WWE NXT Great American Bash live results: Three title matches
WWE NXT returns with the Great American Bash — a Saturday afternoon premium live event from Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia.
In the headliner, NXT Champion Oba Femi looks to continue his run as he defends against Yoshiki Inamura who earned the shot in a recent no. 1 contender’s match.
Blake Monroe will make her televised NXT debut, teaming with Jordynne Grace to take on Fatal Influence (NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne & Fallon Henley) one day ahead of Grace challenging Jayne for the title at Evolution.
In a falls count anywhere match for the North American title, Ethan Page defends against Ricky Saints.
A day after making her main roster debut on SmackDown, Women’s North American Champion Sol Ruca will defend against Izzi Dame.
The high-flying Je’Von Evans will battle LFG winner Jasper Troy while TNA Champion Trick Williams, Joe Hendry and Mike Santana will sign their contracts for TNA Slammiversary.
Our coverage begins at 3 PM Eastern.
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It’s great! It’s American (mostly)! And someone is sure to get bashed. It’s NXT’s Great American Bash and it starts…
Wait for it…
NOW!
Je’Von Evans vs. Jasper Troy
Noted chains enthusiast, Troy, won LFG Season One and almost dethroned Oba Femi and captured his NXT Title. Evans doesn’t like that Troy is causing chaos in his structured little NXT and is looking to end the threat once and for all.
Troy was pretty much a whole human bigger than Evans, so it wasn’t a shot that off the top, Try began ragdolling him around the ring. Evans was also wrestling with taped ribs, so he wasn’t at 100%. That didn’t stop him from slapping Troy in the face.
Evans’ agility was his greatest weapon against Troy, as he dodges a ringpost and hit a springboard at the big man. Unfortunately, Troy caught him mid air and threw him at the ground. Hard. Both men ended up on the outside, where Troy drove Evans’ back into the ring apron (the hardest part of the ring, and the earliest I’ve ever used that joke).
Troy grabbed Evans by the throat and threw him over the top rope. He then picked him up by said throat and thew him at the barricades. Back in the ring, Troy hit a splash off the ropes on a barely moving Evans. He hit another one for good measure and then put on a devastating chinlock. Yes, even a chinlock from Troy looks devastating.
Evans tried again to go high flying, but once again, Troy caught him and wracked him through a series of backbreakers. The ref checked on Evans, but as soon as he was able, Troy mercilessly attacked him again. Troy locked in an abdominal stretch and topped it off with some elbows to the gut.
Evans found a second wind though and started peppering Troy with shots. That dazed the big man and he fell to one knee. Evans tried to go up top, but his body failed him and the couldn’t make it. Troy did though, and hit a big headbutt from the second rope.
Evans started throwing hands and sent Troy to the corner. He hit s superkick and then tried a German Suplex, but couldn’t get the bigger man over. Evans tried a springboard cutter, but it didn’t land. He went up top but Troy threw him back into the ring. Troy charged, but his momentum took him over the ropes when Evans dodged. Evans dove through the ropes and hit Troy.
Back in the ring, Evans finally got that German Suplex on Troy and punctuated it with a Frog Splash. It only got him a two count. He tried again, but Troy caught him for a choke slam. Troy set him up for abig slam, but Evans wormed his way underneath and rolled up Troy for a quick pin!
Match Result: Je’Von Evans defeated Jasper Troy
Good gracious! Troy is absolutely terrifying. Evans did an amazing job of making him look like the monster he is. I loved Evans’ “never say die” attitude, even when Troy was essentaily killing him. Lopsided matches like this almost always turn into squashes, but these guys told a great story with a fun finish. Excellent kickoff to the Bash!
-The current holder of the Heritage Cup, “Stacks” Lorenzo joined us next to reveal a list of all the people he’d give a shot at the cup to, including Fat Lexis King, Randy Orton’s Kids, Koko B. Ware and Matt Bloom (A-Train). He then spoke to Bloom in the Performance Center, who advised him to keep his head on a swivel. After that, it was revealed that someone had stolen the Cup!
-Next, Sol Ruca and Zaria joined i for an interview. They said all the things the wrestlers say, but what was interesting was the brief interruption of the feed to a skull-faced stranger. It only happened for a second, and Ruca and Zaria did not acknowledge it.
NXT Women’s North American Champion Sol Ruca w Zaria vs. Izzi Dame w/Tatum Paxley
This match is all about friendship. Women’s North American and WWE Speed Champion Ruca wanted to be friends with Tatum Paxley, but Paxley decided that she’d rather be friends with The Culling, helping Dame pin Ruca in a tag match, Now Ruca and Dame will go one on one for the Women’s North American Championship, but it’s their friends on the outside who could make the biggest difference.
Right off the bell, Paxley and Zaria got into it, distracting the ref. That allowed Dame to hit a quick powerbomb and pin Ruca. By the time the ref noticed though, Ruca’s foot was on the ropes.
The match began in earnest with Ruca hitting a missile dropkick on Dame, sending her to the outside. She followed with a splash and threw Dame back into the ring for a two count. Ruca had control, but got caught by Dame who hit a bellybuster, leaving Ruca writhing.
Dame sent Ruca off the ropes for a knee to the gut and backbreaker. Ruca tried to fight back, but Dame dropped her and set her up for a knee to the back and crab submission. Ruca powered out and got some momentum, but Dame hit a big boot the face and tried a quick pin for two.
The crowd was solidly behind Ruca, who started throwing elbows at Dame. Ruca hit a backstabber and Dame rolled out of the ring. Ruca followed via moonsault, but it was hard to tell who got more hurt in the move.
Back in the ring, Ruca hit a springboard clothesline off the top rope and set Dame up on the ringpost. Dame shoved her off and hit a missile dropkick, knocking Ruca onto her back. The two stood and traded shots in the middle of the ring.
Ruca set Dame up on the ringpost and hit an X-Factor from the top rope. She tried it again, but Dame caught her by the throat and hit a big chokeslam in the middle of the ring. Dame climbed up and tried a splash from the second rope but Ruca met her with a kick instead.
Ruca fired up and hit a huge spear, but Dame got her foot on the rope during the pin. By that I mean, Paxley put it there. Zaria speared Paxley on the outside and Ruca hit a big cutter in the ring to get the 1-2-3 and retain her Women’s North American Title.
Match Result: Sol Ruca defeated Izzi Dame
That was a fun match. It lacked a little of the intensity of the first bout, but the crowd was way into it and that made it a ton of fun to watch.
-Next, a promo for Lola Vice played, touting her victory in AAA last night. From there, Jordynne Grace and Blake Monroe were shown warming up for their match, before a hype package for Saints vs Page aired.
Falls Count Anywhere Match: NXT North American Champion Ethan Page vs. Ricky Saints
The latest chapter in this long-running feud is sure to be brutal. Page took the NXT North American Championship from Saints in May and then injured him, putting him out of action for months. Now that Saints is back, revenge is on his mind as well as reclaiming the NXT North American title.
Saint’s jumped Page as the bell rang, sending him to the outside right away. He grabbed a Kendo stick from under the ring and peppered Page with shots to the back. Page grabbed a trash can lid and hit Saints, following him up into the crowd.
They battled in the aisles and the crowd chanted for Saints. Saints sent Page into the concession area where he hit him with a garbage can. Page responded by driving Saints into a pillar and locking in a boston crab. Page went for an Ego’s Edge, but Saints wriggled out and sent him face first into that pillar.
PAge charged and Saints caught him and put him through a WWE Merch table. Saints went for the cover, but only got a two. Moving back out into the crowd by the entrance ramp, Page sent Saints into the steel ring steps and grabbed a chair. He hit Saints with it and wrapped it around his neck before sending him into the ringpost.
Page threw a bunch of chairs into the ring, pausing to swing at Saints. Saints dodged though and page hit the barricade. Saints then blasted him with a fire extinguisher and stripped the banner from the steel guardrail, which he then threw on top of Page. Saints grabbed a chair of his own and delivered a shot before tossing it and the barricade into the ring.
Saints stomped Page’s head on the ring apron (the ego-est part of the ring!) and dragged him inside. Saints picked up Page and racked him on the turnbuckle, but Saints fought back and slammed Page’s head into a chair.
Saints then set up two chairs in the middle of the ring, back to back. He then suplexed Page onto the chairs, followed by another suplex onto the barricade in the corner. Somehow, Page kicked out at two.
Saints upped the ante by setting up four chairs, front to front. Page followed him up the to the top rope where they fought until he was able to Powerbomb Page onto the chairs!
Page bailed trying to escape to the back, but Saints followed, and the two battled in the green room, using a couch, a flip-flop and a sewing machine. Suddenly, Jasper Troy appeared and slammed Saints onto a road case!
Page dragged Saints back to the ring and belted him with a chair. Saints punched back and back body dropped Page onto the entrance ramp. From there, Saints hit a tornado DDT and got a two count. The two fought along the LED board, and Page hit an Ego’s Edge on Saints, throwing him off the ramp and through two tables!
Page scurried down and got the pin, winning the match and retaining his North American Title!
Match Result: Ethan Page defeated Ricky Saints
That was a killer match with all the best things that a Falls Count Anywhere stipulation can bring. Weapons, huge spots and a flip-flop. It’ll be interesting to see if Jasper Troy had a reason for interfering, or if he was just annoyed that the match interrupted his feeding time, which I assume is mostly raw meat.
-Next, it was announced that the next NXT PLE will be Heatwave, on Sunday August 24th.
TNA World Championship Contract Signing
Of all the wrestling tropes out there, my least favorite is the dreaded “Contract Signing.” These segments are rarely different from one another, “Promo, promo, signed paper, overturned table, brawl, signed paper, fight.” But I guess legally speaking, papers have to be signed, so let’s get on with it.
Trick Williams will defend the TNA World Title at Slammiversary against Joe Hendry and Mike Santana in a Triple Threat Match. The Hendry and Santana want the title back in TNA, and will sign any papers they have to in order to get that done.
NXT GM Ava started the proceedings by introducing the participants, starting with Santana. Hendry followed to a great ovation and then Trick Williams came down with the TNA Title. Booker T called Hendry the “Brett Farve of wrestling” which tells me that Booker does not pay attention to football (or fraud cases).
Santana grabbed a mic and talked about how being in a WWE ring as a TNA wrestler means something to him, but the TNA title belongs in TNA. He called Williams soft and talked about respecting Hendry, but at the end of the day, Hendry is standing in Santana’s way. He then signed the contract.
Hendry spoke next, saying that he respects Santana as well, but Hendry is the one who should being the TNA title back and take TNA to the next level. He turned to Williams and warned him that he will make him believe in Joe Hendry. He then signed the contract.
Williams then said he didn’t want to ruin the moment for Hendry and Santana, but they need to put some respect on his name. Williams said that he’s the one with the stroke around NXT and TNA (I’m pretty sure no one but wrestlers use “stroke” like that).
Williams said that he doesn’t need help to defend the title and would kick both of their butts. He then signed the contract.
Wait, what’s this!? Hendry and Santana pushed their chairs back and jumped Williams, putting him through the table! What a shocking and unexpected outcome!!
-Any way, a promo for Saturday Night’s Main Event played next, but was interrupted by that masked faction, DarkState, who entered the ring and beat up Hendry and Santana who were still in the ring for some reason!
-Next a promo from Tony d’Angelo aired, revealing that he was the one who stole the Heritage Cup from Stacks! He tossed it off of a bridge and promised to win their “final” battle on Tuesday.
NXT Champion Oba Femi vs. Yoshiki Inamura w/Josh Briggs
The NXT Title could be headed to Japan! Inamura has made his bones in Pro Wrestling Noah and If he’s able to defeat Femi here, he would become the first non-WWE person to win the NXT Championship. Femi however has dominated NXT since he debuted and his winning of the NXT Championship was pretty much only a matter of time. Inamura will have his work cut out for him.
The crowd was chanting OBA before the match even started, but once the bell rang it was clear that these two were pretty evenly matched in size and power. They locked up and Femi got the advantage with a shoulder block. Inamura moved on to a wrist lock, but Femi overpowered it. The two remained locked in a test of strength that Femi eventually won.
Femi picked Inamura up for a suplex which just energized Inamura. He charged Femi and drove him to the mat with a shoulder, followed by a big elbow. Inamura went to the top rope, but Femi rolled out of the ring, drawing Inamura down for Femi to hoist him on his shoulders.
Inamura broke free though, and dove on Femi on the outside. Back in the ring, he picked up Femi for a spinning slam. Femi responded with a slam of his own, but neither man could get more than a two count.
Femi began to take charge, tossing Inamura around the ring. He put Inamura in a back stretch over his knee, but Inamura was able to power out and counter the hold into a body slam. Femi hit a spinebuster in response. Working the body, Femi tried to get Imanura up for a suplex, but Inamura blocked it and delivered on of his own to Femi.
Inamura started delivering chops to Femi, utilizing his strong style strikes. Inamura hit another German Suplex on Femi, but only a two count. Inamura went to the top rope, but Femi dodged his dive, sending him into the ref in the corner. That allowed Briggs to hit Femi with the NXT title.
Inamura went up top, but Briggs tried to get him to make a pin. IN the confusion, Femi staggered to his feet and Inamura hit a big splash from the top rope. However, the ref was still down, so there was noone to count the pin.
Briggs tried to put the ref back in, which allowed Femi to recover and hit a choke slam. The pin was only for two though as Inamura kicked out. The big men went back to striking and punches and chops flew everywhere.
Inamura hit a modified Blue Thunder Bomb, but that only got him a modified two count. Briggs got up on the apron, but Femi wasn’t distracted and hit a pop up powerbomb to get the 1-2-3 and retain the NXT Title.
Match Result: Oba Femi defeated Yoshiki Inamura
That was a lot of big men slapping the meat! I love these slobberknockers as a certain Oklahoman used to say and Imanura kept up with the dominant Femi the whole way. I could have done without the Briggs interference, but it was still a fun title match.
-Backstage, Trick Williams asked GM Ava to do something about him getting jumped by Hendry and Santana. Ava said that DarkState got his revenge and then made the match Williams, Hendry and Santana vs DarkState on Tuesday.
-Oba Femi was interviewed in the back and he was joined be Inamura. They exchanged respect and Inamura apologized for Briggs’ interference. Briggs arrived and a pull apart broke out.
Jordynne Grace & Blake Monroe vs. Fatal Influence (Jacy Jayne and Fallon Henley) w/ Jazmyn Nyx
Monroe’s arrival in NXT threw the women’s division into chaos and resulted in Fatal Influence putting her through a table. Grace is the number one contender for Jayne’s NXT Women’s Title, and just hours before Evolution, Fatal Influence will be looking to make an impact on the division and the faces of Grace and Monroe.
Grace and Henley kicked things off, with Grace having the obvious strength advantage. She sent Henley into the corner and after some shots hit a big spinning slam. Henley tagged in Jayne and the two traded schoolboy attempts.
Grace then tagged in Monroe in her first ever WWE/NXT match. She and Jayne locked up and traded armbreakers. Monroe dodged a senton from Jayne who rolled over and tagged Henley back in. Monroe sent her to the corner and Grace tagged in. Using Monroe as a weapon, Grace scooped her up and dropped her on Henley.
Now isolated, Henley struggled against Monroe and Grace in the corner. Monroe, the legal woman, hit a spinning slam in the middle of the ring followed by a rollup. Jayne distracted the ref and Nyx jumped in to break up the pin and give a shot to Monroe.
Now Monroe found herself isolated as Jayne and Henley tagged in and out, working her over. Monroe dodged a double team though and got a hot tag to Grace who cleaned house until Jayne got a foot in her stomach. Henley arrived for a double team, but Grace shrugged them both off, sending them to the outside.
Jayne lured Grace to the outside and delivered a huge kick as Grace rounded a corner. Tossing her back into the ring, Henley and Jayne suplexed Grace, but it only resulted in a two count. Jayne pounced on a dazed Grace and hit a big elbow and a kick square to the face.
Henley rejoined the fray and hit Grace with a back elbow off the ropes. Jayne and Henley tagged in and out, delivering shots and kicks to Grace in the corner, targeting the arms. Grace fought back, overpowering Henley into a Death Valley Driver. A hot tag was made to Monroe to took out Henley and Jayne.
Jayne tried to go up top, but Monroe got her with a head scissors and brought her back down to earth. Monroe fought Jayne on the ring apron (the most glamourous part of the ring!) and tried a power bomb, but Nyx stopped her and Jayne dragged Monroe back into ring.
Henley tagged in and hit a blockbuster on Monroe for a two-count. Monroe delivered a big headbutt to Henley and fell back into a tag from Grace. Grace worked Henley over, tossing her onto the entrance ramp. They traded shots until Henley speared Grace through the ropes back into the ring.
Jayne and Monroe tagged in and traded stiff shots. Jayne sent Monroe intot he corner, but Monroe dodged and hit a German Suplex on Jayne. Monroe went to the top rope, but Nyx managed to push her off. Suddenly Masha Slammovich appeared and took out Nyx!
All four women brawled in the ring, the Ref unable to keep control. Henley sent Grace to the outside and in the ring, Monroe at a high kick from Jayne. Grace popped up and hit a back fist on Jayne, knocking her cold and allowing Monroe to get the pin!
Match Result: Jordynne Grace & Blake Monroe defeated Fatal Influence
A fun match that was worthy of being the Main Event. Loved the Slammovich cameo and thought that all involved worked really well together! Evolution should be great tomorrow, but before that, it’s Saturday Night’s Main Event!