After eight years, WWE has revived The Great American Bash. The WWE Performance Center is bedecked with red, white, and blue balloons and the rampway is flanked by sports cars! Although this incarnation has come about under… dubious circumstances… but more on that later. The roster is currently questionable as to who is an isn’t available (we will NOT be speculating on that later) and thus the match cards have been seen as eclectic and largely announced via social media and on last week’s Smackdown program.
Teagan Nox vs Dakota Kai vs Mia Yim vs Candice LaRae
This was a Fatal Four Way elimination match to determine the #1 contender for the NXT women’s title. I’ve always preferred the elimination stipulation over the “sudden death” rules. It just seems like the win is more definitive, the drama builds better, one of the eliminations can be expanded upon into its own angle, and you get more match for your minute. There was a lot of apron and turnbuckle work in this match that had a logical but still unexpected plot to it.
This saw Candice LaRae as the first one out, eliminated by Mia Yim who played the muscle in this match. Dakota Kai gets an O’Connor roll with a jackknife bridge pin on Mia after an odd series of missed dives exchanged between the two. Kai and Nox have the most ease in the ring together but it seemed like, the faster the action got, the more in tune Mia Yim was in all aspects and she had a crackerjack run before being put away. More troubling was the commercial placement. The “little window” was used but not consistent and the bulk of this chapter in Dakota and Teagan’s rivalry was missed entirely. Once we’re firmly in the action, Teagan Nox hit a Molly-Go-Round and rolled right through to set up her Shiniest Wizard.
Winner and new #1 contender: Teagan Nox
Timothy Thatcher vs Oney Lorcan
Boston vs California. Streetfighting vs submissions. An NXT mainstay vs a fresh face.
This match was what you’d figure it would be. Both guys are talented and whoever the agent was for this match likely had the utmost confidence in how well they’d be able to tell a slow but strong story. The first half of the match saw Thatcher grinding Oney down and resembled more ADCC than WWE. Repeatedly working the arms, Thatcher used gooseneck holds, hammerlocks, kimura, Americana, you name it. Oney managed to get it standing to lay in some slaps and chops but this gave Thatcher the opportunity to hit some beautiful suplexes, including a sick belly-to-belly. In the end, Thatcher goes over by catching a Fujiwara armbar.
Winner: Timothy Thatcher
Rhea Ripley vs Robert Stone & Aliyah in a handicap match
The stipulation here is that, if Stone and Aliyah win, Rhea signs as part of the Robert Stone Brand. The former Robbie E does a great job of portraying a classic heel manager, obnoxious and equally devious and inept. He’s gotten tossed in the trash (literally) by the Aussie Amazon and it’s done nothing to deter his focus on signing her. Stone pulls out all the stops for this one. He’s in boxing trunks and robe. He does a one-man Gracie train off of Aliyah’s back. He even makes use of a mouthguard and rec specs. It’s great work.
Stone spends a lot of time sacrificing himself… and his dignity… leaving Rhea open to blindside attacks from Aliyah. It looked like they had her beat after a tandem suplex but there was a miscommunication over the cover and they had to get back on the same page. When they went back to do it again, Rhea suplexed them both! Big boot and she cinched them both up her hanging cloverleaf, one from each arm as they tapped out. Bobby Heenan used to say, “One man can’t beat two men.” He may have been right but Rhea Ripley is no man!
Winner: Rhea Ripley
Roderick Strong vs Dexter Lumis in a strap match
This is one of the most built up matches but probably the one I have the most issue with. Who’s the heel here? Roderick Strong, the kidnapping victim? Dexter Lumis, the guy who has been over like rover? Just like Roddy vs Dream, I wonder why I’m not supposed to sympathize with the guy being harassed in an inappropriate and creepy manner.
The match itself worked great. Roderick Strong is a consummate professional and flew all over so that Dexter could be the brutal bully. Roddy got pulled into the air to eat an uppercut to start the match and, from there, he got swung around the ring like Lumis was a kid who just couldn’t seem to figure out a yo-yo. Dexter lost control of the match when he stopped to try and dump Roderick into the trunk of a Dodge Viper but The Messiah of the Backbreaker took advantage of the distraction. Back in the ring, it’s skill against savagery and Lumis nearly tapped to a modified crab. He escaped to the floor but got his legs kicked out by Bobby Fish! Dexter fought on and, when Fish tried to interfere again, used the strap to clothesline him. With Fish incapacitated, Roderick fell prey to a sit-out uranage that Dexter immediately transitioned to his Silence arm triangle.
Winner: Dexter Lumis
An intermission hyped next week’s “Winner Takes All” match between NXT champ, Adam Cole, and North American titleholder, Keith Lee. Keith Lee and Adam Cole took us down memory lane for Keith Lee’s star-making year but, whereas Lee told of his impending destiny, Cole claimed his track record of pulling out the win against odds would prevail again.
Backstage, Johnny Gargano and Candice LaRae lamented the outcome of the earlier women’s four way match for the way Candice was “unfairly” ganged up on. When Candice caught sight of Mia Yim, she was off like a shot and Johnny’s glee was cut short when Isaiah “Swerve” Scott tried to pull the Poison Pixie off. Shawn Michaels himself had to step in and I’m sure we’ll see these four at it again soon.
Santos Escobar and Legado del Phantasma made an appearance. Santos spoke of the tradition and pride that used to be part of Lucha Libre. The used to be movie stars and role models but, now, they’re only thought of as “guys in masks doing flips.” They have a plan to rebuild the empire. Drake Maverick interrupted him, pulled off his neckbrace from their previous meetings, and rushed the ring. Three on one is never smart odds but Breezango even it out! Next week, it will be three on three.
(Side note: I’m not a fan of “Escobar” remasking and unmasking just to use another fake name. Let these things be said by Jorge Alcantar.)
Cameron Grimes declared himself the #1 contender to face the winner of Cole vs Lee but Damian Priest has his sights set on Grimes himself for a rematch.
Mercedes Martinez is announced for Great American Bash (Night Two) in an unspecified capacity.
Io Shirai vs Sasha Banks
The title was not on the line here, despite Io Shirai being NXT women’s champion. Sasha, Bayley, and Sasha’s dog came rolling in with the top down on a Jaguar convertible. The Boss channeled Apollo Creed, decked out like a true (New England) patriot. The Genius of the Skies wanted it to be all business, though. She started off the match with handsprings, a high crossbody, and a dive to the outside. Io had control up until Bayley started honking the horn on the Viper to distract her and The Boss slips from her grasp, pulling her face first onto the turnbuckle. Sasha works the fingers and shoulder before hitting running double knees for a two count. Sasha is dominating until Shirai hits a Frankensteiner from the top and gets rolling with a 619 and springboard dropkick. Sasha tried to jockey for position but Io continued to come out on top until Sasha hit a Meteora for two. Despite tasting the plexiglass outside , Shirai managed to get a crossface on Sasha. Bayley got up to shenanigans but so did Asuka! Green mist left Sasha open for a moonsault from the top!
Winner: Io Shirai
Good first night. Now for the elephant in the room. Or the bull in the woods. If you wheel.
There is a spectre over Great American Bash. The ghost of its creator, Dusty Rhodes, is said by many to be disrespected by the branding of these two shows to counter AEW’s turning Fyter Fest into a two-night TV event. Now, Dusty is a WWE Hall of Famer and was acknowledged as the creator of GAB at the start of the program. Still, what was originally a mega-tour summer event that lasted for three years in the ’80s and had one PPV under the WWE banner getting resurrected under these circumstances? For just these two nights? It has some stink on it.
But I’m okay with it.
Counter-programming is nothing new. Every fall Saturday, networks scramble to put the best college football games on against the others. Sports often overrun the Academy Awards. Vince McMahon famously created Survivor Series to muck with Starrcade and Jim Crockett put Clash of the Champions on free TV opposite Wrestlemania IV. Monday Night RAW moving up to 7:57PM. WCW Monday Nitro going to three hours. Even AEW was reported to have originally trademarked the name “Tuesday Night Dynamite” suggesting a head to head run against Smackdown. And, albeit on their streaming network, NXT was on Wednesday nights first.
I’m not naïve. Being able to shove Cody Rhodes’ nose into one of his dad’s idea likely had some appeal to Haitch and Vinnie Mac. But, to me, that was the thorn on a rose. With something like 17 PPVs a year, often devaluing a gimmick (Hell in a Cell) no longer using the original format (King of the Ring, Survivor Series) or just given a plain awful name (Great Balls of absolutely anything,) using the IP that has been sitting in the attic since WCW folded is an idea long overdue. Has there been many announcements for PPV that got the same reaction as when War Games was coming back? Am I the only one that’s seen clamoring on social media to see Halloween Havoc return?
The Great American Bash tour hitting the Meadowlands was the first arena event I ever attended. I doubt that I can remember much of the card beyond the fact that Ric Flair was there but the crowd was electric. Stacked cards throughout July. PPV quality when PPV was synonymous with quality. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking but I’d love to see it become a tradition when crowds return. Get Kurt Angle his own red, white, and blue school bus. Trot old Hacksaw out for a “Hooooo!” Have pyro. A real festival. If they can do something like that, I think everyone wins.
 was an absolutely fantastic night of wrestling.){kind=link}