Candice LeRae did not have a great American bash (WWE)
NXT pulled out the Great American Bash to rival Fyter Fest and here are the hits and misses from the show
The Great American Bash returned to WWE screens after almost a decade, and it featured some big matches on the first day of the event.
This was done to rival AEW’s Fyter Fest and the matches were set up rather hastily, but some of the clashes delivered.
We had Sasha Banks taking on Io Shirai as the main event, and that was good but some spots just didn’t hit the high marks.
Many of the top stars were present on this NXT show and here are the hits and misses from first day of the Great American Bash.
Candice LeRae was the first woman eliminated from the Fatal 4-way to find out the No.1 contender. However, she deserved more time in the match as the other competitors showed off their skills.
LeRae has been great as a heel and even reaching the final two spots would have been great. She did recover to challenge Mia Yim on the next day of the Bash, but her usage in this clash was a miss.
WWE seemed to be confused about making this a PPV kind of event or a regular NXT show, something that Fyter Fest Day One didn’t have troubles with.
The two segments featuring Cameron Grimes and Damien Priest didn’t click at all. The pair need to have more heat in their rivalry, but even after slashing Priest’s tyres, something is amiss between them.
Banks vs Shirai was set to become one of the matches of the year. However, the ending wasn’t all that great. The match already was suffering since this wasn’t a title clash but bringing Asuka in to hamper Banks chances of defeating Shirai wasn’t needed.
The finish just hurt the ratings for this clash, despite both women putting on a stellar show.
If the last two minutes of this clash are removed, Shirai vs Banks was one of the best matches of the year. Shirai is proving to be one of the best in WWE after her electric performance against Charlotte a while back.
Banks is also one of the best female stars ever to grace WWE, and it was great to see the two face off.
While Yim was unable to get the win in the Fatal 4-Way, she did impress a lot. Tegan Nox got to celebrate the win, in the end, however, Yim shone in the spots handed to her.
The HBIC will clash against LeRae next week, and that should be an incredible match.
Rhea Ripley was up against Robert Stone and Aliyah in a handicap match. While she could have ended up joining the Robert Stone Brand if she lost, Ripley had a lot of fun destroying the pair.
WWE needs to have some comedy in their matches, and this one had some humour involved in it. Stone and Aliyah also had Ripley on the ropes during the clash. But the Nightmare got the win and it was fun seeing her crack a smile or two during the match.
The strap match between Dexter Lumis and Roderick Strong was always going to be enjoyable. Even Bobby Fish’s interference couldn’t stop Lumis from getting the win but his psychological warfare against Strong was present in this clash.
He did the stare, decided not to sell certain moves of Strong and even teased putting the Undisputed Era member in the trunk of a car.
WWE has found something great in this character, and it will be interesting to see what is next for him.
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