A Room with a Review: NXT 07/01/20

It’s Night 1 of the Great American Bash. WWE definitely had this in the works before AEW announced a 2-night Fyter Fest that also started on Wednesday, so says the hypothetical WWE employee I asked.

• We’re leading off the Great American Bash with a Welshie and a Kiwi? It’s actually a Fatal 4-Way Elimination match with the winner earning a shot at the NXT Women’s Champion, Io Shirai. It’s Tegan Nox vs. Dakota Kai vs. Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae. No Raquel Gonzalez in Dakota’s corner, per NXT GM William Regal, and definitely not because of Coronavirus. Candice is the first one eliminated after Yim hits a variation of the Codebreaker. Mia is the next to go after a bridging pin by Kai. Tegan Nox eventually gets the win following a Molly-Go-Round and the Shiniest Wizard. 

• Damian Priest is backstage and he calls out Cameron Grimes for his past transgressions. He challenges Grimes to a match.

• Next up is Timothy Thatcher against ONEY LORCAN. THROW ‘EM UP!! These two are going to beat the snot out of each other and it will be wonderful. A great mixture of grappling and slapping leads to a Thatcher victory via Fujiwara armbar. 

• We get a Karrion Kross/Scarlett vignette. They have this whole interesting seeming character with the post-apocalyptic imagery mixed with the suit and tie look, but when the bell rings, they just seem like Generic Big Guy #2 with Hot Blonde #5.

• It’s a 2-on-1 Handicap Match with Rhea Ripley squaring off against Aliyah and Robert Stone. If Ripley loses, she has to join the Robert Stone Brand. Stone tries to box Rhea, but she lays him out with one punch. Ripley gets the win by getting both Stone and Aliyah to tap out with a double Prism Trap.

• Time for Roderick Strong vs. Dexter Lumis in a Strap Match, I’m assuming as a way to keep Roddy from tunning away again. Strong jumps Lumis before the strap is attached, but things still don’t quite go his way. They fight their way to the top of the ramp when Lumis notices the cars that are part of the set. He opens the trunk of a Dodge Viper and tries to throw Roddy in, but Strong avoids it and fights Dexter back toward the ring. Bobby Fish interferes and Strong almost gets the pin with a single-leg dropkick. Lumis hits a uranage and applies The Silence, his chokehold. Roddy has no choice but to tap.

• Next is a nice little pre-tape with Keith Lee to promote the Champion vs. Champion match scheduled for next week. 

• Candice and Johnny Gargano are backstage with McKenzie Mitchell when LeRae spots Mia Yim and they start fighting. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott tries to break them up, but Gargano gets in his face and the two have to be broken up by Shawn Michaels.

• Legado Del Fantasmo comes to the ring and Santos Escobar says that people have forgotten what Lucha used to be. They used to be movie stars, but now they’re just a joke. Drake Maverick runs to the ring to get revenge for being driven through a table, but it’s three on one. That is until Breezango comes down to even things up. 

• Cameron Grimes is with McKenzie backstage and he says he’s not worried about Damian Priest. He then challenges the winner of Keith Lee and Adam Cole (bay bay) by channeling Heath Slater cutting a Ric Flair promo.

• It’s Boss, I mean, main event time as Sasha Banks w/ Bayley Dos Straps vs. Io Shirai. This is a really good match, but that shouldn’t be a surprise. Io has Sasha in a crossface, but Bayley throws a title belt into the ring, which distracts the ref long enough for her to help break the hold. She continues to distract the ref and Sasha grabs the other belt, but Asuka is holding on the other end. The Raw Women’s Champion spits mist in Sasha’s face (maybe not the best idea with the current pandemic) and Shirai hits a moonsault for the victory.

NXT is great, as usual. They do great job of advancing storylines, including those from other shows. Tune in next week for Night 2 of the Great American Bash.

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