NXT The Great American Bash (2024)
NXT: The Great American Bash | |||
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Promotion | WWE | ||
Brand(s) | NXT | ||
Date | July 30 and August 6, 2024 | ||
City | Orlando, Florida | ||
Venue | WWE Performance Center | ||
NXT special episodes chronology | |||
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The Great American Bash chronology | |||
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The 2024 NXT: The Great American Bash was a two-part professional wrestling television special produced by WWE. It was the 12th Great American Bash under the WWE banner, the fifth annual produced specifically for its developmental brand NXT, and the 26th Great American Bash event overall. The two-part event took place on July 30 and August 6, 2024, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida and aired as special episodes of NXT on Syfy, due to sister network USA's (NXT's regular network) coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
This returned The Great American Bash to being a television special of NXT, like the events from 2020 to 2022, as the 2023 event aired via WWE's livestreaming platforms, and subsequently the first time since 2020 to air over two weeks. In addition to wrestlers from NXT, there were also appearances by wrestlers from WWE's Raw brand and partner promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), which began a talent exchange arrangement with NXT in June 2024.
Ten matches were contested on Week 1 of the event, with four taped for future episodes of Level Up. In the televised main event, Roxanne Perez defeated Thea Hail to retain the NXT Women's Championship. In another prominent match, which was the opening bout, The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn) defeated Meta-Four (Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend) to retain the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship.
For Week 2, ten matches were contested at the event, with four taped for future episodes of Level Up. In the televised main event, Axiom and Nathan Frazer defeated MSK (Wes Lee and Zachary Wentz) to retain the NXT Tag Team Championship, leading to Lee's heel turn for the first time ever. In other prominent matches, TNA wrestler Joe Hendry defeated Joe Coffey, and Ethan Page defeated Oro Mensah to retain the NXT Championship.
Production
[edit]Background
[edit]The Great American Bash is a professional wrestling event established in 1985. Following WWE's acquisition of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in March 2001,[1] the promotion revived the event as their own annual pay-per-view (PPV) event in 2004,[2] which continued until 2009. Following this 2009 event, The Great American Bash was discontinued as a PPV. In 2012, WWE revived the event to be held as a special episode of SmackDown but was again discontinued. In 2020, WWE again revived the event, this time for the developmental brand NXT as an annual television special of the NXT program until the 2023 event, which aired via WWE's livestreaming platforms.[3]
On July 7, 2024, during Heatwave, the 12th Great American Bash under the WWE banner, the fifth annual for NXT, and the 26th overall, was officially announced to return, but as a television special of NXT like the events from 2020 to 2022.[4] It was originally scheduled for just August 6, but was expanded to a two-part event on July 30 and August 6 at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The special episodes of NXT aired in the United States on Syfy due to coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics airing on NXT's regular channel, the USA Network. This was also the first two-part Great American Bash since 2020, as the events from 2021 to 2023 were only one-night events.[5]
Storylines
[edit]The event included matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program, NXT, and the supplementary online streaming show, Level Up.[6][7]
On the July 9 episode of NXT, Chase University's Ridge Holland told fellow stablemate Thea Hail she was ready for another shot at the NXT Women's Championship, held by Roxanne Perez.[8] The following week, Perez expressed frustration at the lack of respect towards her and said Hail did not deserve a title match. Hail interrupted and said Perez was not owed anything and vowed to take the title from her. The two brawled before Holland appeared and restrained Hail.[9] On the July 23 episode, it was announced that Perez would defend her title against Hail on Night 1 of The Great American Bash.[10]
On the July 9 episode of NXT, Wren Sinclair witnessed No Quarter Catch Crew (Charlie Dempsey, Myles Borne, and Tavion Heights) presumably murdering (kayfabe) fellow stablemate Damon Kemp—this was done to write Kemp off television following his release from WWE.[8] The following week, Dempsey approached NXT Heritage Cup champion Tony D'Angelo for advice, to no avail. Sinclair expressed her desire to join the Catch Crew, but Dempsey declined.[9] On the next episode, Sinclair blackmailed Dempsey and stated that if she did not win her match that night, she would tell everyone about the Catch Crew's actions. Sinclair won her match after interference from Dempsey. Backstage later that night, D'Angelo said he respected the Catch Crew and agreed to put his Cup on the line against Heights during Night 1 of The Great American Bash.[10]
On the July 23 episode of NXT, Meta-Four's Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend defeated Karmen Petrovic and Sol Ruca. After the match, they challenged Raw's The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn) to a match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship on Night 1 of The Great American Bash. Fyre and Dawn accepted their challenge via X and the match was made official.[10]
In June 2024, Joe Hendry from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) began making appearances in NXT via a partnership between WWE and TNA. On the July 23 episode of NXT, it was announced that Hendry would perform a live in-ring concert on Night 1 of The Great American Bash.[10] On Night 1, Hendry sang a song mocking Gallus (Joe Coffey, Mark Coffey and Wolfgang), who had been feuding with Hendry since his debut in NXT. Gallus interrupted the concert and attacked Hendry, who got the upper hand. Hendry later challenged Joe to a match on Night 2 of The Great American Bash, which was made official.[11]
In May 2024, Meta-Four's Noam Dar and Oro Mensah were attacked by an unknown assailant, later revealed to be the debuting Ethan Page. On the June 18 episode of NXT, Page competed in a 25-man battle royal to determine the #1 contender for the NXT Championship at Heatwave, but Mensah attacked him just seconds into the match and Page was never officially eliminated. Page used this to his advantage to work his way into the title match at Heatwave, which he won to become champion.[12] On the July 16 episode of NXT, Mensah attacked Page after the latter's successful title defense and pinned him.[9] The following week, an increasingly manic Page argued that the pin was not official since the referee was not present, only for Mensah to pin Page again with a referee present. Later that night, Page demanded NXT General Manager Ava to give him a match against Mensah with his title on the line. Ava announced that a contract signing would take place the following week, with the title match scheduled for Night 2 of The Great American Bash.[10]
On the July 16 episode of NXT, Lola Vice defeated Jacy Jayne, only to be attacked by Jayne and her allies, Jazmyn Nyx and Fallon Henley after the match. However, Karmen Petrovic and Sol Ruca, who had been feuding with the three women, came out to save Vice.[9] On July 27 in a video on X, Jayne, Nyx, and Henley expressed frustration at not earning a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match and decided that they were going to take matters into their own hands. After several back and forth posts on X, NXT General Manager Ava scheduled a six-woman tag team match between the two teams for Night 1 of The Great American Bash.[13]
On the July 16 episode of NXT, Tatum Paxley asked NXT Women's North American Champion Kelani Jordan if she wanted to play dolls with her, which Jordan declined, saying they are too old to play with dolls. After Jordan walked away, Paxley unveiled another doll reminiscent of Jordan.[9] Two weeks later, Paxley again asked Jordan if she wanted to play with her, but Jordan declined. Paxley then proposed to play with Jordan's title instead. It was later announced that Jordan would defend her title against Paxley on Night 2 of The Great American Bash.[11]
After losing the NXT Championship at Heatwave, Trick Williams approached Raw's Pete Dunne for advice, only for Dunne to tell Williams to "figure it out."[9] One week later, Williams defeated Cedric Alexander, but Dunne attacked him after the match.[10] On the next episode, Williams challenged Dunne to a match on Night 2 of The Great American Bash, which was made official.[11]
On the July 9 episode of NXT, Wes Lee addressed failing to regain the NXT North American Championship at Heatwave, seemingly announcing that he would be stepping away from NXT, but was interrupted by his former Rascalz stablemates Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz from TNA. Miguel and Wentz, formerly known as Nash Carter in NXT, convinced Lee to reunite with them.[8] Two weeks later, The Rascalz defeated Je'Von Evans and NXT Tag Team Champions Axiom and Nathan Frazer in a six-man tag team match after Wentz pinned Axiom.[10] On the next episode, the Rascalz recounted how Lee and Wentz, once again using their former tag team name, MSK, never lost the titles in the first place and set their sights on reclaiming them. It was later announced that MSK would challenge Axiom and Frazer for the titles on Night 2 of The Great American Bash.[11]
Results
[edit]No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[20][17][21] | ||||
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1D | Edris Enofé (with Malik Blade) defeated Kale Dixon by pinfall | Singles match[b][18] | 7:42 | ||||
2D | Mark Coffey defeated Cutler James by pinfall | Singles match[c][18] | 6:51 | ||||
3D | Dante Chen defeated Keanu Carver by pinfall | Singles match[b][18] | 4:45 | ||||
4D | Adriana Rizzo (with Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo and Luca Crusifino) defeated Izzi Dame by pinfall | Singles match[c][18] | 4:49 | ||||
5 | Pete Dunne defeated Trick Williams by pinfall | Singles match[19] | 12:59 | ||||
6 | Kelani Jordan (c) defeated Tatum Paxley by pinfall | Singles match for the NXT Women's North American Championship[19] | 10:03 | ||||
7 | Ethan Page (c) defeated Oro Mensah (with Jakara Jackson and Lash Legend) by pinfall | Singles match for the NXT Championship[19] | 9:10 | ||||
8 | Joe Hendry defeated Joe Coffey (with Mark Coffey and Wolfgang) by pinfall | Singles match[19] | 8:12 | ||||
9 | Wren Sinclair (with Charlie Dempsey and Myles Borne) defeated Kendal Grey (with Carlee Bright) by pinfall | Singles match[19] Since Sinclar won, she joined No Quarter Catch Crew, and Charlie Dempsey earned a match for the NXT Heritage Cup. | 4:15 | ||||
10 | Axiom and Nathan Frazer (c) defeated MSK (Wes Lee and Zachary Wentz) (with Trey Miguel) by pinfall | Tag team match for the NXT Tag Team Championship[19] | 10:31 | ||||
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Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "WWE Entertainment, Inc. Acquires WCW from Turner Broadcasting". March 23, 2001. Archived from the original on March 13, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2007.
- ^ Sokol, Chris (June 27, 2004). "Bash provides surprise endings". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on November 6, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2008.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (May 28, 2023). "NXT Great American Bash Announced For July 30". Fightful. Retrieved May 28, 2023.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (July 7, 2024). "NXT Great American Bash Announced For August 6, Will Air On SyFy". Fightful. Retrieved July 7, 2024.
- ^ Lambert, Jeremy (July 16, 2024). "NXT Great American Bash To Be A Two-Week Special, Both Nights To Air On SyFy". Fightful. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
- ^ "Live & Televised Entertainment". WWE. Archived from the original on February 18, 2009. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
- ^ a b c Moore, John (July 9, 2024). "NXT TV results (7/9): Moore's review of the NXT Heatwave fallout show, Tony D'Angelo vs. Lexis King for the NXT Heritage Cup, Sol Ruca vs. Fallon Henley, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows vs. OTM". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f Moore, John (July 16, 2024). "NXT TV results (7/16): Moore's review of The Rascalz vs. Gallus, Oba Femi vs. Duke Hudson for the NXT North American Title, Je'Von Evans vs. Brooks Jensen". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Moore, John (July 23, 2024). "NXT TV results (7/23): Moore's review of Brooks Jensen vs. Josh Briggs in a No DQ match, Eddy Thorpe vs. Lexis King, Ashante Adonis vs. Oro Mensah, Wren Sinclair vs. Carlee Bright". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Moore, John (July 30, 2024). "NXT TV results (7/30): Moore's review of Great American Bash night one with Roxanne Perez vs. Thea Hail for the NXT Women's Championship, Joe Hendry's concert". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ Moore, John (June 18, 2024). "NXT TV results (6/18): Moore's review of the 25-man battle royal for a shot at the NXT Championship at NXT Heatwave, Kelani Jordan vs. Michin for the North American Championship". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 19, 2024.
- ^ Tessier, Colin (July 29, 2024). "Lola Vice, Sol Ruca, And Karmen Petrovic vs. Jacy Jayne, Jazmyn Nyx, And Fallon Henley Added To 7/30 NXT Great American Bash". Fightful. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Krotchsen, Billy (July 30, 2024). "WWE NXT LEVEL UP SPOILERS FOR 8/2". PW Insider. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f WWE.com Staff (July 30, 2024). "NXT Great American Bash 2024 Week One results". WWE. Retrieved August 1, 2024.
- ^ O'Connor, John (August 3, 2024). "NXT Level Up results (8/2): O'Connor's review of Bronco Nima vs. Malik Blade, Tatum Paxley vs. Tyra Mae Steel, and Shiloh Hill vs. Riley Osborne". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 3, 2024.
- ^ a b O'Connor, John (August 10, 2024). "NXT Level Up results (8/9): O'Connor's review of Edris Enofe vs. Kale Dixon, Dante Chen vs. Keanu Carver, and Lainey Reid vs. Wendy Choo". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 10, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Krotchsen, Billy (August 6, 2024). "WWE NXT LEVEL UP SPOILERS FROM 8/6". PW Insider. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "NXT Great American Bash 2024 Week Two results: Wes Lee unleashes a stunning attack on his Rascalz partners after Tag Team Title loss". WWE. August 6, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
- ^ Moore, John (August 6, 2024). "NXT TV results (8/6): Moore's review of Great American Bash night two with Ethan Page vs. Oro Mensah for the NXT Title, Kelani Jordan vs. Tatum Paxley for the NXT Women's North American Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 6, 2024.
- ^ O'Connor, John (August 16, 2024). "NXT Level Up results (8/16): O'Connor's review of Adriana Rizzo vs. Izzi Dame, and Cutler James vs. Mark Coffey". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved August 18, 2024.