By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
NXT Great American Bash
Streamed July 30, 2023 on Peacock
Cedar Park, Texas at HEB Center
NXT Great American Bash Kickoff Show Notes
Megan Morant, Matt Camp, and Sam Roberts were the hosts of the pre-show at WWE’s studio set. All three hosts gave their thoughts on why they think the Great American Bash is important to them. Ilja Dragunov, Carmelo Hayes, and Trick Williams were shown at different times of the day arriving at the arena. Trick Williams walkin’ around looking like a stripper cowboy…
The hosts ran through the advertised card. Camp sent the show to McKenzie Mitchell who was outside Dominik Mysterio’s locker room. McKenzie knocked on the door and got Mami Rhea Ripley instead who said he’ll answer her questions. McKenzie asked Rhea what she thinks Dom’s odds are at retaining the championship. Rhea Ripley said Dom’s cool and collected.
Rhea said Dom was getting his mullet ready and that the Judgment Day will always be in control. Rhea told McKenzie to go away because she needs to help Dom “limber up”. Rhea Ripley reminded viewers that Mami is always on top. The show cut back to the studio panel where the hosts gave their thoughts and predictions on the North American Championship match…
Morant sent the show to the Blair Davenport vs. Roxanne Perez hype package. Roxanne Perez was shown at the Dreamcon Anime and Gaming Convention representing WWE. Blair Davenport appeared and the two women brawled at the convention. The show then cut to the studio panel giving their thoughts on the Perez vs. Davenport match…
Gable Steveson was shown arriving at the Arena. He was wearing his Olympic Gold Medal. An accolade graphic aired for Baron Corbin and Gable Steveson. The panel went over both men’s accolades outside of WWE. The panel then discussed the Steveson vs. Corbin matchup. Matt Camp brought up Corbin’s TikTok feud with a celebrity chef…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Baron Corbin and asked him why he challenged Gable? Corbin said Gable represents everything he’s against. He said Gable is acting like he understands everything in WWE, but he doesn’t. Corbin said he can’t take away Gable’s accolades, but he can take away his will to succeed, ambition to be a WWE star. Corbin said people think this is going to be an easy debut for Gable, but it’s not going to happen. Corbin said he’s going to take what he’s owed and be satisfied. Corbin said he’ll bury a 2nd Gold Medalist (he retired Angle). Corbin said Gable can go to the Olympics or college, just as long as it’s not WWE. McKenzie Mitchell wished Corbin luck. Corbin said he doesn’t need luck…
The Carmelo Hayes hype package aired. After an ad break, the Tiffany Stratton vs. Thea Hail hype package aired. The panel gave their thoughts on the match and focused on Hail’s young age of 19 years old. Morant sent the show to a Ilja Dragunov hype package…
John’s Thoughts: Do they really need a whole damn hour to do their usual cookie cutter pre-show? As usual, I’m paying half attention until the match. The formula is hype package, discussion, and maybe a McKenzie Mitchell interview…
The pre-show panel discussed the Melo vs. Ilja match…
The teams for the pre-show match were shown warming up backstage. Yes, for some reason there are two Heritage Cups..[c]
John’s Thoughts: The Heritage Cup is actually well designed. Maybe WWE should donate one of those Heritage Cups to Impact Wrestling to replace their Money in the Cup participation trophy. Seeing menacing Bully Ray run around with a high school participation trophy was just embarrassing last year.
An ad aired for Peacock’s Heels show aired. This show features Stephen Amell as well as former WWE wrestlers CM Punk and AJ Lee…
Entrances for the pre-show match took place. Booker T and Vic Joseph were on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer. Meta-Four’s entrance actually looks pretty damn good on WWE’s huge arena setup…
1. “The Meta Four” Noam Dar, Oro Mensah, Lash Legend, and Jakara Jackson vs. Nathan Frazer, Dragon Lee, Yulisa Leon, and Valentina Feroz in an 8-person mixed tag match. Dar and Frazer started the match with quick chain wrestling. Dar managed to get a Juji Gatame slam in on Frazer, and Frazer escped with a rollup. Frazer landed a dropkick after a backflip. Dar quickly tagged in Legend to bring in Leon. Leon hit Legend with a crossbody. Leon tagged in Feroz and tossed her on Legend. Legend used her size to block a Sunset Flip. Legend hit (barely) Feroz with a backflip moonsault.
Jackson tagged in and hit Feroz with a slam. Jackson’s sunglasses fell off as expected. Leon tagged in tossed Feroz at Leon at Jackson and got a two count. Dragon and Oro tagged in with Dragon managing to hit Oro with a slingshot wrecking ball kick. Mensah got the advantage off the distraction from Legend. Noam and Oro cut the ring in half on Dragon, with Legend and Jackson getting in some cheap shots. Dragon dodged a Liger Kick and hit Oro with a thrust kick. The camera focused on the real and counterfeit Heritage Cups.
Jackson dragged Oro over to bring in Noam. Frazer also tagged in. Frazer hit Noam with a jump kick to send him to ringside. Lash got in Nathan’s way to block a suicide dive. Leon hit Legend with a Dragonrana. Leon tossed Feroz on Jackson at ringside. Dragon took Oro off the apron with a huracanrana. Lash hit Dragon with a Yakuza Kick. Dar caught Frazer with a Judas Effect for a two count. Frazer hit Dar with a moonsault into a reverse DDT.
Leon hit legend with a missile dropkick. Feroz got a two count after Dar broke the pin. Feroz did this wierd roar, and pummeled Dar with punches. Dragon tagged in and gave Dar a Dragon Screw against the ropes. Dragon caught Dar with a hook kick. Dar came back with a superman punch. Oro tagged in and took down Lee and Frazer with kicks. Oro hit Lee with an inside-out slam for a nearfall. Oro went for a handstand and ate a superkick from Dragon. Dragon hit Dar with a Tornado DDT. Frazer tagged in.
Oro rolled up Frazer for a two count. Frazer took down Oro and Noam with kicks. Frazer caught Oro with a springboard Spanish Fly. Dragon tagged in. Frazer took Dar out with a flip dive. Dragon Lee hit Oro Mensah with Destino for the win.
Dragon Lee, Nathan Frazer, Yulisa Leon, and Valentina Feroz defeated The Meta-Four via pinfall in 10:51.
John’s Thoughts: A match that went way better than I expected. By the end it was chaos, but that good kind of chaos. Frazer, Dragon, Noam, and Oro provided a ton of movement to hide the weaknesses of the green women tag teams. That said, the women looked really good, especially the Leon and Feroz duo. The crowd was also really into this which is a good sign for everyone involved in the match. Lash Legend was good during her powerhouse sequence (hopefully she’s getting plenty of reps on the Florida house show circuit).
A hype package aired for the Gallus vs. D’Angelo and Stacks match, which featured Tony being in “prison” during most of the feud. The panel gave their thoughts on the match. The panel ran through the advertised Great American Bash card again. Roberts noted that the NXT Tag Team match will open up the card. Morant sent the show to Peacock commercials and the main show..
Great American Bash Main Show Review
The show opened up with a Dusty Rhodes video package that talked about how he made the Great American Bash. Cody Rhodes narrated the opening intro to hype this year’s Great American Bash in Texas. Cody ended the promo by saying “Welcome to the Great American Bash”…
The show cut to the arena which was well attended. Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in on commentary. Alicia Taylor was the ring announcer…
Tony D’Angelo and Stacks made their entrance. There was an army of CG rats in Tony D’s intro graphic. Gallus had a hype package before their entrance, showing them warming up while Joe Coffey was giving them encouragement. It was actually a pretty epic package. Gallus made their entrance. All three men wore what looked like Soccer or Rugby uniforms…
1. “Gallus” Mark Coffey and Wolfgang (w/Joe Coffey) vs. Tony D’Angelo and Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo for the NXT Tag Team Championships. Wolfgang knocked Tony D off the apron and tossed around Stacks like a boulder. Stacks dodged an elbow and came back with a uppercut. Tony D tagged in and hit Mark with a shortarm lariat. Tony went for his hockey punches but Wolfgang broke it up. Tony D tripped up Mark and gave him boots to the gut. Vic noted that Tony D and Stacks were wearing orange prison colors in their gear. Stacks worked on Mark with Muay Thai clinch knees.
Wolfgang tripped up Stacks. Stacks saw it coming and put Mark in a headlock. Wolfgang gave Tony D a lariat at ringside. This distracted Stacks who was blindsided by Mark. Wolfgang tagged in and gave Stacks a flapjack on the top rope. Joe Coffey kept yelling that Stacks was a rat. Mark worked on Stacks with methodical offense. Joe gave Stacks a left hook while the referee was distracted. Gallus cut the ring in half on Stacks for a few minutes.
Stacks managed to leap for the hot tag. Tony sent Wolfgang to ringside and gave Mark a series of Belly to Belly suplexes. Tony D hit Mark with a spinebuster. Tony D sent Wolfgang into Mark when he saw Wolfgang trying to break up his pin. Tony D and Stacks hit Gallus with stereo hockey punches. Tony gave Mark a Superplex. Stacks gave Mark a diving headbutt (ugh). Wolfgang broke up the pin. Wolfgang blind tagged in and planted Stacks with a Uranage.
Wolfgang tossed Mark at Tony D at ringside. Wolfgang hit Stacks with a moonsault for the nearfall. Joe Coffey grabbed his baton and distracted the referee. Gallus hit Stacks with their double team finisher. Tony D broke up Wolfgang’s pin. Tony caught Mark with a superkick. Tony D sent Wolfgang into the steel steps after he was power bombed Mark into him.
Tony hit Joe with a crowbar. Stacks hit Gallus at ringside with an assisted Flip Dive. Tony D tagged in. Tony D and Stacks hit Wolfgang with a Double Belly to Back Suplex to give Tony D the pinfall win.
Tony D’Angelo and Channing Lorenzo defeated Gallus via pinfall in 8:43 to win the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Tony D and Stacks celebrated their win heading into the Peacock Commercials…[c]
An ad aired for Peacock’s Twisted Metal series, which features Samoa Joe in the role of Twisted Metal’s main posterboy, Sweet Tooth…
John’s Thoughts: Despite the cheesy build, this match was really good. Only thing I could do without was the diving headbutt by Stacks. It’s an unnecessary move in 2023 and it looked like he might have got a bit of whiplash from the move. I’m okay with the title change because Mark and Wolfgang don’t have the personalities to elevate the titles. Here’s hoping they go off and Joe becomes more of the focal point because he’s the one who has the personality and strong in-ring. By the way, NXT has around 100 unnamed Performance Center wrestlers, can Tony D borrow 20 of them to be generic mafia goons? Tony D’s two man mafia just seems a bit understaffed.
The Roxanne Perez vs. Blair Davenport hype package aired…
Roxanne Perez made her entrance. Footage of Roxanne Perez being attacked by Blair Davenport at the Dreamcon Anime and Gaming convention. Wes Lee and Oney Loran broke apart the brawl. Back at the arena, Perez was hugging her friends and family at ringside. Amongst the family, was Blair Davenport under a hoodie, who attacked Perez to get the match started…
2. Blair Davenport vs. Roxanne Perez in a “Weapons Wild” match. Perez managed to gain control and hit Blair with a crossbody from the barricade. Perez punched Davenport off the apron when she tried to bring a chair into the ring. Perez hit Davenport with a Suicide Dive. Perez dumped Davenport to ringside with a lariat. Davenport blocked a Suicide Dive with a trash can. Davenport hit Perez in the back with a chair and walked over to Booker T to taunt him. Davenport hit Perez in the gut with a branding iron. Davenport continued to work on Perez with chairs, while also taunting Roxanne’s mom.
Davenport put Perez in a trash can and then went to town on the can with the branding iron. Davenport set up a chair in the corner. Davenport tossed another trash can in the ring and almost hit the referee. Davenport set up another chair in the opposite corner while alsom making sure to keep Perez at bay. Davenport tossed Perez’s shoulder into one of the chairs. Davenport blocked being tossed into a chair. Perez jabbed Davenport in the gut and hit Davenport with a front Van Daminator.
Davenport recovered and hit Perez several times with a studded belt. Davenport choked Perez with the belt in front of her family. Davenport wrapped the belt on Perez’s hand and used it to Irish Whip Perez into the barricade. Davenport threatened Roxanne’s mom and I assume her sister. The little girl started to cry while the mom protected her. Perez dragged out a cowbell and used it to fend off Davenport. Perez wrapped the studded belt on Davenport’s wrist and then returned the favor with two Irish Whips into the barricade.
Perez set up a table to hype up the crowd. Davenport recovered and hit Perez with the belt. Perez recovered and tackled Davenport into the ring apron. Davenport tripped Perez off the top rope. Davenport piled together chairs. Perez blocked a German Suplex and tossed Davenport into the chair in the corner. Davenport reversed Pop Rocks with an Alabama Slam. Davenport sent Perez through a trash can with a Falcon Arrow for a two count. A Rok-C chant ensued.
Davenport blocked Pop Rocks with a flapjack. Davenport missed a double stomp on the back of Perez and Perez came back with a Side Russian Legsweep (nice thinking on their feet off the botch). Davenport held on to the ropes for dear life to block a Russen Legsweep onto the table. Davenport tripped Perez onto the steps.
Perez recovered and used a knee to send Davenport into the steps. Perez laid Davenport on the table and hit Davenport with a top rope splash through the table at ringside. Perez gave Davenport a kick in the gut and picked up the win with Pop Rocks (Code Red) on the pile of steel stairs.
Roxanne Perez defeated Blair Davenport via pinfall in 11:49.
An ad aired for Summerslam…
John’s Thoughts: Hard worked and creative match for both women. Roxanne Perez has benefited from this match build because it caused her to come off as more of an adult as opposed to the child character they were presenting her right before. Davenport doesn’t lose much from the loss as this had the hardcore stipulation and her last win against Perez was so dominant. Bonus points to Roxanne’s sister for crying at will to add to the drama of the match. If they go with a rubber match between these two, I hope they put Davenport over strong again to set her up as a top player in the Women’s Division. My guess is she ends up running through the wrestlers she kayfabe put on the shelf.
Chase U were shown backstage. Of course Thea Hail was hyperactive as usual. Tiffany Stratton was also shown stretching backstage…
Baron Corbin made his entrance to new music that was similar to his old lone wolf themes. For some reason it had a pirate ship motiff, I guess because one of his new mottos is “burn all the ships”. His ring gear looks like a red version of Damian Priest’s ring gear. Gable Steveson got an epic pre-match hype package. Gable Steveson made his entrance with an amateur singlet and his Olympic Gold Medal…
3. Gable Steveson vs. Baron Corbin. Corbin kept his distance to avoid takedowns. Corbin blocked a waistlock with a back elbow. Corbin sent Steveson into the corner with punches. Gable did a flip out of the corner and came back with punches. Corbin rolled to ringside for a bit of a time out. Gable did a leapfrog and got the Ankle Lock in, but Corbin’s length got him to the ropes. Steveson gave Corbin a German Suplex at ringside. Baron Corbin tossed Steveson into the ringpost to gain the upper hand. Corbin worked on Steveson with methodical offense.
A “Baron Corbin” Chant actually ensued, I think? Corbin hit Steveson with a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Corbin got another two count off a lariat. Steveson slammed Corbin’s face on the ropes which drew boos. Steveson powered up from Corbin’s pie faces. Steveson gave Corbin right hands and some nice Belly to Belly suplexes. Steveson dumped Corbin to ringside.
Steveson dumped Corbin to ringside and soaked in some boos. Corbin tackled Steveson into the apron. Steveson tossed Corbin into Booker. Corbin recovered and hit Steveson with an axe handle from the table. The referee counted both men out.
Gable Steveson vs. Baron Corbin ended in a double-countout in 6:32.
A “bull shit” chant ensued. Steveson took off the straps and continued to brawl in the ring. Referees and security ran out to try to separate both men, but couldn’t. Corbin and Steveson even fended off security. Steveson sent Corbin into the barricade to break it. Steveson stood tall to end the segment…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A good enough match with the slightly unexpected highlight of the crowd turning on Gable Steveson. It seemed like Gable was caught off guard too because he didn’t necessarily adjust his mannerisms to match the crowd reaction. I like the non-finish as it accomplishes the goal of protecting Gable, while also not feeding Baron Corbin to Gable fresh off the character repackage. Another accomplished goal was the assessment on how Gable is coming along as a pro wrestler. His in-ring was solid enough as he was doing decent against a main roster star. He is still weak on the promo game so hopefully he’s seeing people for that. He probably should get more stars and stripes on this ring gear too as the college amateur singlet is a bit generic.
Highlights from this past Tuesday aired from the Rhea Ripley vs. Lyra Valkyria match…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Lyra Valkyria about her match with Rhea Ripley. Lyra said she wants more because she went toe to toe with the top woman in WWE. Jacy Jayne showed up and jumped Lyra. Security guards ran out for the pull apart. Rhea Ripley and Dom showed up and Ripley praised Lyra for showing fire…
Entrances for the next match took place. Alicia Taylor handled the formal in-ring introductions. As usual Dominik Mysterio got his loud boos. The boos then turned for cheers for Rhea Ripley. ..
4. “Dirty” Dominik Mysterio (w/ Rhea Ripley) vs. Wes Lee vs. Mustafa Ali for the NXT North American Championship. Dom rolled to ringside when it looked like Wes and Mustafa were about to jump him. Rhea grabbed the North American Title from the timekeeper and got in Ali’s face. Wes and Ali surrounded Dom. Ali and Lee stomped a mudhole into Dom in the center of the ring. Ali and Wes then were at odds when taking turns to attack Dom. Wes and Mustafa agreed to give Dom a double chop. Lee then hit Ali with a Frankensteiner.
Both men traded armdrags. Ali and Lee traded Sunset Flips. Ali ducked Wes’s kick. Both men traded shoves. Vic noted that Great American Bash was trending on X (ugh… Twitter). Dom stood tall as he shoved Wes and Ali into the barricade from the top rope. Dom gave Ali a slingshot swanton. Dom hit Ali with two of the Three Amigos. Dom went to Wes and hit Two Amigos. Ali and Wes blocked a double Amigo. Lee and Ali gave Dom A Double Team Three Amigos.
Rhea protested at ringside. Wes fended off Dom with kicks. Wes forced Dom to DDT Ali after he ate a superkick from Wes. Wes chopped down Dom with kicks and gave him a meteora. Ali dumped Dom to ringside and rallied with axe handle strikes. Ali knocked Dom off the apron with a dropkick. Ali hit Wes with a nice Spike Tornado DDT. Ali broke up his own pin when he saw Dom come in with an elbow drop. Ali hit Dom with a rolling neckbreaker. Ali put Wes in a Boston Crab and put Dom in a Camel Clutch at the same time. Dom broke the submission with a bite to the hands.
Ali used a Superkick to block Dom’s 619 on Lee. Ali hit Wes with a superkick. Dom and Wes were draped on the bottom rope at the apron. Ali went for a 450, but Dom and Wes rolled in the ring to make Ali crash and burn (good sell). All three ment took a moment of respite. At Rhea’s orders, Dom got a two count on Wes. Wes hit Dom with a suicide dive. Rhea Ripley got on the apron to prevent Lee from diving on Dom. Wes flew over Rhea and hit Dom with a flip dive.
Rhea Ripley got her hands on Wes and gave Wes Lee a Rip Tide through the announce table. Vic noted that there’s no DQs in a Triple Threat. Wes Lee kicked out of Dom’s pin at two for a good nearfall. Dom gave Wes a right hand for a nearfall. Rhea was throwing a fit at ringside. Ali used a running front kick to drape Dom on the top rope. Ali hit Wes with a 450. Rhea dragged Ali to ringside to break up the pin. Dominik hit Wes Lee with a Frog Splash to pick up the win.
Dominik Mysterio defeated Wes Lee and Mustafa Ali via pinfall in 12:05.
The show cut to peacock commercials…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Yes, there were a lot of moving pieces and lots of interference, but that’s Dom’s MO and he’s lookin’ damn good with that modus operandi. Dominik is showing everyone how a vulnerable pest champ needs to be booked. The match wasn’t an instant-classic, but the storytelling in Dom matches are where the action’s at. I’m still astonished that that random son of Rey Mysterio that I saw take his first on-air bump at Boyle Heights, that same kid we all saw cry on Smackdown back in the day, who knew that he would become one of the top heels in all of pro wrestling. Smart to keep the belt on Dom as he is a legit ratings draw. I’m interested to see where they go with him now that they’ve moved past the feud they had to scrap in favor of putting the strap on Dom? Rhea Ripley was also good here with all of her antics and coaching.
An Ilja Dragunov hype package aired…
McKenzie Mitchell interviewed Trick Williams. Trick said he calls cap on Ilja saying he respects the Trick-Melo friendship. Trick said Trick-Melo go way back, like Vince Young putting a whooping on USC to win the championship. Like Kevin Durant turning the longhorn basketball program upside down. Trick said Trick-Melo turn NXT upside down. Trick said Melo will show the mad dragon why he is “him”…
John’s Thoughts: Is it just me, and this is only because I just watched They Cloned Tyrone on Netflix (Great movie! Go watch it!), but does Trick Williams look like he may or may not be a Jamie Foxx clone variant? I kid, I kid. I wouldn’t be surprised if Trick was inspired by Jamie, and Jamie is a good person to replicate based off how talented he is.
VIc Joseph thanked the band “100 Gecs” for providing the song Hollywood Baby as the theme song for Great American Bash…
A hype package aired for the NXT Women’s Championship match…
Thea Hail made her entrance by running through a Chase U banner. She made her entrance with a red, white, and blue pre-match boxing robe. In honor of the Barbie Movie (which is killin’ it in the Box Office), Tiffany Stratton had a Barbie themed entrance graphic. She was also dressed up as a Cowgirl Barbie. Alicia Taylor handled the formal in ring introductions for the championship match. Vic Joseph noted that this was the youngest NXT Women’s Championship match with both women’s combined ages…
5. TIffany Stratton vs. Thea Hail (w/Andre Chase, Duke Hudson) in a Submission Match for the NXT Women’s Championship. Tiffany went for an early crab, but Hail used boots to fend off Tiffany. Hail put Tiffany in a Cravate. Tiffany escaped and hit Hail with a shoulder tackle. tiffany grabbed Hail’s leg out of the air and put her in a Surfboard. Hail reversed the surfboard with an armbar attempt that Tiffany blocked. Joseph noted that you can’t break submissions with pins like in normal matches. After a reset hail rallied with armdrags and a dropkick. Stratton blocked a suicide dive with a rough body slam. Stratton slammed Hail into the ringpost.
Hudson and Chase cheered on Hail. Stratton used a bow and arrow stretch on Hail against the ringpost. A “Let’s Go Barbie” chant managed to catch a little steam. Stratton put Hail in a Bow and Arrow in the center of the ring. Hail escaped but she ran right into a tilt a whirl backbreaker. Stratton put Hail into the turnbuckle and hit her with a backflip elbow. Stratton put Hail in a modified Gory Special Submission. Hail ran up the ropes and escaped with a Northern Lights Suplex on Stratton. Hail countered a body slam with an armdrag.
Hail rallied with shoulder tackles. Hail hit Stratton with a T Bone Suplex and cannonball. Stratton blocked a springboard dive with a body scissors. A Chase U chant fired up. Hail managed to get to her feet. Hail hit Stratton with a Stratisfaction. Hail caught Tiffany at ringside with a suicide dive. Stratton ducked an axe handle and sent Tiffany into the ringpost. Stratton rolled through Hail’s High Fly Flow attempt. Hail went for a Kimura but Stratton escaped it with a Fallaway Slam.
Hail got to her feet to not get hit by Stratton’s moonsault. Hail went to the top rope with Stratton and gave Strattton a Super Exploder Suplex. Hail went for a Kimura again, but Stratton didn’ let Hail get it synched in. Stratton used the rope to drag herself to ringside, there are no rope breaks. Stratton escaped another Kimura by tackling Hail into the barricade. Stratton sent Hail into the steel steps. Stratton hit Hail with the Prettiest Moonsault Ever (BME).
Andre Chase was slapping the mat to hype up Hail while Stratton had Hail in a Boston Crab. Hudson and Chase told Hail to keep fighting the pain. Stratton dropped Hail and dragged Hail away from the ropes. Stratton converted the move into a Modified Tequila Sunrise/Liontamer. Andre Chase threw in the towel for the forfeit.
Tiffany Stratton defeated Thea Hail via forfeit in 11:45.
Highlights from the match aired…
John’s Thoughts: A good match and I like the towel finish as it allows Thea Hail to continue her character development. The finish was logical as Andre Chase looked justified after it looked like Hail couldn’t defend herself. The teacher “protecting the student from herself” type of deal. Stratton also benefits by looking dominant. One weakness I do notice is she is off in terms of timing, and she tends to fumble being “too creative”. Hopefully she’s putting in good practice time to tighten up her moves. By the way, the crowd has been getting into business for themselves throughout the night (I doesn’t help that Tiffany was dressed up as the number 1 movie in America). Credit to Chase and Hudson for managing to turn most of the crowd back in favor of Hail. Chase U’s gimmick makes it easy for them to fire up the crowd. They’re pro wrestling’s version of a college rally team.
Vic Joseph did a plug for Summerslam. He then sent the show to highlights from the 8 person pre-show tag match…
Nathan Frazer, Yulisa Leon, Valentina Feroz, and Nathan Frazer were celebrating their win backstage in street clothes. Dragon Lee left and ran into Dominik Mysterio and Rhea Ripley. Ripley called Dragon a wannabe Rey Mysterio. Dragon said he is actually honored to be compared to Rey. Dragon said he’s having his own story and you will “know who I am”. Rhea comically said “Batman” because Dragon’s mask looked like a Batman mask. Dom said he made the Mysterio name relevant and Rey is a deadbeat that only wants to help those that look like him, not his son. Dom and Rhea left…
Vic Joseph plugged the NXT No Mercy PLE happening in Bakersfield, CA…
The Schism were shown arguing backstage about being betrayed by two of their followers. Fowler tried to allude to it being The Creeds, but Ava said they are gone. Ava said next week they are having a “interrogation” where they’ll line up the cult members to find out who’s stabbing them in the back…
The Schism “Interrogation”, Jacy Jayne vs. Lyra Valkyria, and Dijak vs. Eddy Thorpe was plugged for the upcoming NXT show…
The NXT championship entrances took place where the cameras followed the competitors heading to the ring. Ilja Dragunov made his entrance. Carmelo Hayes made his entrance with the words “Shoot for the Sky” by Dusty Rhodes being said over the speakers. A giant banner graphic said “Him”. Alicia Taylor handled the formal in-ring championship introductions…
6. Carmelo Hayes (w/Trick Williams) vs. Ilja Dragunov for the NXT Championship. Melo managed to drag Ilja to the mat with a few armdrags. Ilja got to his feet but was brought right back down into an armbar. Ilja managed to reverse the pressure on the armbar. Ilja dragged Melo to the mat with a Judo Hip Toss. Melo escaped a headlock. Ilja caught Melo with a Yakuza Kick. Melo came back with an armdrag into an armbar. Ilja tried to use an armdrag to escape, but Hayes kept the hold synched in.
Melo hit Ilja with a shoulder tackle once they got to their feet. Melo hit Ilja with a kick and knife edge chop. This fired up Ilja who came back with a tackle and chops in the corner. Melo came back with right hands and hit Ilja with a springboard lariat. Melo knocked Ilja off the apron with a pump kick. Ilja took a minute to recover at ringside. Melo hit Ilja with a lariat that didn’t take him off his feet. Ilja took down Melo with an enzuigiri. Ilja gave Melo a discus lariat. Melo went for a springboard, but went right into a German Suplex from Ilja.
Melo rallied with right hands, but he was slammed to the mat with an overhead slap from Ilja. Trick gave Melo some encouragement from ringside. Ilja hit Melo with Two Chained Suplexes. Melo escaped a third, but Ilja went right back to hit Melo with a German Suplex for a two count. Ilja gave Melo a stiff chop and standing senton for a two count. Melo escaped a Key Lock and was put on teh rope with a right hand. Melo gave Ilja a stiff chop. Ilja came back with stiff Kobayashi Machine Gun Chops. Ilja got a two count off a suplex.
Melo tried to rally back with a boot, but Ilja came back with the Constantine Special for a nearfall. Melo reversed a Rear Naked Choke with a jackknife pin for a two count. Ilja came back with a nearfall of his own. Ilja worked on Melo with stiff shortarm lariats. Melo fought back with kicks and shortarm boots to the head. Ilja came back with a lariat. Melo rebounded and hit Ilja with a sweet looking La Mistica.
Melo and Ilja traded fatigued and stiff chops in teh corners. Melo hit Ilja with a Reality Check for a moment of respite for himself. Ilja blocked a Codebreaker and hit Melo with elbows to the neck. Melo reversed the hold and rained elbows on Ilja’s neck. Melo hit Ilja with a sweet looking springboard reverse DDT for a nearfall that woke up the crowd. Melo gave Ilja some ground and pound. Ilja hit Melo with an enzuigiri to block Nothin’ But Net. Ilja went to the top rope and hit Melo with a Diving Senton for a nearfall.
Ilja went for Coast-to-Coast, but he dove right into Melo’s codebreaker. Melo reversed Nothin’ But Net by catching Melo into a Power Bomb. Ilja hit Melo with a diving forearm. Ilja kicked out at 2.9 seconds. Joseph noted that he saw Alicia Taylor shocked because she was ready to announce Ilja the winner. The match hit the 20 minute mark
Ilja put Melo on the top rope. Both men traded slaps. Ilja went for a Super Plex, but Melo reversed it into a sweet looking Super Final Cut. Trick Williams grabbed the NXT Title and showed it to Melo for encouragement. Trick yelled “are you a fraud, or are you a champion!?!” to inspire Melo. Melo and Ilja traded fatigued strikes from the mat. They eventually traded fatigued shots while on their feet. Both men traded stiff forearms.
Melo and Ilja took each other out with stereo superkicks. Melo rolled to Trick for encouragement and recovery. Ilja tried to hit Melo with Torpedo Moscow, but Trick ate the move instead. Joseph said it looked like Trick shoved Melo out of the way. Melo recovered and tossed Ilja back in the ring. Melo hit Ilja with Nothin’ But Net for the win.
Carmelo Hayes defeated Ilja Dragunov via pinfall in 24:07.
On a replay, Vic Joseph noted that it looked like Ilja hit his head on the NXT Title when he hit Trick with the Torpedo Moscow. Carmelo Hayes posed with the NXT Championship in the corner to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: Wonderful match as expected. I wonder if HBK was the producer of this match because it had the pacing of some of the matches he worked on back in the Black and Gold days. An absolute war. Ilja Dragunov is the perfect main event in-ring wrestler in that he makes all of his opponents look like a million bucks. Usually he’s facing larger opponents, but it was an interesting dynamic seeing him having the size advantage with his opponent taking the ass whooping most of the match. I like Vic Joseph pointing out the potential belt to the face as it protects Ilja and sets up a potential rematch, maybe at the Bakersfield, CA No Mercy show. I like that they are telling a layered story involving Trick Williams in the mix.
Great American Bash turned out to be a good PPV. As usual, there are a few flubs here and there with some of the greener Performance Center wrestlers, but the young wrestlers are showing growth while the more experienced wresters are allowed to look great. One highlight of the show this week was the crowd. The crowd went into business for themselves a few times, but better that then a dead crowd. I’ll be by in a bit with Jason Powell with the Pro Wrestling Boom podcast where we will be reviewing NXT Great American Bash.
Take a shot whenever Booker says “aaaawwww yeah” and you won’t make it to work tomorrow.
“TELL ME YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT!!”
Better tag than I expected to start things off.
Hopefully they don’t job Davenport to the world’s smallest hoochie.
Why isn’t this disrespectful prick banned? If he doesn’t like a wrestler that’s fine but he has no right to personally disrespect someone he doesn’t even know and wouldn’t have the balls to say anything to if he ever come face to face with them. He comes across as nothing but a bitter woman hating incel
There’s a part of be that gets a chuckle out of peeps like him actin’ a foo in public. More than really offending anyone, they just end up looking like a desperate jackass.
Really great PPV so far this is stacking up to the first three NXT PPVs of the year.
I loved that Weapons Wild match that’s my favorite so far of the night as I like Roxanne’s new character. I still think they can turn her heel as they should have Blair attack her again and she gets help from Cora Jade and turns heel.
I knew Dirty Dom would win as well, now I hope Thea Hail makes history tonight, so that Tiffy Top can go SummerSlam to align herself with Trish.
I’m really disappointed with the Thea Hail loss, make history tonight. People were ready to see Thea become champion. Tiffany Stratton has nothing left to do down in NXT, she has a lot of promise being aligned with Trish on the main roster unless Trish is planning on being on the main roster next year too.
Something was super off in the woman’s title match. Tiff looked winded but I wonder if she got concussed with the early botch. Thea is fun but def not ready for a longer high profile match
I definitely feel like Melo and Stratton should’ve lost and been ready to get called up to the main roster next weekend. Dragunov was definitely ready for a title run and one can argue if Hail was ready for longer matches or not, but she’s so good in the ring that I think she could’ve handled it.
It just feels like there’s nothing left for Melo or Tiffy down in NXT, they’ve outgrown their NXT experience and are ready for the main roster.
No point in moving either title yet. Melo will got lost on the main roster due to his size and Stratton still needs a good 6-12 months to get smoother in the ring and add a bit of depth to her character.
Really good card outside of the garbage brawl with the 2’7″ nobody beating a potential main roster worker.
Those last two matches were main roster PLE worther.
Point well taken. I just hope I’m not an old bitter women hating prick when I reach my seventies like him
It just blows my mind that a 4’5” 375 lb 70 year old man who hasn’t left his home in decades is going to criticize someone else’s appearance. You’re not some great wrestling sage or a booker and no one cares about your opinions. This isn’t the 1950’s when you were a kid watching Gorgeous George wrestle on your black and white portable grandpa
The last time he saw 70 was 1870.
Well, predictable outcomes as usual. I’m glad there are “no matter what WWE does its great!” fans out there (who also are “no matter what AEW does I can slam it!” type people), as it keeps the WWE in business.