WWE NXT: The Great American Bash Review - July 5, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Roxanne Perez and Cora Jade def. Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jane) to Win the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship

For as pointless as the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship is, there have been good matches contested for those titles this year and this was among them. Perez and Jade are both very talented and had quality chemistry with Dolin and Jane. I was hoping for a title change and I'm glad we got it because Toxic Attraction have held the gold for the better part of the past nine months. Perez also announced she's cashing in her NXT Breakout Tournament title shot next week and will challenge Mandy Rose for the NXT Women's Championship. I would have no issue at all with her becoming a double champion as she feels like the perfect fit to dethrone Rose as champ.

Trick Williams def. Wes Lee

I assumed this would be a straightforward win for Lee as he builds toward challenging Carmelo Hayes for the NXT North American Championship. Apparently not, though, since he lost. Granted, it was by nefarious means and not clean, but I would have rather seen Lee win this and move on as opposed to run it back because it's not like this was a barn burner by any means. It was fine, but we know the rematch is coming and Lee should be consistently winning up until he gets that title shot.

Tiffany Stratton def. Wendy Choo

I appreciate that Stratton has toned down a lot of the elements of her awful character because she's actually improved in the ring and that should be the focus. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Choo. She's much better in the ring than Choo because she's been wrestling for years, but her gimmick still sucks. Thankfully, she's a lot less of a focal point on the program now than she was a month or two ago, but she's due for a complete gimmick overhaul. This was a decent match that exceeded expectations with the right result.

Giovanni Vinci Interrupts Apollo Crews

I must have missed something, but was it ever explained why Crews vs. Xyon Quinn didn't happen as advertised? Don't get me wrong, I didn't really care to begin with, but we heard from Quinn in a backstage segment later in the show, so it's not like he wasn't on the show. Nonetheless, the mic work from both Crews and Vinci was solid. Vinci would benefit from a mouthpiece, but that match next week between him and Crews should be a treat.

NXT North American Champion Carmelo Hayes def. Grayson Waller

Both of these guys are the future in my opinion, but Hayes' entrance in particular made him come across like an absolute star. Despite the heel vs. heel dynamic, this was a terrific title match and arguably the best of the best. They worked with a wonderful sense of urgency, it was perfectly paced, and the crowd was into the action. Hayes just regained the gold a month ago and it would have been premature for him to lose here, but Waller looked credible in defeat.

NXT Tag Team Champions The Creed Brothers def. Diamond Mine (Roderick Strong and Damon Kemp)

I've been looking forward to this match since the storyline started a few months ago with tension being teased within the ranks of Diamond Mine. They didn't go all out the way I hoped they would, but maybe they will in an eventual rematch? This was still a very well wrestled affair and the newcomers (Creed Brothers and Kemp) continue to make strides. Strong is playing his role exceptionally well throughout this angle and I'm happy it doesn't appear to be over yet.

NXT Champion Bron Breakker def. Cameron Grimes

Even as inexperienced as he still is, Breakker always delivers in these big matches. Having an opponent as seasoned as Grimes certainly helps, but Breakker more than held his own and had a great showing. As for Grimes, I've loved his character work in recent weeks and thought he delivered the goods here as well. Breakker selling the "injured" shoulder made for an excellent story and an above-average main event on the whole. JD McDonagh (f.k.a. Jordan Devlin) had quite the impactful re-debut by attacking Breakker right afterward, so I like that we already know who's next in line to challenge for the championship.

Overall Show

This show was smartly structured that benefited from Crews vs. Quinn being cut from the card (it would have been a glorified squash, anyway) along with the NXT UK Tag Team Championship match with Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen defending against Pretty Deadly. The second hour was significantly stronger than the first and it was an enjoyable special on the whole. Almost all of NXT 2.0's themed shows have been better than the normal episodes and that was once again the case here. More fresh faces are on the way as well and hopefully that helps freshens things up.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews