By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
NXT Great American Bash Hits
Lola Vice vs. Kendal Grey for the NXT Women’s Championship: They saved the best for last. It would have been the right call to close with this match even if the title had not changed hands. The fact that Grey was booked to win the championship made the main event decision a no-brainer. As much as I love Grey’s upside, I’m surprised that Vice lost the championship so quickly. She’s made major improvements in her promo game and seemed like the right person to have Grey chase before winning the title somewhere down the road. It left me wondering if Vice is headed to the main roster. Sure, it’s a routine question to ask when an NXT champion loses their title, but she seems ready, and it would explain the brief title reign. Grey is a rising star, but I have some concerns about her winning the championship so quickly. This approach has worked for some wrestlers, but I also watched Roxanne Perez win the ROH and NXT championships early in her runs in each promotion. Those title wins were fun in the moment, but it seemed like they hurt in the long run because she reached the peak too soon, and it felt like there was nowhere to go but down. The NXT fans seemed to enjoy the chase, but then turned on her not long after she won the title. Hopefully that won’t be the case with Grey, and she will thrive as one of the faces of the NXT brand.
Zaria vs. Tatum Paxley for the NXT Women’s North American Championship: A very good match and a big win for Zaria. The match was extremely competitive until it wasn’t. After roughly 13 minutes of back-and-forth action, Zaria’s character unleashed a flurry of offense that looked so punishing that the referee actually looked bad for not stepping in to call off the match. If NXT creative does it right, they could set up an eventual showdown match between Zaria and new NXT Champion Kendal Grey. Paxley continues to shine with some great in-ring work. I’m also encouraged by some recent changes with her character. She’s no longer playing with dolls and acting childlike. The character has evolved into something more believable. She’s very good in the ring and has the potential to become a main roster star if the creative forces present her properly.
Tony D’Angelo vs. Naraku for the NXT Championship: It turns out that Narkau using flash paper to burn D’Angelo on the go-home show wasn’t done to give D’Angelo an out for losing. Rather, it was meant to make his win seem all the more impressive. It worked. The live crowd was hotter for D’Angelo than they’ve been during any match since he moved on from the mob boss persona. It worked for D’Angelo, but I was surprised that Naraku took a clean loss to a wounded champion. It will be interesting to see what they have in mind to help him bounce back or if this will perhaps be a brief run for him in NXT before he moves to the main roster.
Shiloh Hill vs. Tristan Angels: A soft Hit for a match that left me with mixed feelings. The gimmick of filming the wrestlers fighting under the ring was campy, and the match felt a few minutes longer than it needed to be. But the ring work was solid, and they had the tough task of following the Zaria vs. Paxley match. He looked ridiculous wearing the Mr. NXT sash, but I really liked Shiloh’s post-match promo. It was more serious than usual, and he didn’t close with the obnoxious laugh. As much as I’ve complained about the direction of Hill’s character, I’ve also mentioned repeatedly that there’s a lot to like about him. I hope this is the start of seeing more of the serious side of Hill’s persona.
Wren Sinclair vs. Arianna Grace for the WWE Speed Championship: More of an in-the-middle than a Hit or a Miss. The five-minute time limit for championship matches makes the concept less annoying to me, and I enjoy the work of both wrestlers. I still couldn’t care less about the WWE Speed titles, but at least Sinclair holding the women’s version made for a nice moment with her and Kendal Grey celebrating together as champions.
NXT Great American Bash Misses
Myles Borne vs. Tavion Heights for the NXT North American Championship: The live crowd didn’t seem invested in the match to begin with, but they never really recovered from the scare of the wrestlers accidentally butting heads. There’s still something missing with both characters. There’s a lot ot like about Borne and Heights as wrestlers, but they’re still not fully connecting with the fans.
Saquon Shugars vs. Dion Lennox: The tough thing about this feud and the Borne vs. Heights feud is that all four wrestlers really need wins and credibility boosts. It beats the alternative, but the winners don’t gain much from beating wrestlers who aren’t all that over with the fans. Shugars beating Lennox so quickly means there’s not much left for him to do with his former DarkState faction mates. In fact, I’m not sure there’s much left to do with the DarkState trio as a faction.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time dating back to 1997. He hosts a weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)
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