at Capitol Wrestling Center (WWE Performance Center)
Aired live July 6, 2021 on USA Network
[Hour One] An intro teaser aired to hype up the Great American Bash themed edition of NXT…
Vic Joseph, Beth Phoenix, and Wade Barrett were on commentary…
Entrances for the opening tag team championship match took place. Alicia Taylor handled the formal in ring introductions for the championship match…
1. “MSK” Wes Lee and Nash Carter vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher for the NXT Tag Tag Team Championships. Carter had the agility advantage over Ciampa early on, but once Thatcher tagged in, Ciampa and Thatcher pummeled Lee and Carter with clubbing blows. Ciampa worked on Lee in the corner with face wash knees, leading to a two count. Lee recovered and caught a running Ciampa with a dropkick. Carter tagged in and worked on Ciampa with strikes. Carter hit Ciampa with a PK. Thatcher shoved Ciampa away and took the bullet for Ciampa by taking Carter’s Triangle Moonsault. Ciampa shoved Carter to the ringside floor heading into commercial.[c]
Lee hit Ciampa with a running axe handle. Lee hit Ciampa with a CQC combo and shotgun dropkick to teh back of the neck. Lee tried to run the ropes, but Thatcher pulled down the rope to dump Lee to the outside. Lee took a knee to the back from Ciampa for a two count. Thatcher tagged in and went for joint manipulation on Lee, but Lee tagged in Carter. MSK hit Thatcher with a plethora of kicks. MSK hit Thatcher with the Hot Fire Flame to give Carter a two count on Thatcher.
Thatcher ended Carter’s rally with a Belly to Belly suplex. Lee draped Thatcher with a scorpion kick. Lee went for a waterfall kick, but Ciampa was the legal man and dropkicked Lee midair. Ciampa hit Lee with Project Ciampa for a two count. Lee countered the Fairy Tale Ending into a bridged suplex for a two count. Carter and Thatcher tagged in. Carter hit Thatcher with a dropkick. Ciampa tagged in and hit both MSK guys with running punches. Carter escaped an Air Raid Crash and hit Ciampa with Cheeky Nandos.
Carter tagged in. MSK gave Ciampa running dropkicks. Carter hit Ciampa with a moonsault. Lee tagged in and gave Ciampa a Spiral Tap. Thatcher pulled Lee to ringside to prevent the pinfall. Thatcher tossed Lee back in the ring and tagged in. Ciampa hit Lee with the Fairy Tale Ending. Thatcher put Lee in an Ankle Lock. Ciampa was about to hit Carter with a Willow’s Bell, but Carter shoved Ciampa into Thatcher to break the submission. While Ciampa was staggered, Lee rolled up Thatcher for the small package win.
MSK defeated Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa via pinfall in 11:53 of on-air time to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Vic Joseph hyped up Cameron Grimes vs. LA Knight for after the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A good match that I thought was over too soon. Let’s not get me wrong, I do like shorter and more efficient matches if possible, but this clash of styles could have called for 15-20 minutes of on-air time because of both teams being so different from each other. MSK going over is fine. The last few minutes of this match in particular were fun with all the practical false finishes. While MSK going over is ok, I would have had Ciampa and Thatcher get the belts, if only to put MSK in chase mode to endear them more to the NXT audience.
The NXT battery charge graphic was at 90%…
Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly were shown approaching the WWE Performance Center at different times of the day…
William Regal and Samoa Joe were in the ring. Regal talked about the issues between Karrion Kross and Johnny Gargano. Regal asked for Gargano and Kross to join him and joe in the ring. Johnny Gargano and Karrion Kross made their entrances. Gargano took the mic and told Kross “You suuuuuuck!”. Gargano said he’s living in Kross’s head rent free and that Kross is terrified at facing Gargano which is why he almost ran over Gargano last week. Regal booked Kross vs. Gargano for next weeks’ NXT.
Kross took the mic and said that Gargano almost got himself run over by the car last week. Kross said he doesn’t only have a size advantage over Gargano but stronger conviction. Kross said he’s never losing the NXT championship, will main event wrestlemania, and become a future WWE Champion. Kross said it looked like he was wearing his wife’s pants. Kross talked people like Gargano live to get beat up by people like Kross. Regal cut in and said there will be a guest referee in the Kross vs. Gargano match, Samoa Joe. Gargano loved it and started to chant Joe’s name. Gargano said that while his pants may look like his wife’s, Kross can’t lace Candice LeRae’s boots. Kross wanted to get in Gargano’s face, but Joe got in between the two to end the segment…
A hype package aired for the LA Knight vs. Cameron Grimes match…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Johnny Gargano has been entertaining as a pest, but at the same time I don’t see the real point of this Johnny Gargano vs. Kross feud just yet? They are still having Gargano go metta and point out Kross’s weaknesses, but it’s just not flowing naturally. I don’t know? This is also heel vs. heel, which doesn’t give anyone a reason to root for anyone. If Kross is getting called up, they can’t be shoving the belt onto Gargano are they? Ugh.
Kushida cut a promo in English and Japanese talking about how he’s ready to face Diamond Mine down the road…
Entrances for the next match took place. A picture-in-picture ad aired for Bud Light Seltzer…
2. LA Knight vs. Cameron Grimes for the Million Dollar Championship (If Cameron Grimes loses, he must become LA Knight’s butler). Grimes dumped Knight to ringside and hit Knight with a PK from the apron. Grimes caught Knight with a top rope crossbody for a two count. Grimes put Knight in a side headlock. Knight escaped and hit Grimes with a back elbow strike. Knight worked on Grimes with methodical offense. Grimes slammed Knight’s back into the buckle with an Irish Whip. Knight went for a sling shot move, but Grimes caught Knight with a Superman Forearm for a two count.
Grimes went back to the headlock on Knight, while also grinding his fist in Knight’s face. Knight go to his feet and shoved Grimes into the buckle. Knight hit Grimes with a power slam for a two count. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Grimes caught Knight with his beautiful looking Spanish Fly Power Slam. Knight and Grimes traded European uppercuts. Knight tried to get ant Grimes’s hair, but Grimes came back with a flurry of slaps. Grimes hit Knight with a series of axe handle strikes. Grimes hit Knight with a Pendulum Side Slam for a two count. Knight escaped Cameron’s deadlift. Knight hit Grimes with an impressive looking Burning Hammer for a two count.
Grimes got a two count off a backslide. Grimes went high risk but Knight jumped on the top rope like a cat to hit Grimes with a Superplex for a two count. Knight got frustrated and grabbed the Million Dollar Championship. The referee grabbed the belt away. Grimes tried to roll up Knight, but Knight rolled through with a hand ful of tights for a two count. Grimes hit Knight with a Poisonrana for a good nearfall. Grimes was about to go for his “to the moon” Cave In, but Knight rolled to ringside.
Knight yanked Grimes outside and spike DDT’s Grimes onto the Million Dollar Championship. Grimes beat the ten count at 9 and 3 quarters. Knight hit Grimes with the Blunt Force Trauma for the victory.
LA Knight defeated Cameron Grimes via pinfall in 13:14 to retain the Million Dollar Championship. Cameron Grimes must now serve as LA Knight’s butler.
Vic Joseph stressed that Knight used the Million Dollar Championship as a weapon (via DDT) to pick up the win. Wade Barrett tossed in another Bud Lite Seltzer plug…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Raquel Gonzalez and Dakota Kai on their thoughts on who will win the women’s tag team championship match later in the show between The Way vs. Io Shirai and Zoey Stark. Kai and Gonzalez talked about how they were screwed over by Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart. They ended the promo by both talking about how they will end up putting Shotzi blackheart on the shelf again…[c]
John’s Thoughts: The match result was probably the most predictable thing ever, given that Grimes becoming Knight’s butler can lead to so many skit opportunities (along with being a reference to Vergil). That said, the match was still really good. Knight is an underrated worker and Grimes had a really good showing as a full-blown babyface. Grimes had good babyface fire and was able to keep the crowd invested in him.
[Hour Two] Trey Baxter, Carmelo Hayes, Andre Chase, Josh Briggs, Ikemen Jiro, Joe Gacy, Odyssey Jones, and Duke Hudson were all lined up on the NXT stage. They were all introduced as the wrestlers in the NXT Breakout Tournament.
Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett, and Beth Phoenix checked in from the commentary table. Ikemen Jiro vs. Duke Hudson was announced as a first round tournament match that will happen next week…
Entrance for the women’s tag team match took place. Indi Hartwell came out (I think) dressed as and acting like Razor Ramon for some reason (Paul Levesque must be proud). Alicia Taylor handled the formal in-ring introductions for the women’s tag team championship match…
3. “The Way” Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell vs. Io Shirai and Zoey Stark for the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championship. Shirai took down Hartwell with a few dropkicks. Hartwell recovered and press slammed Shirai in her corner. LeRae and Hartwell traded tags to control Shirai. Shirai slipped through the ropes and hit both opponents with kicks. Shirai hit Hartwell with a missile dropkick for a two count. Shirai and Stark hit Hartwell with a double suplex to give Stark a two count. Stark got a two count off a backslide.
Shirai used a back elbow to catch Shirai. Hartwell front suplexed Stark on the top rope and did the Razor Ramon pose heading into regular commercial.[c]
Stark escaped a resthold with an armdrag. Stark hit Hartwell with a back kick. Shirai and LeRae tagged in. Shirai dominated LeRae with a series of tackles and a flapjack. Shirai hit LeRae with a slingshot dropkick. Stark tagged in and hit LeRae with a high knee. Shirai followed up with a meteora. Shirai hit LeRae with a backbreaker while Stark hit LeRae with a superkick. Stark hit LeRae with a drive by knee for a two count. Shirai tagged in and went for a moonsault, but LeRae avoided it.
LeRae locked Shirai in the GargaNo Escape. Hartwell locked Stark in the Kata Gatame (Dexter Lumis’s finisher). Shirai and Stark escaped. Shirai hit leRae with a palm strike. Shirai went for a moonsault, but Hartwell got to the top rope for the distraction. LeRae recovered and hit Shirai with a Super German Suplex for the two count. Hartwell hit Shirai with a Bossman Slam for a two count. LeRae tagged in and got rolled up with an inside cradle for a two count.
All of a sudden the lights went out and the battery graphic flashed on the big screen. The battery finally hit 100% and the lights came on. Tegan Nox was standing at the top of the stage. Shirai dumped LeRae to ringside. Stark hit Hartwell with a tilt a whirl GTS for the pinfall win.
Zoey Stark and Io Shirai defeated The Way via pinfall in 7:58 of on-air time to become the new NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Tegan Nox went right at LeRae and chased LeRae to the back. Vic Joseph reminded viewers that LeRae put Nox on the injured list. Highlights from the match aired…
Kyle O’Reilly was shown shadowboxing in a practice ring…
Wade Barrett hyped up the Hit Row Championship Celebration after the break…
John’s Thoughts: NXT doesn’t have long reigning women’s tag team champions yet, but moving the titles here is fine. It keeps the Shirai and Stark alliance from being just a one off. It also makes sense that Nox would go after LeRae given how LeRae was bragging about injuring Nox’s ACL in those Way skits.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Toni Storm backstage. Storm was looking grumpy. Storm talked about how she’ll be NXT Women’s Champion if she faced Raquel Gonzalez. Mitchell asked Storm about Sarray’s challenge to her last week. Storm talked about how Sarray wasn’t as famous as Toni Storm even in Japan (Storm had a successful career in the Japanese Stardom promotion). Storm ended up saying that it wasn’t worth facing Sarray…
During the commercial, Dexter Lumis carried Indi Hartwell to the back. Beth Phoenix was fangirling over the return of In-Dex…
John’s Thoughts: As a fellow fan of dramas and rom coms, I totally relate to Beth’s fangirling…
Ashanti the Adonis was in the DJ Booth. Hit Row showed up to the stage and rapped a song. B-Fab was the main dancer and vocalist (she’s pretty damn good!). After Fab was done, Top Dolla took control. He was good too. Once Dolla was done, Swerve Scott took over and was dropping fast lyrics (I never knew he had that in him?). Once Swerve was done singing, all four members sung their own entrance theme…
A hype package aired for the Adam Cole vs. Kyle O’Reilly II match…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Yooooo! Again! I’m all in on that Hit Row! They’re soooo good! It may not be everyone’s music genre, culture, or whatever, but you can’t deny that these guys got undeniable swag. Just give them all the TV time. Heck, I wouldn’t mind as much B-Fab on my TV as possible. Heh heh. I said this, I haven’t been this hype for a stable since the Latin American XChange and I think Hit Row has the possibility to go further. Let’s not forget, they got some good in-ring wrestlers in there in addition to that cool overall package.
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Samoa Joe and William Regal on their thoughts on the Great American Bash. William Regal talked about a few of the show’s highlights and hyped next week’s Kross vs. Gargano championship match. Joe noted everything should be okay in next week’s match as long as Joe isn’t provoked. Vic Joseph hyped Kross vs. Gargano with Joe as guest referee for next week…
Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole got the Takeover-style main event entrances, where the camera follows them on their way to the ring. The match started with about 18 minutes left at the top of the hour…
4. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Adam Cole. Cole got a takedown off the test of strength. O’Reilly reversed the hold with a trip. Cole got a two count off a rollup. O’Reilly went for a roundhouse, but Cole ducked it and rolled to ringside. The show cut to regular commercial.[c]
O’Reilly went for a Juji Gatame, but Cole blocked it. O’Reilly converted the move to an ankle lock. Cole got to the rope for a break. O’Reilly worked on Cole’s back with knees and elbows. O’Reilly caught Cole with a roundhouse to send Cole into retreat at ringside. Cole avoided a diving knee and hit O’Reilly with a swinging neckbreaker at ringside. Cole caught O’Reilly with a neckbreaker in the ring for a two count.
Cole sent O’Reilly’s throat into the buckle with an Irish Whip. Cole had a legscissors on O’Reilly’s neck for a submission. O’Reilly used elbows to escape a Fireman Carry. KO hit Cole with a running knee. Cole and O’Reilly traded a series of nearfalls. Cole called O’Reilly’s wife stupid for some reason, which fired up O’Reilly. Cole avoided O’Reilly’s punch onslaught and superkicked O’Reilly. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
O’Reilly and Cole took each other out with lariats. Cole and O’Reilly traded forearms. Cole hit O’Reilly with a pump kick. Cole blocked O’Reilly’s rebound lariat with a heel hook. O’Reilly Dragon Screwed Cole’s knee into the bottom rope. O’Reilly went for high roundhouses. Cole targeted O’Reilly’s shin with kicks. Cole gave O’Reilly with a chop block and then hit O’Reilly in the jaw for a two count.
O’Reilly avoided a Panama Sunrise. O’Reilly hit Cole with Muay Thai strikes. O’Reilly hit Cole with a side Fisherman Suplex for a two count. Barrett noted that O’Reilly’s neck was bent in an awkward position. O’Reilly hit Cole with ground and pound palms.
[Overrun] Cole blocked a Juji Gatame. O’Reilly got a nearfall off a Inside Cradle. Both men traded ground counters. Cole locked O’Reilly in the Figure Four. O’Reilly turned the move in favor to an Indian Deathlock. Cole got to the bottom rope for the break. O’Reilly hit Cole with a knee and followed up with a forearm smash. Cole sent O’Reilly to ringside with a series of enzuigiris. Cole hit O’Reilly with a Panama Sunrise at ringside. O’Reilly got hit foot on the bottom rope in the ring for the break.
O’Reilly recovered and hit Cole with a Brainbuster. Cole avoided O’Reilly’s finishing diving knee. Cole hit O’Reilly with the Last Shot. O’Reilly kicked out at two for a great nearfall (so great that I accidentally almost stopped my stopwatch). Cole hit O’Reilly with two kicks to the knee. O’Reilly blocked a dive with a knee, but that hurt O’Reilly more. Cole hit O’Reilly with a Panama Sunrise. Cole hit O’Reilly with a 2nd Last Shot for the clean win.
Adam Cole defeated Kyle O’Reilly via pinfall in 20:33 of on-air time.
Adam Cole’s theme played to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: It was highly likely that Cole was going to pick up the win here to even up the series. The match was pretty standard to start, but the false finishes at the end were really well done. I even accidentally stopped my stopwatch during the first Last Shot, that’s how good it was. NXT doesn’t overdo the kicking out of finisher thing, so it works to do it every once in a while. It looks like we’ll get the rubber match at the next Takeover and that rubber match can go either way (and I think it’s dependent on how successful they can promote the babyface Kyle O’Reilly character, which needs some work right now)
This was a good weekly episode of NXT. Not Takeover level, but slightly above weekly TV level. These themed shows don’t necessarily have to be “Takeover Level” anyway. Save the Takeover stuff for Takeover. This was a solid show. While it was “Great American Bash” themed, they didn’t really stress anything patriotic or American. That was a bit weird. Anyways, I’ll be by later tonight with my members exclusive audio review.
His name is ‘Virgil’ not ‘Vergil’. Ugh.
THIS ONE MISTAKE COMPLETELY RUINED THE REVIEW FOR ME I MUST POINT IT OUT TO RESTORE BALANCE IN THE UNIVERSE