WWE NXT The Great American Bash Review - July 12, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Je'Von Evans def. Jasper Troy

As I've said before, I really like the idea of these two working together as it's the perfect program for both of them right now. As expected, they had great chemistry and excelled in their respective roles. My only complaint is that Evans won. I realize it wasn't decisive, but Troy already lost twice recently on NXT TV, so it's not as if he's been protected much. I'm sure the feud will continue, but they have to be careful with Troy's booking and have him start establishing credibility.

NXT Women's North American Champion Sol Ruca def. Izzi Dame

This is not news, but Ruca is progressing nicely and is going to be a star once she hits the main roster. NXT will be losing a real gem when that happens as she's come a long way. And I have to give Dame props as well. She was impressive in her own right (despite not being as far along in her development) and they put together a quality contest with a good pace. Ruca retaining was the right call as it's still too soon for Dame.

NXT North American Champion Ethan Page def. Ricky Saints in a Falls Count Anywhere Match

I appreciate Falls Count Anywhere matches where the competitors actually take their fight all around the arena and that's what we saw here. It made for a fun, physical match and I was happy they made the most of the stipulation. That finishing sequence was especially brutal. Will this clear up Saints for a move to the main roster or will he stick around in NXT for a little longer?

Joe Hendry and Mike Santana Attacked TNA World Champion Trick Williams During the TNA World Championship Contract Signing Before DarkState Attacked Hendry and Santana

I was surprised when I saw that only five matches were advertised for this card (six is usually the minimum for NXT premium live events), but then I remembered that this contract signing was happening. This was solid, but it wasn't much different than the talking segment the three of them had on last week's iMPACT!. They effectively the TNA World Championship three-way at Slammiversary next Sunday, so it served its purpose. DarkState laying out Hendry and Santana set up a six-man tag team match with all of them (including Williams) on Tuesday's NXT.

NXT Champion Oba Femi def. Yoshiki Inamura

The build was nearly nonexistent due to coming together on such short notice, but I had no doubt this match would deliver and they did not disappoint. It was the hard-hitting affair I was hoping for and Inamura pushed Femi to his limit, even though the outcome was obvious. They desperately need to start building up actual competition for Femi so his title defenses don't all have foregone conclusions.

Blake Monroe and Jordynne Grace def. Fatal Influence (NXT Women's Champion Jacy Jane and Fallon Henley)

I'm not sure why this took the main event slot. Sure, Masha Slamovich showing up to thwart Jazmyn Nyx's interference was cool, but there wasn't anything exceptional about what went down, whether it was in the ring or afterward. Monroe pinning Jane was notable and probably earns her an opportunity at the title at Heatwave next month if I had to take a guess. This was a decent main event that could have easily headlined any ordinary edition of NXT TV.

Overall Show

WWE clearly has no plans to stop running NXT shows opposite of AEW pay-per-views anytime soon since it's been announced that Heatwave will be happening the same day as Forbidden Door on August 24th. I don't understand the tactic considering NXT always pales in comparison and suffers more from it than AEW. Putting that aside, this was a middle-of-the-road show. My excitement level wasn't very high coming in, and although there were a few entertaining matches, it was far from a must-see show. The lackluster build didn't help. WWE is doing NXT no favors with the intentional pettiness toward AEW because it's coming at AEW's expense. The Great American Bash this year was very much a televised special disguised as a premium live event.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews, NXT PLE Reviews