NXT Great American Bash 2025 Review
After AEW presented the longest pay-per-view of all-time, I needed a bit of a break, both to rest my mind and my body.
I’ve been able to avoid any Great American Bash spoilers, so I can review the show with “fresh eyes” and give an unbiased opinion.
Even though Y’All In ended up being longer than a giraffe’s neck, it was still an insanely good show that is going to be discussed on a lot of people’s year-end lists. For Great American Bash to even come remotely close to Y’All In, there would need to be an entire card full of classics with literally zero filler of any kind. I won’t say that’s impossible, but I will say it’s not very probable.
We’ll see, I suppose.
Let’s rock.
Je’Von Evans vs Jasper Troy
This is going to be quite the clash of styles. Je’Von Evans is one of the most athletic people I’ve ever seen in a wrestling ring, capable of gravity-defying offense that will make your jaw drop. Jasper Troy, on the other hand, is 6’5″ tall, weighs 340 pounds, and is looking to disconnect your head from your spinal cord and then beat you with it.
This show is taking place from Center Stage in Atlanta, Georgia, best known to wrestling fans as the home of World Championship Wrestling/WCW Saturday Night from 1989 to 1996. When they show wider shots of the seating, I can envision those old episodes. It’s giving me a crazy rush of nostalgia.
Not only is Je’Von much smaller than his opponent here, but he’s also coming in hurt, with his ribs taped up. It’s making the “David vs Goliath” story here even more noticeable.
There’s a bit of a unique matchup here. Evans just celebrated his 21st birthday a couple months ago, but he is the “veteran” here, having seven-and-a-half years of pro experience to the 26-year-old Troy’s two years of pro experience. Usually, the veteran in a match will “lead” things, and is more responsible for calling spots, and setting the general tone of the action. It’s strange to see someone so young fill that “veteran” role, but since it’s NXT, it isn’t completely unheard of.
The story so far is that Je’Von is trying to land a surprising power move to go with his flashy athleticism. He just tried to land a German Suplex for the third time, and it was finally successful.
A roll-up and a stacked pin attempt gets the win for Je’Von Evans! I like that finish, as it continued the “David vs Goliath” story, and it also “protects” Jasper Troy in a loss. The company clearly sees big things in his future, and he has already been pinned on NXT television a couple times recently. He gets something of an “out” here.
Good stuff overall. Fun “big man vs little man” contest, with both men showcasing why they’re in the position they’re in. 3.5 Stars
Sol Ruca vs Izzi Dame – NXT Women’s North American Title Match
The Culling were on my screen, and I immediately fell asleep in my computer chair. It’s already after midnight. I don’t need help getting tired! Shawn Spears, and therefore, anything he touches, just bores me to the brink of death. We’ll see if I can get through this.
Thankfully, Spears only showed up for Izzi’s entrance. He and Niko Vance then disappeared. That will help me tremendously.
The more I watch Sol Ruca, the more I see an absolute STAR in the making. She has everything needed to become a big, big deal on the main roster. I just hope that she can continue improving in the ring, getting more of the basics down pat, to go nicely with her flashy offense and wild athletic ability. One of the biggest things she needs to learn is WHEN to do the flashy moves, and not just doing them because she knows how to do so.
Sol Snatcher picks up the pin and the win for the champion. The match itself was fine. I just don’t think Izzi is “ready” for this type of thing yet. She spent too much of the match overacting and using the stupid wrestling trope of “I’ve never won a match with this move, but I’m going to look SHOCKED for the camera when my opponent kicks out of it” multiple times. She’s still young, and she still has plenty of time, but a title match on pay-per-view isn’t where she should be. The Culling damn sure isn’t where she should be. 2.75 Stars
“All Ego” Ethan Page vs Ricky Saints – Falls Count Anywhere Match for the NXT North American Title
Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Friday night, and you know what that means. Welcome to another loaded edition of AEW Rampage! In all seriousness, can we move Ricky Saints on to someone that wasn’t in AEW with him?
These two are brawling IMMEDIATELY. It’s on sight. Right away, they’re fighting in the crowd, and they’ve moved their way backstage. These poor fans, who aren’t in a venue with giant monitors to watch when something like this takes place. They’re seeing the action, as they’re reacting to the spots, but it can’t be easy. If this was an era gone by, we’d be getting a “we can’t see shit” chant.
They’re brawling in front of the bar, and then Ricky puts All Ego through a merchandise table. It isn’t enough to get the pin, and now, they’re brawling back at ringside.
The crowd chants “we want tables,” which is weird, as they literally just saw a table spot a couple minutes ago. Booker T thinks a “larynx” and a “medulla oblong-oh-gota” are the same thing, apparently. If you remember his appearance on The Weakest Link back in the day, that shouldn’t come as a surprise to you at all.
Similar to a spot from Y’All In, Ricky Saints just got back bodydropped onto two steel chairs that were set up and facing away from each other, landing spine-first atop the tops of the chair backs. Good Lord. Seconds later, Ricky gets suplexed onto a steel barricade that was placed against the turnbuckles. Not enough? How about a stiff steel chair shot to the back? He got one of those, too.
Mr. Saints gets a bit of revenge. Page set four steel chairs up (two on each side, facing each other this time) and they go to the top, where Page tries to suplex Ricky onto them. Ricky reverses it, and he powerbombs Ethan on the chairs for a two-count.
They make their way to the back again, and Ricky accidentally bumps into Jasper Troy, who picks him up and hits a Black Hole Slam on a road case. Poor Ricky. His back is going to be KILLING him when he wakes up in the morning, if he’s even able to get any sleep in the first place.
LOL @ Ricky hitting a Tornado DDT, but using the referee’s body to assist him on the rotation in mid-air. Clever spot.
Ego’s Edge from the stage to the floor, crashing through multiple tables, gets the pin and the win for the champion. That was a lot of fun. While “hardcore” matches in NXT (and WWE, as a whole) are far different than the ones we see in AEW, this was about as stiff and physical as you’re going to see under this particular umbrella. 4 Stars. I have to wonder if Ricky Saints is main roster bound after yet another loss, where he will inevitably feud with more former AEW wrestlers on a weekly basis.
Time for a contract signing, folks! Not just any contract signing, though. Oh, no, no, no. This is a contract signing… on an NXT pay-per-view… for a TNA World Title match… on TNA’s upcoming Slammiversary pay-per-view… featuring an NXT wrestler as the TNA World Champion, a TNA wrestler that wrestled at WrestleMania this year, and another TNA wrestler that has appearing on NXT recently.
Got all that?
The small venue means that there is a comically small stage and ramp for the show. As soon as a wrestler walks out from behind the video board, they can only go a few steps to the left or the right before getting to the end of the stage. The ramp is the same, as it only takes a few steps to reach the ring. Maybe it’s just funny to me because it’s getting late, but I chuckle during everyone’s entrance.
LOL @ Mike Santana emphasizing his promo by slamming his hand on the table, but Trick Williams only being concerned with the table shaking and knocking the TNA World Title belt over. Yeah, I think I’m finding more humor in things because of what time it is right now.
Santana, Trick, and Joe Hendry all put their signatures on the contract, but before Trick can leave the ring, he gets punched in the face by Santana. The two TNA regulars put Trick through the table and have a mini tug-of-war with the championship belt.
We move on to a plug for Saturday Night’s Main Event, but that gets interrupted by the arrival of Darkstate, who come to the ring through the crowd. All four men attack Hendry and Santana and leave them on the mat as Trick Willy watches on from the ramp that he completely engulfs as he’s stretched out on it.
Oba Femi vs Yoshiki Inamura – NXT Title Match
This… isn’t the main event? The NXT Title isn’t in the final spot, but Blake Monroe & Jordynne Grace vs Jacy Jayne & Fallon Henley is? Yuck.
“This is beautiful. What is that? Velvet?” – Me, in my head, as I see the trunks Inamura is wearing.
Inamura is listed as being 68 pounds lighter than the NXT Champion, but his unorthodox style and power game are allowing him to pick Oba up with ease.
Following up on my previous point, Inamura just deadlifted Oba and suplexed him as if the champion weighed no more than 200 pounds. Insanity.
Ref bump! Josh Briggs grabs the NXT Championship belt and hits Oba in the back. Inamura didn’t see it happen, but when he sees Briggs holding the title, he gets upset. Before the match, he told Briggs that he wanted to win the title “with honor.” Briggs then tries to hand his chain to Inamura, even though he’s standing literally one foot away from the referee that is back to his feet, but Inamura turns it down. All of the distractions are enough for Oba to finally catch Inamura with Fall From Grace to get the win.
Fun big man match. I don’t think anyone actually thought we would get a title change here, but Inamura is so entertaining that he had some believable looking near falls during the match. Good work from both men. 3.5 Stars
Blake Monroe & Jordynne Grace vs Jacy Jayne & Fallon Henley
Again, I can’t believe this is the main event. I get that Inamura isn’t a huge star or anything, but it makes zero sense for this tag match to get the final spot.
Jordynne got approximately 20 seconds of match time before the crowd started chanting that they wanted Blake.
On commentary, Corey Graves just said that Fallon Henley has held championship gold in NXT on “numerous” occasions. Twice, Corey. She has held a title twice. One Women’s North American Title reign and one NXT Women’s Tag Team Title reign. “Twice” is not “numerous.”
So far, nothing that has taken place in this match has shown why it should be the main event of a pay-per-view. Nothing has been bad or anything, but it’s coming across as the third or fourth match on an episode of NXT television.
A “this is awesome” chant breaks out by one of the more easily impressed crowds you’ll ever see. Come on, folks.
Blake and Jordynne pick up the win. We would’ve had some problems if Blake Monroe lost her NXT debut after all the hype of her arrival. The match was good. That’s it. Good. Not really good or great. Just… good. 3 Stars. It was a standard women’s tag match that you would see on NXT television, but it just so happened to have a debuting Blake Monroe in it. Jazmyn Nyx interfered on behalf of the heels approximately 297 times in the 15+ minutes that the match lasted, and that’s juuuuust a bit too much, thank you.
Folks, the “black and gold” era of NXT isn’t walking through that door. Gone are the days when an NXT pay-per-view meant we were essentially guaranteed AT LEAST one Match Of The Year candidate, a molten hot crowd, and a bunch of things to talk about.
With the focus on younger talent in NXT these days, you’re going to get a lot of what I said earlier… good matches, but not much more than that. It’s a shame, really, but I get the business decision.
I would recommend this show based on the opener, the North American Title match, and the NXT Title match. However, it’s not something you’ll lose sleep over if you didn’t check it out.
