Great American Bash 2026
Date: June 28, 2026
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Wade Barrett

It’s the first live special on the CW and that means we should be in for a heck of a show. There are actually seven matches on the card, which is rather high for WWE these days. The main event will see Tony D’Angelo defending the NXT Title against Naraku, which should be a big deal. Let’s get to it.

The opening video talks about the greatness of America and the matches on the card.

NXT Title: Tony D’Angelo vs. Naraku

D’Angelo is defending and is coming in with a badly burned eye. The bell rings and they go outside, where Naraku grabs a chair but gets speared through the wooden wall less than ten seconds into the match. Back in and Naraku starts going after the eye, with the referee asking D’Angelo if he wants to continue.

Of course he does so Naraku goes after the eye again before grabbing a half crab. A suplex puts D’Angelo down again and we take a break. We come back with Naraku hitting a powerbomb before going up, where D’Angelo grabs a powerbomb of his own. D’Angelo fights up and grabs some German suplexes but Dead To Rites is blocked. Naraku hits a German suplex but D’Angelo pops up with Dead To Rites to retain at 10:10.

Rating: B-. That’s it? That’s the NXT Title match to open the show? It wasn’t a bad match but I was expecting a bit more than a ten minute match with a break in the middle. The eye thing only meant so much here and D’Angelo just won without much trouble. I’m still not sold on D’Angelo as the guy but at least he had a nice title defense here.

We recap Zaria defending the Women’s North American Title against Tatum Paxley. Zaria beat her up to get the title but Paxley isn’t done with her and interfered in one of Zaria’s matches. Now it’s about the title and revenge.

Women’s North American Title: Tatum Paxley vs. Zaria

Zaria is defending. They get in a tug of war over the belt to start and the fight is on, with Zaria using the power to drive her into the corner. The shoulders to the ribs have Paxley in trouble but she manages a double stomp onto the back. Paxley ties her in the ring skirt and fires off a superkick into an enziguri. That’s enough to set up a sleeper on the floor but Zaria drops her back first onto the floor for a big crash.

We take a break and come back with both of them going up, with Zaria being dropped onto the post. A high crossbody connects for Paxley and she drops Zaria with a superplex. Zaria pops back up with a spear and they’re both down. They go up again and Paxley ties her in the Tree Of Woe, with Zaria sitting up before a Coast To Coast. They slug it out on the apron until Paxley drops her with a sunset bomb.

Paxley goes over to grab the title for some reason before hitting a Cemetery Drive on the floor. Another one back inside gets two and everyone is surprises. The F5 is countered into a rollup but Zaria is back up with a spear. Now the F5 connects….for two in a heck of a near fall. Zaria hammers away and hits a curb stomp, followed by another F5 to retain at 14:04.

Rating: B+. This was a heck of a fight and I bought on a few of those near falls. These guys beat the living daylights out of each other and it was fun to see them having this kind of a brawl. The best thing is that Zaria gets another win in a big match, which is what she needs to reset her reputation. I’m not sure what is next for Paxley, but putting her into the Women’s Title picture isn’t crazy.

Kendal Grey and Wren Sinclair fire each other up.

The Vanity Project brags to Robert Stone, who get their matches for this week: Jackson Drake vs. Mason Rook and the Tag Team Titles being defended against Galeno/El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. The Project isn’t happy.

We go outside to the watch party, with Kevin Owens (in a Waylon Mercy shirt) being rather interested in what we’ll be seeing tonight, with the next two matches in particular. Owens’ t-shirt closet must be amazing.

Shiloh Hill vs. Tristan Angels

Hill starts fast and even steals Angels’ sash before grabbing quite the airplane spin. Angels is back up with a shot to the face in the corner though and we take a break. We come back with Hill pulling Angels underneath the ring and the lights go out. We go to the under the ring cam (because that’s a thing) and Angels finds a ringing phone. A voice on the other end says THE FOG IS COMING and Hill (in a mask) grabs a choke from behind.

They get out and Hill pops up for another choke but Angels slips away. The steps are loaded up and Angels knocks Hill into the corner as we take another break. We come back with Hill using the steps to run from the floor for a spear through the ropes. Hill goes up but dives into a Codebreaker, only for Angels to miss a driving knee. The Whisper Of The Beast gives Hill the pin at 13:01.

Rating: C+. This match got some time and Hill winning continues his rather odd push. There’s something so strange about him and yet it’s kind of working. I could have gone without the weird underneath the ring deal but this could have been a lot worse. Angels will be fine as he is one of the easiest stars to dislike around here.

Post match Hill grabs the Mr. NXT sash and says this was proof of why no one should sleep on him.

Nikkita Lyons praises Nattie on her latest Guinness World Record. Nattie brags about the Sharpshooter and praises Karmen Petrovic and Layla Diggs. Nattie doesn’t like Jaida Parker but Diggs doesn’t think much of Parker.

EK Prosper is in Robert Stone’s office and complains about Keanu Carver putting him through a table. Stone calms him down by giving him a AAA Latin American Title shot against El Hijo del Vikingo. Works for Prosper.

Women’s Speed Title: Arianna Grace vs. Wren Sinclair

Grace, with Birthright, is challenging. Grace starts fast with a neckbreaker and goes after Sinclair’s bad knee. A Robinsdale Crunch gives Grace two as Sinclair can’t get anything going early on. Sinclair breaks up a superplex attempt but has to go after Charlie Dempsey, allowing Grace to get two off a small package. A spinning sitout powerbomb (like Dalton Castle’s Bang A Rang) sets up the Final Wrench to retain at 4:47.

Rating: C+. This was a short and to the point match and that’s not a bad thing. It’s nice to see Sinclair get a win in a higher stakes match, if nothing else because she’s healthy for a change. I’m still not sure why we need the Speed Titles but at least it’s getting Sinclair television time, which is rather appreciated.

We recap Saquon Shuggars vs. Dion Lennox. Shuggars got kicked out of Darkstate and wants revenge, which has included picking off the team one member at a time with Lennox being the only one left.

Dion Lennox vs. Saquon Shuggars

Lennox punches him down to start but Shuggars, still in his jacket, comes up with a shot of his own. The running clothesline has Lennox down again but he goes after the knee. That doesn’t seem to work as Shuggars grabs a neckbreaker for two. Another neckbreaker puts Lennox on the apron but here is the rest of Darkstate for a distraction, allowing Lennox to come back with a release Rock Bottom. A splash to the back gives Lennox two and we take a break.

We come back with Lennox snapping off a spinebuster for two. Shuggars fights up with a toss suplex into a basement dropkick and they’re both down. A slingshot legdrop gives Shuggars two but Lennox drops him back first across the turnbuckle (GEEZ that looked bad). Back in and a powerslam gives Lennox two and some big clotheslines connect for the same. Shuggars pulls him out of the corner and…kind of drops him. A top rope Vader Bomb finishes for Shuggars at 14:10.

Rating: D+. I feel bad about getting on this match but dang this did not work. The action wasn’t smooth, the ending looked awful and the story was only so interesting in the first place. This really did not work and hopefully it wraps up the feud for good, as I don’t need to see any more from these two.

Post match the rest of Darkstate is suddenly healthy and comes in to lay Shuggars out.

Tatum Paxley, with very red eyes, is upset about her loss and feels like she let everyone down. Kelani Jordan comes in to say no one cares because she’s always being overlooked for people like Paxley. That earns her a forearm to end “Bad Line Reading In NXT”.

North American Title: Myles Borne vs. Tavion Heights

Borne is defending and they show some respect to start. They go with the grappling to start, which is a stretch for Borne when he’s against an Olympian. A ram of heads leaves both of them down so Borne is back up with a dropkick to the floor. They go face to face on the floor and we take a break.

We come back with Heights snapping off some suplexes, including a capture version for two. Borne gets the same off a northern lights suplex and slugs away, only for Heights to get in a shot to the throat. Heights dumps him outside and the muscles him up for a suplex back inside as we take a break.

We come back with Borne striking away and grabbing a Nightmare On Helm Street for two. A dropkick only hits ropes though and Borne is down again. Heights is back up and grabs a fireman’s carry, which is reversed into a not so great looking Borne Again to retain the title at 17:05.

Rating: B. This was a good bit better, with the two of them working well together and beating the fire out of each other. That’s what it needed to be, with Heights having a good shot at the title but not being able to pull it off in the end. Borne has become a rather nice star around here and I could go for him holding the title for a good while.

Post match Borne talks about how Heights is going to be a champion one day but it’s not happening now, because he’s holding this title for a long time.

The watch party panel recaps the show, with Kevin Owens making it clear that he has never turned on anyone in his life. Hank & Tank come up to talk about next week’s show, including mentioning Keanu Carver’s loss. This brings out Carver to wreck Tank and put him through a table. They kind of asked for it.

We recap Lola Vice vs. Kendal Grey. Vice is the defending champion and the former top prospect, while Grey is the current big up and comer. It’s her time to move up to the next level.

Women’s Title: Kendal Grey vs. Lola Vice

Vice is defending and they go to the mat to start. Back up and Grey gets taken down with a judo throw for two. Grey gets back up and they have a standing switch, only for Vice to knock her down. Vice strikes away, only to get taken into a chinlock. Grey is sent outside so here is Kelani Jordan to go after her but Wren Sinclair cuts her off. Vice hits a dive off the apron to drop Grey and we take a break.

We come back with Vice hitting some running hip attacks in the corner but Grey drops her with a suplex. The straps come down and Grey snaps off some more suplexes until Vice gets in a German suplex of her own. Grey gets in a superkick but springboards into another kick. They go outside with Vice getting rolled into an ankle lock, which is let go so Shades Of Grey can connect off the barricade.

Back in and they trade ankle locks until Grey switches into a cross armbreaker. That’s escaped as well so Vice grabs a sleeper. Grey escapes but misses a moonsault, allowing Vice to kick her in the head for two. The guillotine choke has Grey in trouble but she reverses into a cradle. They hit a back elbow each and it’s a double cover for a double two. They slug it out until Grey ducks a shot and gets up for a middle rope Shades Of Grey for the pin and the title at 15:09.

Rating: B. These two worked rather well together and it was clear that they knew each other. The idea here seemed to be that Grey kept learning what Vice was going to do and eventually caught her, which even played into the end as Vice went for one big shot too many and got caught. Grey gets her win to become the new star of the division while Vice can move on to the main roster. Not bad at all.

Grey celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. There were good parts to this but it felt like an extended version of the weekly show, especially with the backstage segments. The ending was the only part that really felt important, with the NXT Title match just kind of being there. It liked it well enough and you can only get so annoyed at a show that airs on free television, but not my favorite overall. This was a show that could have benefited from being trimmed down, perhaps by dropping the Shuggars/Lennox and Hill/Angels matches. Either way, good enough but it could have been a lot stronger with another draft of the format.

Results
Tony D’Angelo b. Naraku – Dead To Rites
Zaria b. Tatum Paxley – F5
Shiloh Hill b. Tristan Angels – Whisper Of The Beast
Wren Sinclair b. Arianna Grace – Final Wrench
Saquon Shuggars b. Dion Lennox – Top rope splash
Myles Borne b. Tavion Heights – Borne Again
Kendal Grey b. Lola Vice – Middle rope Shades Of Grey

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Well we’re back with the Great American Bash, thankfully without the country music concerts that Dusty Rhodes would throw in back in the 80s. These NXT events are now following the same format as the main roster pay per views so we only have five matches this time. As usual, we have mostly title matches with a fifth match being about a grudge, though it’s only so interesting in the first place. Let’s get to it.

Saquon Shuggars vs. Dion Lennox

Darkstate explodes in the only non-title match on the show and I’m not sure how interesting that really is. The problem is that Darkstate felt like second cousin twice removed of the Shield, Retribution and the Nexus, which isn’t much of a compliment. Lennox is pretty much the de facto leader so Shuggars taking out the other two in order to get to him is as good as it’s going to get.

While Lennox needs the win more, I’ll go with Shuggars winning here, hopefully to kill off Darkstate for good. The team hasn’t been interesting in a long time now and there is pretty much no reason for them to continue. Lennox isn’t great either but he’s at least treated like something important so he should have something after this match. I’m really not sure I see it with Shuggars either, but he’s the better pick here.

Women’s Speed Title: Wren Sinclair(c) vs. Arianna Grace

So yeah this title is still a thing and I really could go for it not being such a thing. There is no need for the women’s division to have three titles, especially one like the Speed Title which still feels like a weird novelty. Sinclair is injured coming in but even a less than great Sinclair is still incredibly entertaining. The other two are a bit less thrilling, though they could both leave as champion.

I’ll take…actually I’ll take Grace to win here, as Sinclair could do a few different things without it while Grace is someone who could get a long way while being the undeserving champion. Hopefully Sinclair gets the chance to do something better when she’s healthy, but the Speed Title isn’t doing much for her anyway. Grace is almost a Honky Tonk Man style champion and that could work well for something like the Speed Title. Grace wins here and hopefully lives down to expectations as a result.

Women’s Title: Lola Vice(c) vs. Kendal Grey

Now this is more interesting as we have the established champion in Vice and the up and coming star in Grey. It is pretty clear that Grey is going to be a big deal in NXT and likely win the title at least once during her time in NXT. The question is does that happen here, because Vice is someone who has been a big star for a long time now and it might be a surprise to see her drop the title here.

As much as I want to say Grey wins the title, I don’t think it happens here as Vice retains the title. This is the title match that I could see going either way and it would not surprise me whatsoever to see Grey become champion. Vice feels like a big star though and there are a variety of women waiting to come after the title. The match should be good as Grey knows how to play the underdog, but ultimately she comes up short. I think. Maybe.

North American Title: Myles Borne(c) vs. Tavion Heights

So here we have something of a personal grudge match, as they were teammates in the No Quarter Catch Crew but both have gone their own way. Borne has done a good bit better than Heights thus far though and that is not ok with Heights, who wants a win of his own. That is how title matches can go a lot of the time and hopefully it winds up working out here, as this could be a good match.

While I could see Heights winning (and I would approve of it as I’ve been a fan for a bit now), Borne winning can leave him to go after some other, bigger named challengers. The match itself should be good as you have an Olympic wrestler in Heights and someone who knows how to wrestle an exciting match in Borne. Throw in the personal issue and it should work, even with Borne retaining.

NXT Title: Tony D’Angelo(c) vs. Naraku

I’ve been trying to get into D’Angelo as champion and it’s just not quite working. D’Angelo has come a long way since his ridiculously goofy days as a mob don. He’s a star in NXT and has the lineage, but that doesn’t mean he’s the right choice to be the top star. On the other hand you have Naraku, who certainly has his own legacy, even if it isn’t in NXT thus far. It’s kind of a weird pairing for a title match but it might be what needs to happen.

I’ll go with Naraku winning here, as he’s a bigger star and someone who should be able to get put into the title picture rather quickly. Go with Naraku winning here, though I’m not sure where that leaves D’Angelo. I can’t picture him going to the main roster but what in the world does he have left in NXT? Either way, Naraku needs to win so the experiment can end, as it doesn’t seem to be working here.

Overall Thoughts

As has been the case with a lot of these bigger NXT events in recent months, nothing really feels like a big match. On the other hand though, nothing feels unimportant and that’s a great thing to see. The show should be fine and NXT has done a good job of making me want to see a lot of mostly new names fight, which isn’t the easiest trick to pull off. Some of these matches should be rather entertaining and if they throw in a twist or two, it rather well could be a nice night.

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

It’s that good.

https://411mania.com/wrestling/halls-wcw-great-american-bash-1989-review/

Great American Bash 2025
Date: July 12, 2025
Location: Center Stage, Atlanta, Georgia
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T., Corey Graves

It’s another big show and we have an interesting lineup here, with three title matches and some grudge matches to fill out the card. The (likely) main event will see Yoshiki Inamura challenging Oba Femi for the NXT Title. Other than that, Ricky Saints is challenging Ethan Page for the North American Title in a falls count anywhere match. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks back at the history of the Great American Bash, including some footage of the first Bash from 40 years ago. Tonight, the tradition continues and we look at the card.

Maybe it’s the camera angle but the ring looks a bit smaller than usual.

Jasper Troy vs. Je’Von Evans

Troy has been bullying Evans, who is coming in with bad ribs. Evans hits him in the face to start and is quickly knocked down, with Troy sending him to the apron. A jump over the post gets Evans out of trouble and he comes back with a dropkick. They crash out to the floor and Evans is sent into various hard objects to make the ribs much worse. Back in and Troy grinds away but Evans gets in a few right hands.

That just earns him a slam on the ribs, only for Troy to miss an elbow. For some reason Evans tries a German suplex, which doesn’t work in the slightest. Instead Troy backbreakers and then tosses him down for a big crash. A seated abdominal stretch goes on but Evans gets up and hits him in the face. Evans kicks him in the face and tries a springboard but the ribs give out.

Troy misses a Vader Bomb and Evans unloads on Troy in the corner, even managing to get him to his knees. Some kicks to the face rock Troy and Evans slips out of a chokeslam. The German suplex doesn’t work again, with commentary again wondering why Evans went there. The springboard high crossbody does work this time, only for Troy to block a springboard cutter.

Evans’ running flip kick to the head gets two and he sends Troy to the floor for the big no hands dive. Back in and Evans seems to slip a bit on a springboard but he’s fine enough to finally get the German suplex. A frog splash gets two on Troy and you can hear the crowd being surprised. Troy is back up with the chokeslam but Evans reverses the Black Hole Slam into a rollup for the pin at 13:40.

Rating: B-. This was slow to start but once Evans started fighting back and swinging away, it got really good in a hurry. There is something about watching a smaller guy fight back against a bully that works every time and it was certainly working here. Good opener here, as they told a solid story and Evans gets a really big win. They might not want to job Troy any more for a bit though, as a monster who loses a lot isn’t a great visual.

Jaida Parker is ready for the battle royal at Evolution.

Stacks is ready to end the D’Angelo Family for good on Tuesday. He wants to make the Heritage Cup the #1 title in NXT so he’s been trying to come after some stars, like Koko B. Ware, Logan Paul’s dad, the Situation from Jersey Shore, the A-Train or Logan Paul….’s dad. Apparently only A-Train accepted the challenge so Stacks goes to face him at the Performance Center. Apparently A-Train was hacked and it wasn’t him. A-Train tells him to keep his head on a swivel…because someone has stolen the cup. Hokey smoke that actually went somewhere.

Zaria and Sol Ruca are ready to win this weekend. Darkstate hacks the video for a bit but doesn’t say anything.

Women’s North American Title: Izzi Dame vs. Sol Ruca

Ruca is defending and has Zaria in her corner, while Tatum Paxley is here with Dame. Paxley slaps Zaria at the bell and they go to the floor, allowing Dame to hit a quick Sky High. The referee is on the floor with the other two though, meaning Dame only gets a VERY delayed two. Ruca is back up with a dropkick to send Dame outside, setting up the running hurricanrana off the apron.

Back in and Ruca hammers away in the corner but Dame is back with a gutbuster to take over. A backbreaker keeps Ruca down and a clothesline gives Dame two. The chinlock is broken up but Dame absolutely blasts her with a big boot for two more. Ruca hits a clothesline and a quick Backstabber to send Dame outside. A step up middle rope step up moonsault drops Dame again, followed by a springboard Buckshot Lariat (which didn’t look great) for two.

Dame knocks her off the top though and hits a middle rope Codebreaker for two. They both go up top again, with Ruca grabbing a super X Factor. A belly to back faceplant gives Dame two but Ruca catches her with a superkick. Ruca flips out of a belly to back superplex though and hits a spear for two more. Dame is sent outside for a meeting with Paxley, who gets speared in half by Zaria (that looked GREAT). Back in and the Sol Snatcher retains the title at 11:45.

Rating: B. These two were beating the fire out of each other and it made for a heck of a match. I wasn’t expecting them to go this hard but it wound up being a lot better than I was expecting. The Sol Snatcher is still an awesome looking finisher and Zaria’s spear to to Paxley was a heck of a bonus.

We look at Lola Vice at a AAA show.

Blake Monroe is doing her makeup while Jordynne Grace warms up.

We recap Ricky Saints challenging Ethan Page for the North American Title. Page took the title from Saints, who wants both the belt and revenge. Saints won a gauntlet match to earn the rematch and the right to pick the stipulation, which will be falls count anywhere and anything goes.

North American Title: Ethan Page vs. Ricky Saints

Page is defending in what is basically a hardcore match. Saints slugs away during the entrances and hits a spear to send Page bailing out to the floor. Back up and Page tosses him over the barricade so they can fight into the crowd. Something like Old School along the barricade has Page in more trouble and they go back stage. Page drive shim into a pillar and grabs a Boston crab to stay on the back.

That’s broken up and Ego’s Edge into the pillar is escaped, allowing Saints to put him through a WWE Shop table. They head back into the arena with Page sending him into the steps and throwing a chair inside. Another chair shot misses though and Page hits him in the back with a fire extinguisher. A piece of the barricade is brought inside but Page slams him off the top.

Page slams him onto the tops of a pair of open chairs, followed by a suplex into the barricade for two. The chairs are set up again but Saints blocks a superplex, setting up a powerbomb to send Page through the tables for two. They go back stage again, with Saints using a pipe to dropkick him down.

Some flip flop shots to the back have Page in trouble but Saints bumps into Jasper Troy, who Black Hole Slams him onto an anvil case. They’re quickly back to ringside, where Page is backdropped onto the ramp. Saints uses the referee (yep) for a tornado DDT onto the stage for two. Roshambo is blocked though and Ego’s Edge off the stage through some tables (that looked AMAZING) retains the title at 14:50.

Rating: B-. Outstanding looking ending aside, this was your usual weapons based brawl, which was only going to be so interesting. They do get some points for doing some innovative stuff, but it feels like I’ve seen so many of these things before. Not bad at all, though I’m surprised Saints lost here. Maybe he’s going to the main roster, though he might have to deal with Jasper Troy first.

Luca Crusifino is ready for the biggest match of his life.

It’s time for the contract signing for the TNA World Title match at Slammiversary between Mike Santana, Trick Williams and Joe Hendry. Santana talks about how he doesn’t take moments like these lightly. He is ready to show what it means, which is what Williams used to do. Now though, Williams is all sizzle but no steak. Santana respects Hendry but he’s ready to throw hands with him to get the title.

Santana signs, allowing Hendry to talk about how he wants to bring TNA to new heights as only he can. Hendry says Williams will be behind enemy lines next week and Hendry is taking the title back. With Hendry signing as well, Williams says he wants some respect on his name.

Williams says this isn’t about making people believe or making promises to Santana’s daughter (Santana doesn’t like that). He’s ready to keep the title and signs as well but Hendry cuts him off from leaving. Hendry and Santana agree that they don’t like Williams so they put him through the table. Cue Darkstate to lay out Hendry and Santana as the random attacks continue.

Kelani Jordan wants to win the Evolution battle royal.

Tony D’Angelo recaps the history of his Family, which he’s ready to end on Tuesday. Stacks is going to come in a bit light though, because D’Angelo has the Heritage Cup…which he throws off a bridge.

Josh Briggs gives Yoshiki Inamura a pep talk.

NXT Title: Yoshiki Inamura vs. Oba Femi

Inamura, with Josh Briggs, is challenging. They trade shoulders to start with Inamura getting the better of things and knocking Femi outside. A running shoulder off the apron drops Femi again but he knocks Inamura down to take over. Back in and Femi starts in on the ribs, with a gutbuster getting two. Inamura fights back and manages to win a battle of the suplexes.

A German suplex brings Femi down again but the top rope splash misses. The referee gets bumped in the corner so Briggs hits Femi with the title. Inamura didn’t seem to notice as he backdrops Femi and goes up, but then realizes what happened. He doesn’t want it that way and climbs down, setting up a running headbutt to Femi.

The top rope splash connects but there’s no referee. Briggs tries to send in a chain but Inamura won’t use it, allowing Femi to grab a chokeslam for two. Inamura fights back and hits a lifting powerbomb but Briggs gets on the apron. Femi sends them into each other and hits the Fall From Grace to retain at 13:16.

Rating: B+. They followed a simple formula here, with two big bruisers beating the fire out of each other until one of them couldn’t get up anymore. The Briggs stuff feels like it is leading to a split with Inamura and that’s about all Briggs has to do. This was pretty much Inamura’s best match in NXT to date and one of Femi’s best so we’ll call this a big success.

Lash Legend is ready to win the Evolution battle royal.

Trick Williams comes in to see Ava, who isn’t happy with what happened with Darkstate. Why did Williams leave when Darkstate showed up? Williams has no idea, but Ava puts him in a six man tag with Joe Hendry and Mike Santana against Darkstate. Williams: “Aw h*** nah!”

Yoshiki Inamura comes up to Oba Femi in the back and apologizes for what Josh Briggs did. It’s ok with Femi, who says Inamura deserves a rematch but Briggs storms in and yells at Femi. Shoving ensues, with Briggs saying he’ll fix this on Tuesday.

We recap Jordynne Grace and Blake Monroe vs. Fatal Influence. Jacy Jayne is the shocking champion and Grace wants to take the title. Monroe debuted a few weeks ago and was jumped by Fatal Influence, setting up the tag match with Monroe and Grace as the oddball team.

Fatal Influence vs. Jordynne Grace/Blake Monroe

Grace kicks away at Henley to start and powers her over with a suplex. Monroe comes in to drop Jayne before catapulting Grace onto Henley (after fixing Grace’s hair of course). Back up and Monroe is taken into the wrong corner, which doesn’t last long as she’s right back to Grace. The chase is on outside, where Jayne cuts Grace off with a big boot.

Back in and Grace gets double teamed in the corner, followed by Jayne’s basement superkick knocking her silly again. A Death Valley Driver out of the corner plants Henley though and the tag brings Monroe back in to clean house. Monroe can’t hit a powerbomb on the apron but she can headbutt Henley back inside. Grace tags herself in and powerbombs Henley, with Monroe decking Jayne during the two count.

Henley is sent to the ramp as Grace skins the cat, only for Henley to give her a big spear. Jazmyn Nyx offers a distraction but here is TNA Knockouts Champion Masha Slamovich to cut her off. A double shot to the face drops Monroe, with Grace diving in for the save. Back up and they all slug it out until Grace and Henley go outside. Jayne superkicks Monroe and rolls her up for two but Grace elbows Jayne into a double arm DDT to give Monroe the pin at 16:31.

Rating: B-. Kind of a weird choice for a main event here, but in theory this was promoting Evolution more than anything else. Monroe looked fine out there in her in-ring debut, with anything she does in the ring as a bonus compared to her incredible charisma. Grace is ready for the title match, though it would seem to have been the perfect place for her to pin the champion. Points for not being entirely predictable though.

Overall Rating: B+. Another pretty awesome show here with no bad matches and few rather good ones throughout. It didn’t feel like a must see show but it’s one where you’ll have a nice time if you watched. If nothing else, it was over at about two and a half hours so it isn’t even a long sit. Throw in some building towards next week and it was a rather nice Saturday afternoon.

Results
Je’Von Evans b. Jasper Troy – Rollup
Sol Ruca b. Izzi Dame – Sol Snatcher
Ethan Page b. Ricky Saints – Ego’s Edge off the stage
Oba Femi b. Yoshiki Inamura – Fall From Grace
Blake Monroe/Jordynne Grace b. Fatal Influence – Double arm DDT to Jayne

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

NXT
Date: July 30, 2024
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

It’s the first night of the Great American Bash and oddly enough the card isn’t exactly stacked. There are some title matches, but only one of them feels like a big time showdown. Other than that, we have a contract signing for next week’s NXT Title match and the Women’s Tag Team Champions are here for a guest spot. Oh and Joe Hendry is giving a concert. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Hank Walker and Tank Ledger break into the Performance Center to host the show. This involves hacking a security system, dodging lasers and crawling through a dark room.

Women’s Tag Team Titles: Meta Four vs. Isla Dawn/Alba Fyre

Meta Four is challenging. It’s a brawl before the bell to start fast and Jackson is sent into the wrong corner. Fyre sends her into the buckle for two and a double suplex connects as well. Legend is back up to clean house and we take an early break. Back with Jackson hitting an enziguri, allowing the diving tag off to Legend.

A chokeslam gets two on Dawn but Fyre gets in a cheap shot from the apron to cut her off. That doesn’t last long though as it’s a wheelbarrow faceplant/cutter combination for to on Dawn with Fyre making the save. Back up and the Evil Touch to Jackson retains the titles at 7:52.

Rating: C+. The problem here is Jade Cargill and Bianca Belair are getting a title match on Smackdown, which was talked about extensively throughout this match. If I already know they’re getting the shot, it make it kind of difficult to buy a title change here. That being said, Legend’s pretty incredible transformation continues, as she is turning into a more impressive star every time she is out there.

Post match here is Ethan Page to mock Oro Mensah and promise he won’t win the NXT Title next week. Mensah pins him again.

Cedric Alexander is teaching some young wrestlers when Shawn Spears interrupts to talk about Brooks Jensen. Cue Jensen to argue but Spears holds him out.

Tavion Heights is ready for Tony D’Angelo.

Tony D’Angelo is ready for Tavion Heights.

Pete Dunne talks about Sheamus walking away from the Brawling Brutes so now he’s going to create havoc. He’ll start next week with Trick Williams.

Heritage Cup: Tavion Heights vs. Tony D’Angelo

D’Angelo is defending and their respective associates are here too. Round One begins with some grappling with Heights, the former Olympic wrestler taking over with a fireman’s carry. D’Angelo is back up with a headlock before switching to a leglock as the round ends. Here is Wren Sinclair to watch and we take a break. Back with D’Angelo hitting a superplex but time expires.

Round Three begins with D’Angelo hitting Forget About It for the pin at 28 seconds of the round and 8:13 overall. Round Four begins with Sinclair yelling at Heights, which is enough for Heights to grab the belly to belly and tie it up at 23 seconds of the round and 9:04 overall. Round Five begins with Heights getting two off a gutwrench suplex. Heights misses a charge into the ropes though and D’Angelo hits back to back spinebusters to retain at 1:39 of the round and 11:09 overall.

Rating: C+. You kind of know what you’re getting with these things and that was the case again here. Heights was a fine choice for a one off challenger but D’Angelo is going to be on to bigger and better opponents. They didn’t spend too long on this and what we got was good enough for a title defense.

Fallon Henley, Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx don’t like the new generation so the tag match is set for tonight.

Brooks Jensen vs. Cedric Alexander

Joined in progress Jensen charging into a boot in the corner and being knocked outside. Alexander hits a big dive but Jensen kicks him in the face to take over. A running shoulder in the Tree Of Woe gives Jensen two and we hit the chinlock. Back up and Alexander snaps off a suplex into a Michinoku river for two. Jensen knocks him off the top and a guillotine legdrop gets two. They head outside with Jensen dropping him onto the announcers’ table. The dive misses though and Alexander grabs the Lumbar Check to win at 4:47 shown.

Rating: C. As has been the case, the problem with Jensen boils down to him only being so interesting in the first place. It’s one thing if he starts winning matches like he did against Josh Briggs, but seeing him lose more often than not is taking away what little status he has. The match wasn’t anything noteworthy either, which isn’t helping Jensen’s case in the slightest.

Je’Von Evans talks about growing up watching wrestling and knowing he needed to do this.

Joe Hendry flirts with some women before his concert but then has to leave. Ashante Thee Adonis comes in to take care of the women.

The Rascalz re confused by being on a Tuesday but want the Tag Team Titles back.

Here is Joe Hendry for his concert, with the fans singing his theme song. Hendry’s song is about how he makes things better, how Booker T is a big fan, and how Gallus has bad facial hair. Hendry is ready for an encore but here is Gallus to interrupt. They didn’t like the song and Hendry is quickly beaten down. It continues to amuse me that Hendry is more or less a full on character around here despite still being a part of TNA (which was barely mentioned here, if at all).

Hank Walker and Tank Ledger annoy Roxanne Perez.

Ava is overseeing the contract signing between Ethan Page and Oro Mensah for next week. They bicker and both sign, with Mensah promising to win the title. Very short and to the point here.

Kendal Grey vs. Jaida Parker

OTM is here with Parker. Grey takes her down by the arm to start and is back up with a middle rope crossbody for two. Parker sends her into the corner though and drops her ribs first across the top rope. The seated abdominal stretch doesn’t last long as Grey fights up…and here are Miles Borne and Wren Sinclair. Grey takes Borne down and grabs an Angle Slam for two on Parker. Back up and another distraction lets Parker get in a gordbuster into a running hip attack for the pin at 4:02.

Rating: C+. Grey was trying here and they’re giving her something with the Borne stuff, but she still needs something more than “here’s another pretty rookie with an athletic background.” There are a lot of them on the roster and Grey isn’t standing out just yet. Parker on the other hand still feels like a star in the making and I could go for seeing her get a chance to show what she can do.

Chase U fires up Thea Hail.

Axiom is talking to the LWO about Speed when Ava comes in with a contract for a title match with the Rascalz. Axiom signs but Nathan Frazier isn’t happy with not being asked about it. Oh well.

Jacy Jayne/Jazmyn Nyx/Fallon Henley vs. Sol Ruca/Karmen Petrovic/Lola Vice

Henley takes Ruca down to start and surfs on her back, only for Ruca to come back with an X Factor and surfing of her own. Petrovic comes in to knock Nyx down, setting up a running basement Blockbuster. Vice comes in and gets rolled up to give Jayne two, only to come back with a spinebuster for two.

It’s back To Petrovic for a double shoulder and the villains are knocked to the floor. The series of dives take them down again and we take a break. Back with Vice getting the tag to clean house and Ruca hitting a springboard flipping double clothesline. Henley is left alone with Ruca, who hits a fireman’s carry into a powerbomb for two.

Jayne is back in with a cutter out of the corner and Nyx’s PerfectPlex gets two to leave everyone down. Nyx kicks away at Ruca but it’s back to Petrovic for the clothesline comeback. A Pele kick gets Nyx out of trouble though and Henley comes in with something like a belly to back suplex flipped into a cutter for the pin on Petrovic at 12:55.

Rating: B. Where the heck did that come from? This felt like it was going to be just another six person tag and they gave it everything they had and put on a pretty rocking match. This was FAR better than I would have expected with hard work from everyone and some great action. Good stuff here and the feud is likely going to continue for a bit.

Kelani Jordan doesn’t want to play with Tatum Paxley and her dolls. And she doesn’t know why Wendy Choo is behind them.

Joe Hendry is sick of Gallus’ jealousy so he’s going to take out Joe Coffey next week.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Women’s Title: Roxanne Perez vs. Thea Hail

Hail, with Chase U, is challenging and goes for some early rollups to start. The threat of the Kimura sends Perez to the ropes before she has to flip out of an anklescissors. Perez bails to the floor and Hail hits a middle rope moonsault as we take a break. Back with Hail hitting a DDT to leave both of them down.

The World’s Smallest Slam sets up a missed backsplash so Perez grabs the crossface. Hail bails out to the floor but Perez argues with Chase U, allowing Hail to get in a dive. A Michinoku Driver gives Hail two but Perez goes after the arm. Pop Rox is countered into a backslide for two and the Kimura goes on, with Perez reversing into the crossface. That’s powered into a Samoan drop and the springboard backsplash gets two for an awesome sequence.

Perez goes for the eye but gets sent shoulder first into the post. The Kimura goes on again, with Perez getting to the ropes and out to the floor. Hail gets rammed into the steps and the crossface goes on again, only to be reversed back into the Kimura. That’s reversed into the crossface again so Hail goes for the ropes, leaving Perez to switch to Pop Rox to retain at 11:21.

Rating: B+. When an awesome sequence takes up almost half of the match, it stops being a sequence and turns into a good portion of what you’re seeing. This was the best thing on the show as they were showing some great chemistry together and had me wondering if Hail was going to get the miracle upset. Perez was more than carrying her side here too and it made for a great main event. Giulia and/or Stephanie Vaquer are probably waiting on Perez, but this made her feel more ready for either of them.

Overall Rating: B. This started slowly and felt like it was an only slightly bigger than normal show before the last two matches blew away all of my expectations. Those matches carried the show and the concert was a funny enough moment as well. I’m not sure this needed to be a two week special, but I wasn’t overly excited about this one and they really surprised me with how good it wound up being. Solid show this week, with the women carrying things.

Results
Isla Dawn/Alba Fyre b. Meta Four – Evil Touch to Jackson
Tony D’Angelo b. Tavion Heights 2-1
Cedric Alexander b. Brooke Jensen – Lumbar Check
Jaida Parker b. Kendal Grey – Running hip attack
Fallon Henley/Jazmyn Nyx/Jacy Jayne b. Sol Ruca/Karmen Petrovic/Lola Vice – Flipping cutter to Petrovic
Roxanne Perez b. Thea Hail – Pop Rox

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Great American Bash 2008
Date: July 20, 2008
Location: Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Attendance: 12,454
Commentators: Jim Ross, Mick Foley, Michael Cole, Jerry Lawler, Tazz, Mike Adamle

We’re wrapping up the period before the Summerslam build here and the card is one sided to put it mildly. The Smackdown side is pretty much Edge challenging HHH for the Smackdown World Title, plus a four way Tag Team Title match. On the other side, Raw has John Cena vs. JBL in a parking lot fight, CM Punk defending the Raw World Title against Batista and Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho in a grudge match. Let’s get to it.

The opening video looks at Vickie Guerrero and Edge’s wedding, plus HHH revealing that Edge cheated on her the night before to end Smackdown. The other big matches get some attention of their own.

Smackdown Tag Team Titles: Edgeheads vs. Miz/John Morrison vs. Finlay/Hornswoggle vs. Jesse and Festus

Miz and Morrison are defending and it’s one fall to a finish. Festus clears the ring as tends to be his custom before Hornswoggle comes in for a stare…uh, up. Hornswoggle rolls up his sleeves but opts to dive onto Miz and Morrison instead. We settle down to Jesse monkey flipping Miz and knocking him down again for two. Festus beats on Miz as well before handing it off to Finlay. Morrison comes in and actually takes over on Finlay before bringing Miz back in for a chinlock.

It’s back to Morrison for his own chinlock as JR continues his Morrison to Rick Rude comparisons. Finlay fights up and double legs Miz down before doing the same thing to beat on Morrison. They collide in the corner so Ryder tags himself in to hammer Finlay down. The neck crank doesn’t last long on Finlay so Hawkins comes in to keep Finlay in trouble.

The Celtic Cross hits Hawkins and a shillelagh shot gets two, with Miz and Morrison making the save. Hawkins grabs a chinlock but Finlay is back up again, this time getting over to Hornswoggle to pick up the pace. Jesse tags himself in just as fast though and the fans are not pleased with the lack of Hornswoggle. Hawkins comes back in for a cheap shot on Hornswoggle but it’s back to Festus to really clean house. Miz and Morrison are sent outside and Hawkins breaks up the Rocket Launcher to pin Jesse and win the titles.

Rating: C+. It was a fast paced opener with a bunch of moving parts but they managed to keep the focus on just a few people at a time until the ending. Hawkins and Ryder winning the titles is the right way to go as Miz and Morrison have gotten everything they can out of them and La Familia is still the biggest thing on Smackdown. Give the team some more gold, as it’s not like Jesse and Festus or Hornswoggle/Finlay are worth anything.

US Title: Matt Hardy vs. Shelton Benjamin

Hardy is defending and is quickly taken to the mat to start. A small package gives Hardy two as well as a breather but Benjamin is right back with a headlock. That’s reversed into an armbar as they’re certainly starting slowly. Benjamin sends him to the apron for a ram into the post, setting up the armbar back inside. A gutbuster sets up the seated abdominal stretch as commentary talks about Benjamin’s aggression, despite there being nothing to suggest it exists here.

Hardy fights up and tries a Side Effect but gets planted with something like an STO. Back up and Hardy blocks Paydirt to start the comeback and hits the bulldog out of the corner. Hardy’s middle rope hurricanrana is countered into a heck of a buckle bomb and they’re both down. A Side Effect gives Hardy two but the moonsault…I think it was supposed to hit knees but Hardy overshot it anyway. Paydirt gives Benjamin the pin and the title.

Rating: C. The match was far from bad, but it wasn’t exactly thrilling, as it came off as more of a house show match. The ending didn’t help things either as commentary had to scramble to cover Hardy missing. It’s not like hardy was doing anything with the title anyway so switching it over to Benjamin works as well as anything else.

We see an interview from Monday, with CM Punk talking about how he’s always been the underdog. It’s not about your size or muscle and he’s in the business of proving everyone wrong, which is what he’s always done.

We look at HHH revealing that Edge cheated on Vickie Guerrero the day before their wedding.

ECW Title: Mark Henry vs. Tommy Dreamer

Henry is defending and has Tony Atlas in his corner while Dreamer has Colin Delaney. Dreamer charges at him and is quickly shoved into the corner, with Henry throwing him around again for a bonus. A hard clothesline puts Dreamer down again and Henry steps on his head as a few BORING chants start up.

Henry works on the arm (which is code for he leans over and grabs the wrist), Dreamer fights up, Henry takes him down and works on the arm again. The splash misses though and Dreamer hits the basement dropkick but has to escape the World’s Strongest Slam. The DDT puts Henry down and Dreamer goes up for no apparent reason, allowing Delaney to pull him down. Henry hits the World’s Strongest Slam to retain.

Rating: D+. This was a good example of everything that is wrong with ECW. First of all, there was no reason to believe Dreamer was going to take the title. He hasn’t been nearly that important for a long time now and it wasn’t going to change here. Second, the Delaney turn doesn’t mean much as he’s a loser who didn’t exactly become a star when he was with Dreamer. Third, the match was really boring, which is quite ECW in a lot of ways. Rather dull stuff here and by far the worst thing on the show.

We recap Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels, and thank goodness as the show needs it. Jericho claimed Michaels is a hypocrite (and was kind of right) and then took out his eye. Now Michaels is back for revenge and to prove that no matter what Jericho does, Michaels will always be better.

Shawn Michaels vs. Chris Jericho

They lock up to start and thankfully drop that in all of two seconds to start hitting each other in the face. Shawn gets the better of things with some chops and knocks Jericho into the corner before going after the leg. The reverse Figure Four has Jericho in early trouble but he’s in the ropes pretty quickly. Shawn stays on the leg and the referee stops things for a second to check on Jericho in the corner.

Jericho is fine enough to send Shawn over the corner and out to the apron, with Shawn favoring his back. The knee is fine enough to hit a triangle dropkick out to the floor before Jericho takes him inside for a double arm crank. With that broken up, Jericho dives into an atomic drop and Shawn drops him with the flying forearm. Shawn nips up but Jericho pulls him straight into the Walls, which is counter you don’t see very often.

This time Shawn makes the rope so Jericho loads up the bulldog, only to get dropped with a clothesline for two. The top rope elbow is broken up but Shawn wins a fight on top and now the elbow connects. Cue Lance Cade to break up the superkick but Shawn blocks the Codebreaker. They slug it out again until Shawn hiptosses him out onto Cade for the big crash. Naturally Shawn is right there with a moonsault onto the two of them and everyone is down again.

Back in and Shawn’s bad eye is busted open, with commentary not being sure when it was cut. Naturally Jericho goes right after the eye and knocks him into the ropes, where Cade gets in the cheap shot. The very bloody Shawn manages to pull him into a crossface but Jericho pulls him into the buckle for the violent escape. The referee wants to stop it but Shawn begs him not to, meaning Jericho is right back on the eye. Shawn is COVERED in blood and does the “pull myself up on the other guy’s tights” spot, only to have Jericho punch him down again and hammer away….until the referee finally stops it.

Rating: B+. This took some time to get going but there is almost no one better than Shawn at making you think he was dying in front of your eyes. Shawn was trying to fight and was still in there until the injury flared up again, along with Cade offering the distraction. This felt like the big middle piece in a bigger story and they pulled me in with the emotion and hatred. Awesome match and we’re almost certainly not done yet.

We get the emotional exit for Shawn, who has to be helped out.

Edge is really not pleased with HHH for violating his privacy and taking away his personal life. All Edge has left is his professional life and tonight, he will be extra dangerous.

Divas Title: Michelle McCool vs. Natalya

For the inaugural title but commentary is to busy talking about Edge/Vickie Guerrero. They grapple to the mat to start as commentary compares McCool to softball star Jennie Finch. Natalya wheelbarrow drops her throat first over the top to take over and we hit the surfboard to stay on McCool’s….well various parts. McCool powers out so Natalya switches to the Sharpshooter. That’s broken up as well and this time McCool pulls her into the heel hook for the title.

Rating: C-. These two were in the death slot as there was almost no way they were going to be able to follow the previous match. It doesn’t help that the match was almost a Natalya squash until McCool got in her one hold for the win. It’s rather nice for the women on Smackdown to have something to do, but they could use some more blood in the division or it is going to turn old fast.

Post match here is Chris Jericho to interrupt, saying you need to save your ticket stubs because this is the night of Shawn Michaels’ last match. Shawn has a detached retina and that means his career is over. It shows that the good guys win and the wicked are punished and the worst has finally come for Shawn. Jericho was feeling the evil here and it worked.

We recap CM Punk defending the World Title against Batista. Punk won Money In The Bank and used it to become champion, meaning he needs to prove himself worthy. Batista doesn’t seem to be overly intimidated so Punk is extra motivated.

Raw World Title: Batista vs. CM Punk

Punk is defending and we go old school with a weapons check. Batista powers him around to start and Punk realizes he might need another plan. Some kicks to the legs slow Batista down but he elbows Punk in the face to cut him off. An enziguri knocks Batista outside and Punk follows him outside with a suicide dive.

Back in and Punk strikes away, only to be run over to give Batista two. The camel clutch goes on to keep Punk in trouble, which is broken up as camel clutches tend to be. Punk gets up a shot to the face in the corner and hits a high crossbody for two. The Batista Bomb is countered but a powerslam isn’t, meaning Punk has to counter the Bomb again.

Punk hits the running knee in the corner but can’t hit the GTS, instead settling for the springboard clothesline. The Anaconda Vice (been a minute since Punk used that) is broken up and Batista hits a heck of a clothesline. Batista’s charge hits the post and he falls outside, where he is able to catch a diving Punk with a spinebuster. Cue Kane to jump Batista for the DQ.

Rating: C+. They were starting to get somewhere but then just stopped for the DQ ending. This is either setting up a triple threat (erg) or Punk vs. Batista II, but Punk needs to win something on a big stage. It was bad enough that he got the title via Money In The Bank, but he’s lucky to crack the top five stars on Raw. This didn’t help things, though I guess Batista needed to be kept strong. Granted that makes me wonder why he was in the match in the first place, but I can picture Vince’s “oh it’s fine” face from here so we’ll move o.

Post match Kane lays out Punk, Batista, and a production worker. With Kane gone, Batista hits the Batista Bomb on Punk to make things even worse for the champ. Somehow this is a double DQ, despite Kane not touching Punk before the bell.

We recap John Cena vs. John Bradshaw Layfield. With Vince McMahon gone, JBL has declared martial law but Cena isn’t having it. Now they’re going to fight in a parking lot.

John Cena vs. John Bradshaw Layfield

This is taking place in the parking lot in a circle of cars and JBL shows up in his limo, fighting in most of a suit. There’s no Cena to start so JBL gets on a hood, only to have Cena pop up in another car and ram into him. Cena chokes him with a cord and then slams a car hood onto JBL’s back. Some jumper cables to the crotch set up some electrocution and JBL screams a lot.

JBL is put on another hood and Cena throws a well placed keg, only to hit windshield. With JBL trying to drive away, Cena grabs him for some rams into the horn. JBL fights back to little avail but manages to whip Cena through a car door, knocking it off the hinges. Cena gets punched off a car for two and then sent through the windshield of another for the big crash.

A crowbar shot misses for JBL and Cena slugs away but JBL sends him through a window. With nothing else working, JBL goes to grab some gasoline (with his limo rolling away) and douses one of the cars (with Cena inside). The car is lit on fire and promptly extinguished, with an annoyed looking Cena getting out. JBL goes over to a forklift but Cena is there to send him into another car.

Now Cena gets in the forklift and gores said car, only to lift it up and carry it into the arena. Commentary kicks in as Cena knocks JBL around and plants him with the ProtoBomb onto the stage. Cena loads up the FU but walks JBL over to the edge of the stage, only to take too long as JBL slips off. JBL sends him off the stage and through a windshield for the upset win.

Rating: C-. This was quite the situation and I wasn’t wild on most of it. They had a bunch of slow brawling in the back with car stuff before coming to the arena for a few minutes. JBL had to get a win of some sort but egads this means we’re going to have to hear him talk even more, which is about as painful of a thought as I can imagine. Not exactly great here, but what are you expecting from JBL?

We recap Edge vs. HHH for the latter’s Smackdown World Title. Vickie Guerrero gave Edge the title shot before their wedding but then Edge cheated on her the day before said wedding, with HHH revealing Edge’s, uh, indiscretion. Now it’s about the title, though Edge is more than a bit distracted.

HHH has no regrets over what he did.

Smackdown World Title: HHH vs. Edge

HHH is defending and we get the Big Match Intros with a weapons check. Edge charges right at him and hammers away but gets sent outside. HHH sends him outside and grabs a neck snap across the top. A ram int the buckle has Edge on the floor again but he knocks a diving HHH out of the air. Back in and Edge hits the running shoulder in the corner before sending him outside for a whip into the steps.

A drop onto the announcers’ table keeps HHH’s ribs in trouble and Edge grabs a bodyscissors back inside. HHH fights up but gets dropkicked to the apron, where he sidesteps a spear to send Edge crashing to the floor. Back in and HHH slugs away before they go outside (again) with Edge going into the post. Edge is right back up though and grabs the Impaler on the floor, which means a rather delayed cover gets two.

HHH hits his own DDT for his own two but the Pedigree is countered into the Edge-O-Matic. The spear only hits buckle but Edge’s big boot only hits HHH’s jaw, leaving them both down again. Back up and the spear is countered into the spinebuster to give HHH a much needed breather. The Pedigree is countered again, this time with a ram into the corner. Edge takes him up top for a superplex but here is wedding planner Alicia Fox to send in the title. Cue Vickie Guerrero to take Alicia down and the catfight is on in the ring. The spear hits Vickie by mistake, allowing HHH to grab the Pedigree for the pin to retain.

Rating: B. It was good but they never came close to hitting that really high level. At the same time, it didn’t help that this was more about the Vickie/Edge stuff, with the title just kind of being there on the side. These two feel like they should have had their first big match on a more important show, but at least what they got to do here did work. It just could have been a pretty good bit better.

Overall Rating: B-. This was a perfectly fine show that should have been better than it was. There were some big matches on the card and those matches worked, but the lower card stuff is completely forgettable, even with three new champions being crowned. It’s a show where things happened, but it’s not a show that felt important. Instead, it came off like a “the big one is next time”, which doesn’t make for the most enjoyable event.

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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AND

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Great American Bash 2023
Date: July 30, 2023
Location: H-E-B Center At Cedar Park, Cedar Park, Texas
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.

NXT is back on the big stage here and that is becoming a bit more common of a situation. In this case, it’s the biggest show of the summer with NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes defending the title against Ilja Dragunov in the main event. Other than that, we have the in-ring debut of Gable Steveson and Thea Hail challenging Tiffany Stratton for the Women’s Title in a submission match. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Meta Four vs. Nathan Frazer/Dragon Lee/Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz

Dar and Frazer fight over wrist control to start until Frazer snaps off a dropkick, meaning Legend comes in. Leon hits a running knee before handing it off to Feroz for a quick moonsault. Jackson faceplants her down for two and it’s Jackson coming in but getting sent into the wrong corner. Leon unloads on Jackson but Mensah tags himself in, meaning Lee can hit a running kick in the corner. A quick distraction lets Mensah take Lee down though and of course Dar is willing to come back in.

The chinlock goes on but Lee is right back up with a basement superkick for a double knockdown. Frazer comes back in to unload on Dar but Legend cuts off the big dive. Everything breaks down and Leon LAUNCHES Feroz over the top for the crash. Lee and Frazer hit dives of their own, followed by Frazer’s springboard reverse DDT.

Vic says these wrestlers embody Dusty Rhodes and….yeah not seeing it. Leon hits a missile dropkick on Lash, setting up a DDT to give Feroz two. Lee and Dar trade strikes to the head until Mensah hits a powerbomb faceplant (Big Show used to call it the Alley Oop) for two. Lee is fine enough to get back to Frazer though and it’s a springboard reverse Spanish Fly to Mensah, setting up Lee’s running Sliced Bread for the pin at 10:51.

Rating: B-. That’s about as perfect of a way as you can have to start a show, as you had eight people doing all whatever they could in the time they had. Frazer and Lee are great high fliers and they did their thing rather well. Dar can hang with just about anyone and I’m sure we’ll see more of this going forward with the double cups. Not a classic match, but a very fun opener.

The opening video focuses on Dusty Rhodes, who invented the Bash and was born here in Austin. Cody Rhodes narrates how important this is (nice touch) and we look at most of the card.

Tag Team Titles: Tony D’Angelo/Stacks vs. Gallus

Gallus, with Joe Coffey, is defending and get a video before the match, where they promise to come out on top. Mark drives Stacks into D’Angelo to start and hammers away early on. Stacks is back up and brings D’Angelo in to stomp away but Joe trips Stacks up. D’Angelo goes after Joe, allowing Wolfgang to get in a hard clothesline to put him down on the floor.

Back in and Mark sends Stacks throat first into the bottom rope so Wolfgang can grab a chinlock. With that broken up, Stacks jumps over Wolfgang and hands it back to D’Angelo to clean house. Everything breaks down and Wolfgang is punched to the floor, leaving Mark to get PowerPlexed (headbutt instead of splash) for two, with Wolfgang making the save.

Back up and Wolfgang throws Mark over the top onto D’Angelo, followed by a moonsault for two on Stacks. Joe gets on the apron and slips Wolfgang a club, which is quickly taken away. Stacks low bridges Wolfgang to the floor and D’Angelo powerbombs Mark into him. D’Angelo hiptosses Stacks onto both of them and Bada Bing finishes Wolfgang for the pin and the titles at 9:15.

Rating: B-. They didn’t have much of another choice here as Gallus was ice cold as champions and there was no reason to keep the titles on them. D’Angelo and Stacks have been chasing the belts for a bit so the win is a pretty nice moment. The match was good enough too, with Gallus’ cheating not working this time around and the titles going to the better team.

We recap Roxanne Perez vs. Blair Davenport in a Weapons Wild match. Davenport was out of action for a long time but came back as the mystery attacker who took out a bunch of the women’s division. Then she targeted Perez, who was sick and tired of being treated as an easy opponent. Perez is fired up for revenge and anything goes.

Blair Davenport vs. Roxanne Perez

Weapons Wild and anything goes, but first we see a clip of the two of them getting into it at a convention yesterday. Perez’s family is in the crowd, but so is a disguised Davenport to get in a cheap shot to start fast. Davenport takes her down on the floor and then heads inside, only to get dropped with a suicide dive. Some chair shots have Perez in trouble and what looks like a cane to the ribs puts her down on the floor.

Davenport makes sure to mock the family before putting a trashcan over Perez and unloading with the cane. Perez manages a quick chair to the ribs but Davenport hits her in the ribs with a belt. Davenport yells at the family again but Perez is back with a bull rope (with cowbell of course). The belt is tied around Davenport’s wrist so Perez can whip her into the barricade a few times.

It’s table time (because of course) but that takes a bit too long, allowing Davenport to take her down again. The chairs are stacked up but Davenport has to counter Pop Rox onto the pile. A suplex through the trashcan gets two on Perez, who is back with a Russian legsweep of all things. They’re back on the floor with Perez hitting a running knee to send her head first into the steps. A top rope splash through the table crushes Davenport, followed by Pop Rox onto the chairs for the pin at 11:50.

Rating: C+. Not a bad brawl here with both women laying it in until Perez won. They could have gone either way here but this is going to take Davenport out of the running to be the big bad of NXT for awhile. That’s not the worst idea, but Perez winning is a good way to go after she has had a rough few weeks. Other than that, it was your run of the mill hardcore match and it went well enough.

Gable Steveson vs. Baron Corbin

This is Steveson’s, an Olympic gold medal winner, debut and we get a quick look at everything he has done in WWE so far. Corbin punches him into the corner to start but Steveson leapfrogs over him and gets the ankle lock (Please no. There are going to be enough Kurt Angle comparisons already.).

Corbin gets the rope and heads outside, where Steveson gets posted. Back in and Corbin posts him shoulder first, followed by a Death Valley Driver for two. Steveson sends him into the corner but gets stomped down for his efforts. Some belly to belly suplexes drop Corbin and Steveson sends him outside. Steveson whips him into the announcers’ table…and they fight to a countout at 6:33?

Rating: C-. While this wasn’t a disaster, it’s going to leave some people saying “that’s it?” Steveson is clearly a great athlete and can do the suplexes and throws well, but this should have been a dominant start, not a match designed to set something else up for the future. Let Steveson show what he can do rather than having him sell for most of the match. Steveson is a special athlete and someone WWE is not going to get very often. This didn’t make me think he was special, but rather that he was a good athlete who wasn’t very high on the WWE totem pole. Not an awful match, but this wasn’t the right direction to take.

Post match the brawl stays on but the fans are really, really not pleased.

We look at Lyra Valkyria coming up short against Rhea Ripley but getting a show of respect after. Ripley told her to take out Jacy Jayne.

Valkyria wants more, but Jayne attacks her and the big brawl is on.

North American Title: Wes Lee vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Dominik Mysterio

Mysterio, with Rhea Ripley, is defending after taking the title from Lee a few weeks back. The other two go after Dominik to start but Rhea gets in Ali’s way, as she is known to do. Dominik tries to run but gets pulled back in by the two of them (great visual) so the double chopping in the corner can ensue.

Lee and Ali slug it out but Dominik is back in for the Three Amigos. That doesn’t work for Ali and Lee, who hit double Three Amigos in a clever spot. With Ali sent outside, Lee grabs a hurricanrana for two, with Ali’s dropkick through the ropes (cool) making the save. Ali kicks Dominik down and hits the rolling neckbreaker, setting up a Boston crab/camel clutch at the same time. That’s broken up so Ali kicks them into the ropes but a 450 only hits apron.

Dominik is knocked to the floor for a dive from Lee but Rhea blocks another. That’s fine with Lee, who dives over her to take Dominik down again (and sticks the landing). Rhea isn’t cool with that and Lee gets Riptided through the announcers’ table to give Dominik a VERY close two (Rhea freaking out on the floor is great). A belt shot gets two more but Ali breaks up the frog splash. The 450 gets two but Ripley pulls Ali out, allowing Dominik to hit the frog splash and retain at 12:05.

Rating: B. There’s a lot here and that is a good thing. First of all, it was a rather modern triple threat style, with all three working at a fast pace and the challengers trying to get the pin where they could. At the same time though you have Dominik doing his best Honky Tonk Man impression and absolutely nailing it. While he isn’t incompetent in the ring, he’s in over his head and needs Ripley to bail him out every time. That is making him an absolute heat magnet and it’s some amazing work.

Finally you have Ripley, who is more of a star than the women’s division has seen since Becky Lynch. She is the kind of person who leaves you wanting to see what she is going to do next while believing that there is nothing she can’t do. It’s a treat to get to watch her and she and Dominik together are about as perfect as it gets.

Video on Ilja Dragunov.

Trick Williams is ready for Carmelo Hayes to shut Dragunov up.

We recap Tiffany Stratton vs. Thea Hail for the Women’s Title. Stratton beat her once before, albeit after tapping behind the referee’s back. Tonight it’s a submission match, with Stratton promising to debut a new submission.

Women’s Title: Thea Hail vs. Tiffany Stratton

Stratton, with a Barbie theme, is defending in a submission match while Chase U is here with Hail. Feeling out process to start until Stratton knocks her down for an early surfboard. That doesn’t last long as Hail knocks her outside but a suicide dive is blocked. Stratton posts her to start on the back and works away back inside.

Hail avoids a charge in the corner though and grabs a suplex, only to get pulled into a bodyscissors. Back up and Hail gets in a bulldog to send Stratton outside, meaning the dive can connect this time. Stratton pulls her out of the air back inside but Hail tries the Kimura. That’s broken up with a suplex into the corner though and a Regal Roll plants Hail again.

Hail catches her on top with an exploder superplex and the Kimura goes on. Stratton uses the ropes to escape to the floor and drives Hail’s back into the apron. Back in and the Prettiest Moonsault Ever sets up a Boston crab to keep hail in a lot of trouble. Stratton cranks back on it….and Andre Chase throws in the towel at 11:45.

Rating: C+. I’m going to need to hear the explanation on this one, as it is going to be needed to boost the match up. Stratton isn’t really a submission wrestler, so while her hurting the back worked, the Boston crab really didn’t. Hail being mad at Chase over the ending could work, but it didn’t come close to building up the emotion you need from that kind of ending. I didn’t buy Hail being in that much danger and it brought things down a bit. Still good, but not what it could have been.

Dragon Lee is proud of his win earlier when he runs into Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio. Rhea calls him the wannabe Rey Mysterio, with Lee saying he would be proud to be like Rey in any way.

Schism argues about the two masked men who interfered in their match. Next week, it’s an interrogation.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

NXT Title: Ilja Dragunov vs. Carmelo Hayes

Hayes, with Trick Williams, is defending. They fight over the arm to start until Dragunov grabs a headlock. Hayes goes for the arm before hitting a springboard clothesline but Dragunov gets in a shot to the back. A German suplex drops Hayes and Dragunov kicks him in the face for a bonus. They slug it out until Dragunov rolls some German suplexes until Hayes armdrags his way out of trouble. That doesn’t work for Dragunov, who kicks him in the face and snaps off a bridging German suplex for two.

A backsplash stays on the ribs for two more and we hit the chinlock. Hayes tries to fight back and gets hit in the face for another near fall. The Constantine Special gets two and Dragunov needs a breather. Dragunov is up with the heavy forearms to the back into a cobra clutch with a bodyscissors. Hayes slips out and hits a kick to the chest, only to get kicked in the head for two more.

Back up and Hayes knocks him into the corner but Dragunov comes back with the chops. Hayes elbows his way out of trouble and a springboard DDT gets two on Dragunov. Back up and Dragunov catches him on top, setting up the top rope backsplash for two. Dragunov tries the Coast To Coast but dives into a Codebreaker (for a VERY over the top bump). Hayes goes up for Nothing But Net, which is countered into a heck of a powerbomb.

Dragunov’s running forearm to the head gets two but a top rope superplex is countered into a super cutter (that was sweet) to give Hayes two of his own. Williams grabs the title to give Hayes a pep talk and the slugout on the ground begins. The slugout sends Hayes out to the floor as the fans find this awesome. Dragunov’s dive takes out Williams by mistake but his head hits the title. That’s enough for Hayes to hit Nothing But Net to retain at 24:08.

Rating: B. This one took some time to get going, but it hit its stride once it stopped being a Dragunov squash of Hayes. They didn’t have the best chemistry, though it worked out well by the end, especially with Dragunov’s own intensity and willingness to go one more step being his downfall. Hayes didn’t look great here, but he looked good enough to get by and in some cases that’s all you need.

Overall Rating: B-. Much like the main event, this show wasn’t great but it was just good enough. One thing I like about NXT is that it never feels like they are trying to be Wrestlemania and that’s how it should be. NXT isn’t good enough to be that big and it would be foolish to try. Instead you get shows like this, where they have been built up well enough and then make the execution work. They pulled it off here and I had a good enough time with the show, especially considering it was in and out in less than two and a half hours. This is worth a look if you want something different, so consider it if you have the chance.

Results
Dragon Lee/Nathan Frazer/Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz b. Meta Four – Standing Sliced Bread to Mensah
Tony D’Angelo/Stacks b. Gallus – Bada Bing to Wolfgang
Roxanne Perez b. Blair Davenport – Pop Rox onto a pile of chairs
Baron Corbin vs. Gable Steveson went to a double countout
Dominik Mysterio b. Wes Lee and Mustafa Ali – Frog splash to Lee
Tiffany Stratton b. Thea Hail when Andre Chase threw in the towel
Carmelo Hayes b. Ilja Dragunov – Nothing But Net

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NXT is back on the road as these trips are starting to be a big more frequent. This time the show is around Austin, Texas and we have a pretty strong card. The main event will see NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes defending against Ilja Dragunov, which should make for a big fight feel. Other than that we have a lot of title matches, including Dominik Mysterio in action, so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Dragon Lee/Nathan Frazer/Yulisa Leon/Valentina Feroz vs. Meta Four

Now this is how you Kickoff Show, as it’s one match with a lot of people running around, which should make for a nice way to get the crowd going. I’ve never been a big fan of the giant Kickoff Shows with multiple matches, especially when the show itself is only seven matches. This is a feud that has been going on rather quietly but could make for a good start to the night.

While the Meta Four winning seems like the more logical way to go, I’m rarely a fan of starting things off with a heel winning so we’ll go with Lee and company getting the pin. The good thing about an eight person tag is there will be someone there who can take a fall without getting hurt to keep the feud going. This should be a relatively light match and that’s how a show should start, including with the villains losing.

Baron Corbin vs. Gable Steveson

After nearly two years of waiting, Steveson FINALLY makes his in-ring debut, even if it might be one of his only matches before he heads back to amateur wrestling. This is a good example of a match that needs to be a degree of difficulty of five (or less) and an execution of ten rather than the other way around. Steveson needs to look crisp and effective rather than trying to do something too complicated and falling on his face. If he can do that, this will be a success.

And yes, of course Steveson wins, as you don’t bring Corbin in to give him a victory in a spot like this. Corbin is there to walk Steveson through the match and that is something he can do well. This is ALL about Steveson and if Corbin can work some magic here and make him look good, it will be a success. Just don’t try to do too much and this could work, but it needs to work very well.

Tag Team Titles: Gallus(c) vs. Tony D’Angelo/Stacks

It took me time to think of who held the titles at the moment. Beyond that, I couldn’t tell you a thing about Gallus’ reign, which has almost reached SIX MONTHS. It says a lot that the NXT tag division, which used to be a large chunk of its backbone, has fallen this far, but here we are. The titles have very little value at the moment and it is pretty clear that something needs to changel.

I’ll go with D’Angelo and Stacks to take the titles from Gallus here. Gallus has been almost ice cold as champions and there is no reason to keep the titles on them any longer. The division isn’t what it used to be, but D’Angelo and Stacks are more than good enough to get the belts here. If nothing else, they need to for the sake of breathing some life back into the championships already.

Roxanne Perez vs. Blair Davenport

This is a Weapons Wild match, because we needed another name for Street Fight. Perez has been on quite the downward slide in recent months and probably needs this win a lot more than Davenport at the moment. However, Davenport is still the new star on the block and it would make a lot of sense to give her the win on the bigger stage as she hasn’t had that kind of success just yet.

In kind of a hard decision, I’m going to go with Davenport, as I think she is going to get more out of a win and a sustained push at the moment. Perez is someone who has already gotten the title reign and special moment. While Perez needs the win more, she can also absorb a loss a bit better, which puts her in a weird position. As strange as it is, I’ll go with Davenport, but this could be either of them.

North American Title: Dominik Mysterio(c) vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Wes Lee

This is a lot trickier than I thought, as it is a result that depends on where WWE wants to go next. On one hand, you could have Ali win and get his big moment….and we’ll write that off right now, because I just can’t picture it happening. That leaves us with two realistic options and I could actually see this going in either direction, which makes the match more interesting.

That being said, there is a grand total of NO reason to take the title from Mysterio here. He is getting WAY more mileage out of a title that doesn’t have a ton of value on the main roster and that is a great thing to see. Mysterio is more or less the modern day Honky Tonk Man with the title and Lee doesn’t need to get the title back anytime soon. Let Mysterio milk the heck out of the thing, starting with him retaining here.

Women’s Title: Tiffany Stratton(c) vs. Thea Hail

They’ve put themselves into a weird place here as the stakes are almost too stacked against Stratton. It’s a submission match and Hail has turned into a mini submission master, while Hail has only talked about introducing a submission move. Maybe they have a plan for this, but it would be almost weird to see the title change hands in this case, as the field is tilted so much towards Hail.

I’ll go with Stratton retaining here, even though Hail losing again is going to hurt her a lot. There is a chance that this is some kind of screwy finish, where Hail has to give up to save someone else, though I have no idea how that would be set up. I’d love to see Hail win the title and FINALLY give Chase U something to brag about, but I don’t think it happens here, nor should it.

NXT Title: Carmelo Hayes(c) vs. Ilja Dragunov

While the reason for the match is pretty basic, there is a lot to be said about having Dragunov in this spot. Dragunov is the definition of someone you just want to watch because it feels like he is leaving everything in the ring every time he is out there. You can imagine what he is going to do when he is on perhaps the biggest stage he has ever been on. That being said, I’m not sure it means he wins the title.

This is the trickiest decision of the show, as both options are very viable. Hayes hasn’t really felt like one of the great NXT Champions yet, but it’s almost hard to imagine Dragunov losing. I’ll take Hayes to win, but I’m not convinced this is the end of the story. Hayes needs the win more and will get more out of it, though Dragunov taking the title would not shock me in the slightest.

Overall Thoughts

The more I look at this show, the more interested I am in seeing the show. I’m not seeing some instant classic or all time show here, but I’m seeing a potentially strong show that makes everyone involved look good. There is still no reason to compare these shows to the Takeover series because it’s not the same thing, but we could be in for a very entertaining two and a half or so hours of wrestling, which I would certainly call a success.

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NXT
Date: July 5, 2022
Location: Capitol Wrestling Center, Orlando, Florida
Commentators: Wade Barrett, Vic Joseph

It’s another special night this week, as we have the Great American Bash. That means we have a stacked card, including multiple title matches. The main event is Cameron Grimes challenging Bron Breakker for the NXT Title, which should be a heck of a match. NXT does well enough with these shows so let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening video is at a cookout, hosted by Fallon Henley, Brooks Jensen and Josh Briggs. Most of the roster is there, with Jensen enjoying the women in the pool and wrestlers making various wrestling related threats.

Tag Team Titles: Cora Jade/Roxanne Perez vs. Toxic Attraction

Jade and Perez are challenging and Jade takes Jayne down early on. A running knee against the ropes gets two on Jayne and it’s off to Perez to forearm Dolin. Back with Perez and Jayne trading pump kicks for a double knockdown, setting up a double tag. Jade takes over on Jayne’s arm and a dropkick gets two.

There’s a double superkick for the same but Mandy Rose pulls the referee out at two, earning a well deserved ejection. A running neckbreaker drops Perez for two but Jade comes in to knock Jayne outside. Pop Rox gives Perez the fast pin on Dolin to give us new champions at 10:35.

Rating: C. They made this fast and to the point, though the ending came out of nowhere and didn’t quite work. It was time to get the titles off of Toxic Attraction, though we have been here before and the title change didn’t stick before. Hopefully they move on now though, as their reign has run its course.

Bron Breakker arrived earlier today and said his shoulder was fine.

Tony D’Angelo yells at Legado del Fantasma, saying that only Elektra Lopez has done well. Next week, they have one more chance. There is an implication that Santos Escobar has been taken out.

Pretty Deadly doesn’t think much of Josh Briggs/Brooks Jensen.

Trick Williams vs. Wes Lee

Carmelo Hayes is here with Williams, complete with some water as Williams is in a boxing robe. Williams takes him down to start but gets sent into the corner, where Williams wants a time out. Back up and they both miss some kicks until Lee dropkicks him into the corner. Back up and Williams spins Lee into a powerslam for two. Lee knocks him outside though, where Williams sprays some of the water on his hands and then sends it over to commentary. The liquid is rubbed into Lee’s eyes to blind him and it’s the Trick Kick for the pin on Lee at 3:45.

Rating: C-. This was a quick match as Lee’s momentum stops in a hurry. It does help that Williams won via chicanery though and that should keep Lee from getting too destroyed. Williams continues to be more about the hype than anything in the ring but giving him a win here or there isn’t a bad thing. Just have a better match next time.

Post match, commentary says that smells like rubbing alcohol.

Tiffany Stratton is getting her makeup done but Wendy Choo comes in to throw powder into her face. Apparently this is the start of a match, which begins during a break.

Tiffany Stratton vs. Wendy Choo

We’re joined in progress with Stratton raking Choo’s hand over the rope. She even rips off Choo’s nail but Choo fights back in a hurry. Choo has to shake her hand back to live but she is fine enough to knock Stratton down and grabs a sleeper. With that broken up, Choo hits a suplex for two and a high crossbody connects, only to hurt the hand. Stratton is right back and knocks her into the corner for the corkscrew Vader Bomb and the pin at 4:38 shown.

Rating: C+. Choo’s gimmick is a nightmare but she is pretty good once you get to the point. That being said, Stratton is looking more and more like the complete package every single week and this was no exception. If she can get into a more serious story, she could be on her way to a much higher level in a hurry.

Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade are happy and Perez isn’t done: she’s cashing in her title shot next week against Mandy Rose.

Bron Breakker is warming up when Cameron Grimes comes in to say he’ll do whatever it takes to win the title. Breakker insists the shoulder is fine.

Here is Apollo Crews for a chat. He talks about how his kids saw what he was doing on Raw and Smackdown and they didn’t recognize him. Then they just stopped watching, but they have been watching every week since he has been back in NXT. Now he’s back though and it’s true that everything has changed.

He’ll be watching everyone around here and lists off some names, but here is Giovanni Vinci to interrupt. His name wasn’t on the list and that isn’t a surprise because Crews knows what happens if they face off. Vinci knows that he can match him in athleticism and beat him in style, so Crews invites him to come in and prove it. Vinci says we can do this next week. At least WWE seems to have realized that the Nigerian royalty deal was going nowhere.

Ivy Nile is ready to find out which Diamond Mine team is better. Hold on though as Nile has to go break up an argument between a bunch of the women. As a result, Tatum Paxley needs to be in the gym tomorrow morning.

Grayson Waller is ready to win the North American Title.

Carmelo Hayes is ready for Waller.

JD McDonagh is still coming.

North American Title: Carmelo Hayes vs. Grayson Waller

Hayes is defending and has Trick Williams. Feeling out process to start with Hayes grabbing a rollup with tights for two. They hit right hands at the same time before Hayes drops him with a clothesline. The Fade Away connects but Waller is right back with an electric chair belly to back for a knockdown.

Back from a break with Hayes still in trouble and getting pulled into a triangle choke. That’s broken up and a headscissors faceplant gives Hayes two. Waller gets knocked into the corner and it’s time for another slugout. A running dropkick takes out Hayes’ knee and a running flipping Unprettier (almost a reverse Blockbuster) gives Waller two. The rolling Stunner connects but Hayes rolls outside. That means Waller needs to load it up again, only to have Williams cut him off. Cue Wes Lee to take out Williams, leaving Hayes to hit the top rope ax kick to retain the title at 11:43.

Rating: B-. This was one of those matches that got a chance to breathe and let the talented wrestlers do their thing. Waller can have a good enough match when he gets the chance and Hayes is as smooth of a star as NXT has. Lee getting involved ties into the earlier match in a good way so well done all around here.

We see a QR code and are told to SCAN HERE. Apparently it brings up a screen that says “8:10:11”.

Xyon Quinn says he is the future.

Ivy Nile fires up Diamond Mine.

Mandy Rose isn’t worried about Toxic Attraction losing earlier today because they can correct things. Nor is she worried about Cora Jade next week.

We go to Chase University where Bodie Hayward is falling asleep in a history lecture. Thea Hail won’t stop sleeping and is way too happy to be here. A guy named Chad tells Andre Chase that the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 2 and Chase goes into a rant (“WHO THE F*** DID JOHN ADAMS EVER BEAT???”). With Chad gone, Hail wants to go to England, which is cool with Chase. There are your next NXT UK guest starts.

Tag Team Titles: Damon Kemp/Roderick Strong vs. Creed Brothers

The Brothers are defending in an all Diamond Mine showcase. Brutus runs Strong over to start and it’s quickly off to Julius to grapple with Kemp. That’s fine with Julius, who takes Kemp into the corner and hands him off to Brutus for a fireman’s carry slam into said corner. Kemp tries to get out but Strong sends him back in, allowing Julius to send him outside. Brutus goes up top for a cannonball to the floor and the crash sends us to a break.

Back with Strong kneeing away at Julius but Brutus comes back in to clean house. Strong runs over and slaps Julius on the apron. The distraction lets Strong hit the jumping knees to the face and he hands it off to Kemp for a slingshot spear. Brutus fights out and hands it back to Julius to clean house again. Julius powerslams both of them down and hits the sliding lariat to Kemp to retain the titles at 12:12.

Rating: C. I get the story they’re going for here, but I don’t know if Diamond Mine is interesting enough to pull it off. The Brothers are a good team and Kemp has barely wrestled as part of the team so far. Strong as the delusional leader getting shoved further and further away is only somewhat interesting and this match didn’t help things.

Post match Diamond Mine poses, though Roderick Strong isn’t pleased.

We hear from someone who seems to be a math genius who has used his match skills to learn to fight. His name is Axiom and while we don’t see his face, he sounded a bit like A-Kid from NXT UK.

Video on Cameron Grimes vs. Bron Breakker.

Mr. Stone and company aren’t happy with Von Wagner being off the show but Solo Sikoa comes in to say he doesn’t want to hear it. A match seems likely for next week.

NXT Title: Cameron Grimes vs. Bron Breakker

Breakker is defending and, after the Big Match Intros, grabs a headlock. That’s broken up and Grimes goes for the arm, earning himself a trip into the corner as we take an early break. Back with Breakker hitting a suplex but getting sent to the floor for a dive from Grimes. They get back inside with Grimes hitting a kick to the arm and cranking back on it to make things worse.

Breakker fights up and hits some clotheslines but Grimes nails a superkick. There’s the running flipping crossbody for two but Breakker catches him on top for the Frankensteiner. The spear misses so Grimes pulls him into something close to an Octopus. That doesn’t work so Breakker is sent into the corner, setting up the Cave In for a near fall. Grimes heads up, only to dive into a spear to retain the title at 12:36.

Rating: B. This was a match that was well laid out and they got the story right. Stuff like Breakker’s arm giving out and him not being able to follow up made the match that much better. I’m not sure what is next for Grimes but it might be time to turn him heel for the sake of having nothing else for him to do. Either that or call him up, though I don’t want to imagine him as the distant cousin of Hillbilly Jim, Jesse and Festus.

Post match Grimes goes to celebrate but JD McDonagh shows up to jump him, calling himself the necessary evil.

Overall Rating: B-. This felt like an old school NXT show as they had stories to build towards, brought in new stars, and had some mostly good wrestling throughout. I liked this show more than I’ve enjoyed NXT in a long time, though I have no reason to believe that it is going to last. For now though, good show and a very nice break after some less than awesome shows.

Results
Cora Jade/Roxanne Perez b. Toxic Attraction – Pop Rox to Dolin
Trick Williams b. Wes Lee – Trick Kick
Tiffany Stratton b. Wendy Choo – Twisting Vader Bomb
Carmelo Hayes b. Grayson Waller – Top rope ax kick
Creed Brothers b. Roderick Strong/Damon Kemp – Sliding lariat to Kemp
Bron Breakker b. Cameron Grimes – Spear

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Great American Bash 1988 Greensboro
Date: July 16, 1988
Location: War Memorial Stadium, Greensboro, Coliseum
Attendance: 7,500

The Great American Bash wasn’t just a full on pay per view at first, but also a tour of house shows. This is one of them, as we are in one of the bigger Crockett cities. The main event here is WarGames, which had debuted twelve days prior and was done quite a bit during the tour. Let’s get to it.

Bugsy McGraw/Tim Horner vs. Rip Morgan/Larry Zbyszko

It’s always so strange to have A, no commentary, B, two rings, and C, Teddy Long (referee here) with hair. Morgan grabs the mic to shout a lot and jump up and down before Larry takes Bugsy down but misses a bunch of elbows to the fans’ delight. Bugsy drives him into the corner and grabs a headlock before Horner comes in for a few shoulders. The slightly out there Morgan tries his luck and takes Horner down into a quickly broken chinlock.

It’s back to Bugsy to start working on Morgan’s arm (the hair pull helped too) but Morgan takes him into the corner for the tag back to Larry. We get the always classic referee misses the big tag spot and Morgan elbows McGraw down again. Bugsy gets in a shot to the face though and grabs the rope to avoid Larry’s dropkick (yes Larry’s dropkick), allowing the hot tag to Horner. Everything breaks down and Horner hits a quick crossbody to finish Morgan at 8:07.

Rating: C. Totally watchable match here but what matters most is how it was a hot enough opening match. You don’t want to take too much time in a spot like this and they got through things rather well here. Horner wasn’t the best in the world but he was able to come in off a hot tag and clean house, which is almost all he was here for. Not a great match, but an efficient one and that’s a good thing.

Ronnie Garvin vs. Italian Stallion

Garvin is freshly heel and now managed by Gary Hart. Stallion knocks him down to start and Garvin grabs his ankle. That’s enough to have the referee slow things down a bit, but Garvin comes up with the Hands of Stone for the pin at 1:13. Just a way to establish that Garvin is a changed man.

Dick Murdoch vs. Gary Royal

Royal hits him in the face to start so Murdoch takes it into the corner. A headlock manages to get Murdoch down onto the mat and Gary cranks away for a bit. Murdoch gets out using some cheating so it’s time to yell at referee Teddy Long, which could be quite the interesting argument.

Royal gets driven into the corner for some shots to the face but a dropkick puts Murdoch on the floor. That’s enough of this being in trouble thing for Murdoch as he knocks Royal around without much trouble and takes him outside for a whip into the scaffolding (yeah we have a scaffold match coming). Back in and Murdoch stomps away before finishing with the brainbuster at 7:01.

Rating: C-. Murdoch really was good at almost anything he did and it is easy to see why he is as revered as he is by so many people. He knows how to make the fans care about him and is so smooth at everything he does. This was just a squash for the most part but Murdoch managed to make that work, which is quite the impressive feat.

Jimmy Garvin vs. Rick Steiner

Precious is here with Garvin. Steiner mauls him down to start, as Steiner had a tendency to do. Garvin fights up and slugs away but has to stop as Kevin Sullivan goes after Precious (that’s a LONG story) to a crazy reaction. Back in and Garvin rolls him up for the pin at 1:25. That was surprisingly short.

Sheepherders vs. Rock N Roll Express

That would of course be the Bushwhackers with Rip Morgan as their flag bearer. We hit the stall button to start, with the Bushwhackers messing with their flag and then telling the fans to shut up. Pain is promised to the Americans so Ricky Morton grabs the mic and tells the Sheepherders what they can kiss. The Express finally jumps them about two and a half minutes after the bell and the ring is cleared in a hurry.

We settle down into the first lockup almost four minutes in and it’s Butch sending Gibson into the corner for the early tag to Luke. A knee to the ribs cuts Gibson off again but he nails a right hand to take over. Butch hits Luke by mistake and Morgan takes out his friends, meaning the Express can pose early. We settle down to Morton in trouble but sliding through Luke’s legs for a dropkick.

The Sheepherders are sent into each other and it’s time to bail again as things settle a bit. Back in and Gibson hits a crossbody on Luke but Morgan has the referee, allowing Butch to get in a flag shot for the save. They go outside with Gibson being driven into the apron and then it’s back inside for stomping. A chinlock doesn’t last long so it’s a double clothesline to drop Gibson again.

The fans start up their ROCK N ROLL chant as Gibson gets in a few shots, only to be pulled down into a chinlock. Gibson fights up again and gets over to Morton for the hot tag (that feels so wrong). Everything breaks down with Morton getting posted on the floor as Gibson has Butch in a sleeper. The double gutbuster plants Gibson but he manages to send them together, allowing Morton to high crossbody Butch for the pin at 14:06.

Rating: B-. This is a perfect illustration of how to take a rather basic match and get the fans going nuts to set up a hot ending. That’s what they had here, with very little contact for almost the first five minutes and then they got into the meat of the match. The fans were with them the entire way because they cared about the teams and wanted to see the Express make the comeback. Good match, but much more of a lesson in how to do this, as the high spots were a dropkick and a high crossbody. Today, it would be called boring, because less is more is a lost concept.

Al Perez vs. Brad Armstrong

Perez has Gary Hart in his corner. Feeling out process to start with both guys shoving the other around. Armstrong grabs a wristlock and a monkey flip doesn’t even break the grip. Perez can’t armdrag his way out of an armbar so Armstrong armdrags him into another armbar. That works so well that Armstrong stays on it as we hit the five minute mark. Armstrong has to go after Gary Hart though and Perez sends him into the scaffolding to take over.

Back in and Perez hits what would become known as the Eye of the Storm for two and the chinlock goes on. With that not working, Perez goes with knees to the back (Armstrong: “OH S***!”) but the referee calls it off for being in the ropes. Armstrong’s backslide gets two so Perez throws him outside in a heap. Perez follows him out and gets elbows in the face so Armstrong heads back in. A suplex brings Perez back in and Hart sweeps the leg to give Perez the pin at 11:17 (that was the most telegraphed ending I have seen in years).

Rating: C. It wasn’t too bad here as Armstrong is always worth a look and Perez is someone who could have become something but never went beyond the midcard. I’m not entirely sure why, but I could have seen both of these guys going a bit higher than they did. Nice match though, even with the really obvious ending.

Fantastics vs. Midnight Express/Jim Cornette

The Midnight’s US Tag Team Titles aren’t on the line and I’m going to go out on a limb and say this is going to be the best thing all night, or at least so far. This is a Bunkhouse match, meaning anything goes. Cornette looks ridiculous in the body suit of course but you can see the look in his eyes that he is having the time of his life out there. Eaton and Cornette have their hug to start with Cornette kissing him on the cheek, so Rogers thinks Cornette should start for the team. Cornette: “I AIN’T GETTING IN THERE! YOU PEOPLE SHUT UP! I AIN’T GETTING IN THERE!”

The Bobbys start things off instead with Eaton getting in a right hand but stopping to celebrate, allowing Fulton to tag him with some right hands. Eaton hits a knee to the face but gets backdropped down, leaving Cornette to grab a chair on the floor. That earns him a chase from Rogers who clears the ring, setting up the strut. Cornette: “WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO???” Back in and Eaton hits Fulton with one of his great right hands and grabs a chair, only to get atomic dropped down onto it.

Fulton blasts Eaton with the chair and everything breaks down (as it should) with Rogers wearing Eaton out with the chair. Cornette and Stan get the chair and go over to check on Eaton as the panic continues. For some reason Eaton tries to tag Cornette before coming to his senses and bring Lane in instead. That’s fine with Rogers, who dropkicks him down a few times and mocks Cornette’s bravery. Lane tries to toss Rogers, who skins the cat and comes back in with more dropkicks.

Cornette bails from a possible tag again so Lane grabs him by the shirt, sending Cornette into pure panic because he might be about to die. Rogers breaks that up and gets sent outside, where Cornette throws a chair at him to get back in the Midnights’ good graces. Rogers gets dropped again and Cornette hits his own strut, leaving Lane to choke Rogers on the floor. Now Cornette is willing to come in and drop some elbows but Rogers stares him down after the right hands.

Cornette tries a quick handshake but gets driven into the corner where Lane can come back in (not the best aiming from Rogers). An atomic drop into a backbreaker puts Rogers down again and Cornette comes back in for some right hands with a chained fist. Cornette’s slam attempt doesn’t work so Eaton comes in to do it for him, leaving Cornette to pose anyway (that’s great).

The Rocket Launcher connects but Cornette wants the pin, which takes too long and includes too much posing, allowing Rogers to toss him hard on the kickout. The hot tag brings in Fulton to clean house and Cornette’s powder hits Eaton by mistake. A double clothesline pins Cornette at 15:09.

Rating: B. This was a lot of fun and so much of that is due to the great chemistry that the Midnights and Cornette had. They were so perfect together and Cornette’s moments of panicking at the idea of being in trouble but then getting so cocky in a hurry was great. Really fun match here and the place was going coconuts over some of the spots and chances for Cornette to get destroyed.

TV Title: Sting vs. Mike Rotunda

Rotunda, with Kevin Sullivan and Rick Steiner, is defending and EGADS the place goes nuts for Sting. Yeah I’m thinking he’ll be fine. Sting starts fast with some dropkicks, including one to Steiner to clean house in a hurry. Rotunda bails out to the floor but gets back in where he has to escape a Scorpion Deathlock attempt. It works so well that he has to do it a second time so Sting settles for a headlock instead. This time Rotunda sends him outside for a beating from Steiner and Sullivan, followed by a clothesline back inside.

We hit the chinlock to keep Sting in trouble and Rotunda makes sure to get a foot on the rope. An elbow to the face sets up the chinlock sequel but Rotunda goes up top for some reason. Since that leaves Rotunda looking like a fish on a bicycle, Sting slams him down and sends him into the other ring. There’s the big dive over the ropes and Sting is all fired up. The right hands in the corner set up the Stinger Splash but the Varsity Club comes in for the DQ at 10:16.

Rating: C. As usual, the action wasn’t the best part here but the fans were going nuts over everything Sting did. You could see that he was a hue star and he would eventually get the title early in 1989. First up though we had to see Rick Steiner taking it from Rotunda in one of the most underrated moments in the history of the NWA/WCW.

Road Warriors vs. Ivan Koloff/Russian Assassin #1

This is a scaffold match and the Warriors have Paul Ellering while the Russians have the eternally useless Paul Jones. The Russians start throwing powder, which is hardly safe. They slug it out in a hurry with Ivan already having to hang on while his legs dangle over the side. The same thing happens to Animal but he gets back up for a dropkick (Ok it was terrible but EGADS MAN!), which has Ivan in more trouble.

A bunch of stomping has Ivan hanging on the bottom of the scaffold and there he goes for the elimination. That leaves Assassin and Hawk fighting on the other end of the scaffold but Ivan comes up to choke Hawk with a chain. Hawk and Assassin start climbing down and Hawk knocks him off to win at 5:34.

Rating: D+. I’m never sure what to think of a match like this as it isn’t exactly a wrestling match, or at least certainly not a traditional one. The guys were doing what they could (and as someone scared of heights, I can’t get over that dropkick) but they had a pretty firm limit and that is ok given how hard it is to do something like this.

Four Horsemen vs. Dusty Rhodes/Paul Ellering/Lex Luger/Nikita Koloff/Steve Williams

And now, WarGames, which only debuted about two weeks ago. In case you don’t know the rules, you have five men per team and each one will send in a man each for a five minute period. After two minutes, the heels will win a coin toss to gain the advantage, meaning they will be able to send in their second man for two minutes. Then the good guys will tie it up for two more minutes. The teams alternate until everyone is in and it is the first submission wins.

Arn Anderson and Dusty Rhodes start things off with Dusty easily winning the early slugout. The big elbow has Anderson freaking out in the corner so let’s try a different ring. Dusty is right there with a running DDT and he sends Arn into the cage for the first time. Arn goes into the cage over and over and the blood is already flowing. Some shots to the leg put Dusty down though and Arn punches him into the other ring. Dusty punches him out of the air though and puts on the Figure Four until the Horsemen win the coin toss.

Barry Windham goes in for the Horsemen but Dusty lets go of the Figure Four want is waiting on him. Anderson gets in a cheap shot from behind though and Dusty gets caught in Windham’s claw. Choking and clawing ensue and it’s Williams coming in to even things up. Football tackles abound and Dusty is back into it (which doesn’t make the claw look like the most devastating hold).

Flair comes in to give the Horsemen the advantage back though and it’s time to send the good guys into the cage. Dusty is busted open and you know the Horsemen know how to go after that. Luger comes in to even things up again and it’s time to clean house but Flair hits him low. The chops in the corner just wake Luger up (as always) though and he cleans house again, including the right hands in the corner to Flair.

It’s Tully Blanchard in to give the Horsemen another advantage and he finds a chair to beat on Luger and Windham. Flair and Anderson start in on Luger’s knee, followed by a DDT to plant him hard. Nikita Koloff (who should not have hair) comes in and it’s Russian Sickles a go-go.

The right hands in the corner rock Flair (he took those so well) and it’s a lot of punching until JJ Dillion is in to complete the Horsemen team. That means a barrage of eye rakes and choking but Nikita gets in in the corner and unloads with mostly reckless abandon. Arn has Luger in some kind of leglock as Ellering comes in to complete everything. Everyone brawls until JJ misses a dropkick and Dusty grabs the Figure Four for the submission at 21:07.

Rating: B. It isn’t as great as the famous one from the 4th of July but this was a house show and they probably had done half a dozen of these by this point. How much of an effort are they going to put into making this one feel special? It is still a brand new match and something that felt like a spectacle, so going with a basic punch/choke/leglock formula here worked out fine.

Overall Rating: B. This was a heck of a fun show with some rather good matches and nothing bad. Above all else, it was great to see a house show with such a hot crowd who was into anything these people were going. The talent was there and it felt like an important show. Good stuff here and I can see why this was such a hot promotion at the moment. Compare this to Wrestlemania II from a few months earlier and the difference is all the more obvious. Check this out if you get the chance.

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