The WWE presents its first Premium Live Event on the CW Network, with the Great American Bash tonight, live from the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Seven singles matches are on the card including 5 with championships on the line. All of the action kicks off on the Countdown show, which starts at 6 PM ET on WWE’s Youtube Channel. The main card goes live on CW starting at 7 PM ET. Be sure to follow along with complete coverage of the show tonight, right here on Cageside!
For now, let’s take a look at what NXT has in store for us tonight!
Tony D’Angelo (c) vs. Naraku – NXT Championship
In the weeks following WrestleMania, NXT was a chaotic place to be. Several new faces emerged looking to make an impact after callups to Raw and Smackdown depleted the developmental brand’s main event scene. As newcomers Mason Rook and Kam Hendrix took aim at Tony D’Angelo, former IWGP Champion Naraku took a more measured approach to getting the NXT Champion’s attention.
Naraku let Tony D know in no uncertain terms that they would be going to war, but until that time came, he would make sure that NXT’s top prize stayed firmly wrapped around D’Angelo’s waist. After defeating Mason Rook to become #1 contender, Naraku requested a face-to-face meeting with Tony to sign the contract for their title match at the Great American Bash. The champ signed, but Naraku refused, saying he would have it signed for Tony the following week, warning D’Angelo that evil is coming.
Then, this past Tuesday, D’Angelo and Naraku met in the most dangerous place possible (the NXT parking lot), and well… the heat got turned up. Literally. The #1 contender delivered the contract to the champ and when Tony opened it, he was blasted in the face with a fireball. After spending most of the rest of the night at a local medical facility hospital, Tony came back at the very end of the show, sporting a bandage over his right eye, and finally got his hands on his Bash opponent.
Does Tony D have a plan to combat the evil that Naraku is unleashing on him? Or will the injury to his eye be too much for him to overcome?
Lola Vice (c) vs. Kendal Grey – NXT Women’s Championship
While the contract signing process for the men’s NXT Title match at the Bash turned intense this week, the two competitors in the NXT Women’s Title match opted to sit down for a civil conversation. NXT Women’s Champion, Lola Vice, and #1 contender, Kendal Grey, took turns talking each other up, but then explaining why they would be the one standing tall at the Great American Bash. Despite the calm demeanor of both women, tensions between them have been escalating in recent weeks.
Three weeks ago, after a #1 contenders match between Grey and Kelani Jordan was signed, a skirmish broke out in the ring that ended with Lola nailing Kendal with a vicious spinning backfist that was intended for Kelani. Vice and Grey would seemingly put that incident behind them the following week as they defeated Jordan and Zaria in tag team action. But after the match, Kelani grabbed Lola’s title, Kendal tried to wrestle it away, and when Kelani let go, her momentum sent the NXT Women’s Championship crashing into Lola’s face. With each woman landing an inadvertent blow to the other, it would appear that they are all square heading into their clash at the Bash.
Will Lola prove that she’s not ready to let go of the reins in the NXT women’s division? Or is it time for Kendal to be crowned champion so she can start living up to the lofty expectations placed on her?
Myles Borne (c) vs. Tavion Heights – NXT Men’s North American Championship
It wasn’t that long ago that Myles Borne and Tavion Heights both earned their way out of the NQCC to pursue success on their own. After teaming up for months, even nearly winning the NXT Tag Team Championships against Fraxiom, the career trajectories of Borne and Heights have veered off in nearly opposite directions. Myles has had a fair amount of success on his own, putting together a solid reign as North American Champion in recent months. Tavion, on the other hand, has been floundering a bit. His opportunities have been limited, and he’s yet to break through with any notable victories running by himself. For
For his part, Heights laid all this out in a backstage segment with Wren Sinclair this week, instantly making him more sympathetic. Borne has his North American Title, Wren has her Speed Title, and Charlie Dempsey’s got his new crew in Birth Right, but what does Tavion have?
In his eyes, nothing.
After giving us a better understanding of where his head’s at, how this match at the Bash plays out will be interesting. Will Tavion’s desire for success lead him to do whatever it takes to become champion at his former partner’s expense? Or will Myles give his former partner a first-hand account of why he’s been the breakout star of the NQCC?
Zaria (c) vs. Tatum Paxley – NXT Women’s North American Championship
After ending an intensely personal rivalry with Sol Ruca earlier this year, Zaria made it clear very quickly that she had her sights set on winning championship gold in NXT. With that, the Aussie powerhouse locked North American Champion Tatum Paxley firmly in her crosshairs. Zaria made easy work of newcomer Lizzy Rain, and her path to a title match was laid out perfectly. A new champion was crowned on the June 9th edition of NXT, and Zaria seemed to establish herself as a dominant force in the NXT women’s division.
Two weeks ago, with Tatum seemingly in her rearview, Zaria turned her attention to the very top of the division and found herself teaming with Kelani Jordan to take on NXT Women’s Champion, Lola Vice, and her #1 contender, Kendal Grey. Throughout the match, Zaria proved she belonged with a dominant display of power, but had a rude awakening when Tatum emerged from the crowd. Paxley made it clear that she wasn’t done with Zaria yet, attacking her and setting off a brawl that took the two women all over the Performance Center.
Tatum gets a chance to become the first two-time Women’s North American Champion in history when she faces Zaria at the Bash. Will Paxley find a way to get her title back? Or is this just one last hurrah before she moves up to the main roster?
Wren Sinclair (c) vs. Arianna Grace – Women’s Speed Championship
For months, Wren Sinclair has been trying to make sure that her friendship with Kendal Grey didn’t veer down the same path that led to the blowup of Zaruca just a few months ago. Both women of the WrenQCC have been continuing to support each other while letting each other fight their own battles for the most part. This week on NXT, Wren and Kendal lamented about how sweet it would be for both of them to leave the Great American Bash with championship gold.
To hold up her end of the deal, Wren Sinclair will have to get through former TNA Knockouts Champion and the belle of Birth Right, Arianna Grace. Santino’s daughter earned this shot by going through Layla Diggs and Izzi Dame in the Speed Tournament and will look to bring the other Speed Championship back to her pack of nepo-babies, joining Lexis King on the men’s side.
Will Wren make good on her end of the bargain and keep the Speed Title in the WrenQCC? Or will Arianna bring a second Speed Title to her group and necessitate a name change? Birth Speed? Speed Right? I’ll see myself out…
Dion Lennox vs. Saquon Shugars
Since being unceremoniously dropped from DarkState, Saquon Shugars has been hell-bent on getting revenge on all three of his former stablemates. After staging attacks on Cutler James and Osiris Griffin and taking them out of commission, the Shuga Man has one target left: Dion Lennox.
The two men whose tension led to the DarkState shakeup in the first place met in the ring on NXT last week and provided some depth and backstory to why this match is so personal for both of them. Shugars reminded Dion that he was the glue that held their squad together. Lennox responded by pointing out that some of Saquon’s insecurities made the rest of DarkState feel like babysitters while he ran with them. Both men did a great job of showing us why this match means so much to them, and I’m looking forward to seeing them go to work at the Bash.
Will Dion show why he continuously put himself in the mix for singles gold all along? Or will Saquon vanquish the last member of DarkState left standing?
Shiloh Hill vs. Tristan Angels
Since winning Season 2 of LFG and arriving in NXT, Shiloh Hill has become one of the wackiest characters we’ve seen in WWE in a long time. So when he jokingly started a petition to be named Mr. NXT, newcomer Tristan Angels took offense and challenged him to a legit beauty pageant. After splitting the first two, Hill would win the decisive public speaking round by being genuine and vulnerable and earning the support of the NXT universe. Angels, of course, couldn’t let that stand and delivered a brutal beatdown in the middle of the ring.
After putting Shiloh on the shelf, Angels claimed that he was, in fact, Mr. NXT and that he was deserving of championship opportunities. Evolve Champion Aaron Rourke, who served as a judge in the pageant and gave up his vote to the NXT audience, stepped up and offered Angels a title shot. When the match rolled around, it became very clear that Hill was in the building and was not going to let Angels win the gold. Rourke would retain and Shiloh would cut an impassioned promo, challenging Tristan to a match at the Great American Bash.
Can Shiloh Hill exact some revenge and get his Mr. NXT sash back? Or will Tristan Angels find a way to actually earn a legitimate victory over his ecclectic rival?
So there you have it Cagesiders! Which Great American Bash match are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to join us tonight for our coverage of NXT’s biggest show of the year!
