WWE NXT The Great American Bash: Night 2 Review - July 8, 2020

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Candice LeRae def. Mia Yim in a Street Fight

These two have had excellent chemistry throughout this feud and this was a wonderful way of blowing it off. We don't see Street Fights often in NXT, so this felt special and they more than delivered on the stipulation. They battered each other with everything they could find and brawled all over the Performance Center. Plus, that sick-looking swinging neckbreaker from LeRae to Yim on the pile of chairs from the top turnbuckle made for a fantastic finish. This was a good win for LeRae, as she hasn't won many important matches in a while and Yim rarely loses anything in defeat.

Bronson Reed def. Tony Nese

Reed is an incredibly impressive athlete, especially for a guy his size, but his biggest issue is that NXT has yet to book him consistently. He'll win a match here and there (like this one) before losing whenever it matters most. The way this matchup was set up was strange, but I appreciate that they at least attempted to explain it. Nese scored some offense, but this was exactly what it needed to be with Reed going over in decisive fashion. Now he needs to continue building momentum and not immediately lose.

Johnny Gargano def. Isiah "Swerve" Scott

This was a logical match to do after Gargano and Scott brawled backstage last week. Scott has largely been relegated to the Cruiserweight division in recent months, but it was cool to see him hang with a top talent in Gargano here. They put together a terrific match that was perfectly paced and saw Scott have a hell of a performance. Gargano went over in the end, but Scott came away looking better than before.

Legado del Fantasma def. Drake Maverick and Breezango

I was worried when Breezango started to make their entrance in the same goofy fashion they always do, but thankfully, they showed off their serious side once they were joined by Maverick. For a 10-minute match, this was a ton of fun from start to finish. Legado del Fantasma are already an awesome trio, but Maverick and Breezango took it them here and had their time to shine. I figured Maverick would win to justify him getting another shot at the NXT Cruiserweight Championship eventually. However, not only did that not happen, he was the one pinned by Santos Escobar. He needs to be able to bounce back eventually, but I do like how protected Escobar has been since turning heel.

Mercedes Martinez def. Santana Garrett

Martinez has been gone from NXT TV for many months, so I love that she's finally back. From all the vignettes that have aired for her in recent weeks, it's apparent NXT has big things in mind for her and I'm happy about that. She can be the monster heel the division needs with Shayna Baszler now on the main roster. Martinez was dominant in her re-debut as she should have been, but it's unfortunate that it had to come at the expense of Garrett, who WWE has done nothing with since she signed last year.

NXT North American Champion Keith Lee def. Adam Cole to Win the NXT Championship

For a Winner Take All main event, this didn't end up being as epic as I expected it to be, especially given the level of talent involved. I'm sure they suffered from not having a hot crowd to play off of, but even still, this was a top-notch main event with plenty of nearfalls, drama and exciting action. The stakes being as high as they were added to the suspense, though I could have done without some of the constant kickouts down the stretch. Nonetheless, Lee winning both belts was absolutely the right call. Cole had an outstanding reign, but it was wise for NXT to strike while the iron was hot with Lee. I hope his run isn't cut short by Karrion Kross any time soon.

Overall Show

​I can see some fans enjoying Night 1 of The Great American Bash more than Night 2, but either way, it was an entertaining event on the whole. Even though it wasn't an instant classic, the main event is still well worth going out of your way to see and the rest of the show flew by as everything served a purpose and held my interest. There was some strong wrestling, memorable moments, and hype for next week's NXT Women's Championship match between Io Shirai and Tegan Nox. I realize the only reason The Great American Bash was brought back was so it could air opposite of AEW Fyter Fest, but I'd love for NXT to do mini-TakeOver shows such as this one more often in between the TakeOver specials because this was a success all things considered.