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It was time for NXT's now annual mid-year extravaganza. NXT Great American Bash took place tonight, featuring three title matches and Adam Cole vs Kyle O'Reilly in the main event.
At NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver, O'Reilly bested Cole in a non-sanctioned match. This week, the former NXT Champion wanted to prove that he was truly better than Kyle. No strange stipulation, no weird rules. Just a simple one-on-one match.
Both sets of tag team titles were on the line tonight, and MSK and The Way had some tough challengers. Carter and Lee looked to defend against two of the toughest men on the roster, Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher. The Way's Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell had to take on Zoey Stark and a woman LeRae has never beaten, Io Shirai.
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All that, plus a Grudge match for the Million Dollar Championship, a Hit Row Championship Cypher, and a confrontation between Johnny Gargano and Karrion Kross.
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We kicked things off with NXT Tag Champions MSK vs Ciampa & Thatcher.
NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher vs MSK (c)
Tommaso Ciampa started things off with a big right hand. Nash Carter responded with a duck and a corkscrew press, blowing a kiss at NXT's Psycho Killer. Timothy Thatcher tagged in and was able to withstand a series of kicks from MSK.
Wes Lee and Nash Carter were taken out by their challengers, and the NXT Tag Team Champions were in a bad way with Lee as the legal man. Thatcher wore down the young star with various submission holds. Ciampa was in next and delivered a hellacious running knee into the corner. Somehow that didn't knock Lee out.
Though Nash got the tag, he didn't fare any better. On the floor, a moonsault connected with Timothy Thatcher, but he was turned inside out by a lariat from the former NXT Champion.
When we came back from a break, Lee was rocked by another devastating knee from Ciampa but managed to kick out. Lee fought out of Thatcher's grip, and the NXT Tag Team Champs pelted him with a series of quick kicks. The Hot Fire Flame connected for a one-count.
Thatcher took Carter to his corner, and the challengers took turns battering the young champion. Nash had to fight out of the corner but a series of open palm slaps and a pump knee strike left Carter down on one knee.
Carter responded with a takedown and a flash knee stunned Ciampa. MSK sent Thatcher into Ciampa, and Lee rocked Timothy with a 619. However, as he went for the handspring kick on Thatcher, a dropkick to the head took Lee out. Project Ciampa connected, but it wasn't enough.
MSK took over again once Carter got in the match. A Swanton/Spiral Tap combination would've ended Ciampa's night, but Thatcher saved him from the pin. After that, Ciampa hit the Fairy Tale Ending on Lee. Thatcher followed with an ankle lock.
Lee was able to roll Thatcher up at the right time with a victory roll, pulling one over on their challengers.
Results: MSK defeated Timothy Thatcher and Tommaso Ciampa via pinfall at NXT Great American Bash.
Grade: A
The NXT battery vignettes continued this week. At this point in the show, it was at 91%.
NXT Champion Karrion Kross and Johnny Gargano meet face to face
NXT GM William Regal and Samoa Joe were in the ring when we came back. They brought Johnny Gargano and NXT Champion Karrion Kross to the ring to settle things. Kross had been antagonized by Gargano for weeks, and Johnny didn't let up this week, telling Karrion he sucked.
Gargano doubled down on more than that, claiming that the only reason Kross tried to run him over last week was that he was scared. Kross laughed in his face, stating that he wasn't trying to run Gargano over, he was just in the way.
Kross was not only stronger than Gargano, but he had stronger convictions, and only thought of the same three things every morning.
- Defend the NXT Championship
- Main event WrestleMania
- Become WWE Champion
Regal revealed that the two would face each other for the NXT Title next week, giving Kross the chance to accomplish his number one goal. However, Samoa Joe would also be involved as the special guest referee. Kross made a crack about Gargano's size, claiming he was wearing his wife's pants.
Gargano laughed and managed to both defend Candice LeRae and insult Karrion Kross when he said Kross couldn't lace LeRae's boots. Kross tried to start their fight early, but Samoa Joe intervened.
NXT Cruiserweight Champion Kushida cut a promo on The Diamond Mine. He had a stellar match with Kyle O'Reilly a few weeks ago, but after it, he was attacked by Roderick Strong. The Diamond Mine is open, but Kushida is ready.
NXT Million Dollar Championship Match: Cameron Grimes vs LA Knight (c)
Next up was the NXT Million Dollar Championship Match. If Cameron Grimes failed to win the title, he will have to be LA Knight's butler.
Cameron Grimes started the match with a big kick from the apron. Back in the ring, a high-flying crossbody nearly pinned LA Knight. Though Knight got the upper hand for a moment, he lost it when he went for the slingshot shoulder block. Grimes rocked him with a flying forearm smash and followed with a moonsault for a two-count.
A powerslam from Knight finally turned things in his favour, and he spent the majority of the break wearing down NXT's Hill-Millionaire. After several minutes, Grimes caught Knight bouncing off the ropes with the Collision Course. He fired off several rights on Knight, and the CWC were right there behind Grimes.
Grimes was sent over the ropes. Though he skinned the cat, Knight saw his efforts and planted him with a Burning Hammer! Somehow that wasn't enough. A superplex also dropped Grimes, but again he kicked out.
Knight tried to use the Million Dollar Title, but the ref prevented it. After kicking out of a pin, Grimes spiked Knight with the poisonrana for the closest two-count you could ever get.
LA Knight managed to avoid the Cave In and lured Grimes into his clutches on the floor. The Million Dollar Title was on the ground, and Knight DDT'd him on it, nearly getting a count-out victory. Back in the ring, Knight hit the snapmare driver for the win.
Results: LA Knight defeated Cameron Grimes via pinfall at NXT Great American Bash.
Grade: A
The competitors of the NXT Breakout Tournament were officially revealed tonight.
Trey Baxter, Carmelo Hayes, Andre Chase, Josh Briggs, Ikemen Jiro, Joe Gacy, Odyssey Jones, and Duke Hudson appeared on the ramp. Which one of these men would go on and win the NXT Breakout Tournament?
NXT Women's Tag Championship Match: Zoey Stark and Io Shirai vs The Way (c)
Indi Hartwell started the match off with the former NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai. A dropkick to the knee rocked Hartwell, who tagged out to Candice LeRae. Shirai managed to force her out of the match and hit Hartwell with a missile dropkick.
Zoey Stark entered the fray, rocking Hartwell with a nasty kick to the face. However, the NXT Women's Tag Team Champions finally took control when Hartwell dropped Stark ribs first on the top rope.
As LeRae and Shirai tag in, it was the chance for the Poison Pixie to prove herself. Shirai got the better of LeRae with a flapjack and a 619. The springboard missile dropkick connected for a two-count.
A double-underhook backbreaker/superkick combo between the challengers nearly put LeRae away. Stark rocked her with a running knee, but again LeRae kicked out. LeRae avoided the Moon Over Moonsault and locked in the Garga-No Escape. Shirai barely managed to roll over to the ropes.
Hartwell planted Shirai as well, but the powerhouse of the match-up was unable to put away the former NXT Champion. LeRae tagged in and was nearly caught with a small package.
The lights went out, and the battery appeared on the screen hitting 100%. When the lights came back, Tegan Nox was standing on the ramp. LeRae looked like she'd seen a ghost, allowing Shirai to send Hartwell into her.
With LeRae knocked to the floor, Stark dropped Hartwell with the Feast Your Eyes for the win. We've got new NXT Women's Tag Team Champions!
Results: Zoey Stark and Io Shirai defeated The Way via pinfall at NXT Great American Bash.
Grade: B+
After the match, during the commercial break for some reason, Dexter Lumis came down to pick up Indi Hartwell. InDex is alive and well!
NXT North American Championship Cypher
On NXT last week, Isaiah "Swerve" Scott defeated Bronson Reed to capture the North American Championship. Tonight it was time to celebrate, and HitRow did so with a cypher. With Ashante "Thee" Adonis playing the role of the DJ, we heard from B-Fab, Top Dollah, and finally, the man himself, Swerve.
The overall message? Hit Row wasn't finished yet, and they were going to continue to dominate NXT.
Kyle O'Reilly vs Adam Cole at NXT Great American Bash
The former NXT Champion found himself struggling against Kyle O'Reilly's game early on. He ducked a roundhouse after escaping his grip and fell to the floor to get a break. When we came back, O'Reilly was still in control.
Adam Cole got to the ropes to break an ankle lock, but O'Reilly quickly dropped the leg to hit a knee drop on the back of the head. Kyle followed with a series of strikes on a grounded Cole, including a sliding knee to the spine.
Cole finally got some control when he dropped O'Reilly to the floor with a neckbreaker. Back in the ring, a hangman's neckbreaker took O'Reilly down for a two-count. Cole went for the Ushigoroshi, but O'Reilly was able to break away with a series of elbows to the neck.
The top-tier striking game of O'Reilly left the NXT Triple Crown Champ in a bad way. A pair of double underhook slams and a releasing double underhook facebuster planted Cole.
O'Reilly then went back to the knee. The shin breaker connected. However, Cole got away from the dragon screw and hit a backstabber for a two-count. He infuriated O'Reilly by insulting his wife and caught him making a mistake. After O'Reilly was dropped in the corner, he bounced his knee off the ring post several times.
Cole kept the pressure upon the knee but lost control of the match when they ran into one another with clotheslines. Back on their feet, O'Reilly seemed to have the better of his former friend. Cole caught him with a flash knee strike, though, and caught him on the ropes going for the rebound lariat. He wrenched the knee, leaving O'Reilly on the floor.
Kyle caught Cole coming to the floor with a dragon screw in between the ropes. Back in the ring, Cole hit a chop block and hit the Last Shot. Somehow, O'Reilly kicked out. O'Reilly avoided the Panama Sunrise and blocked the superkick. A high-angle back suplex with a bridge got a very close count, but Cole kicked out.
O'Reilly nearly had Cole with the inside cradle. He then went for the Heel Hook, but Cole blocked and switched to the Figure-4 Leglock. CWC filled up with "Woos" as O'Reilly tried to break the hold. He eventually did so, locking in his heel hook. Cole just barely got to the ropes.
Cole popped O'Reilly with an enzuigiri, but Kyle responded with a running basement knee. Unfortunately, he fell to the floor, forcing the NXT official to start the count. Cole broke the count, hitting a Panama Sunrise by jumping off the apron.
Back in the ring, O'Reilly got his foot on the rope just in time. The rebounding lariat caught Cole, and O'Reilly followed with the brainbuster. He moved to the top for the diving knee drop, but Cole rolled out of the way. With O'Reilly's knee in agony, he couldn't avoid the Last Shot.
Again, O'Reilly kicked out. Another Panama Sunrise failed, and a third was blocked with a knee to the chest. It damaged O'Reilly more than Cole, and the former NXT Champion finally hit the Panama Sunrise before getting The Last Shot for the win.
Results: Adam Cole defeated Kyle O'Reilly via pinfall at NXT Great American Bash.
Grade: A+
