Great American Bash XXV - 7/30/2023

[Dolfan in NYC]

I swear to god, when they said they were running this show from Cedar Park, I thought this was like one of those old WCW PPV's or Nitros they shot in an amusement park.    Then I found out it's just a suburb of Austin.   

THE CARD~!

FOR THE NXT CHAMPIONSHIP - Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Ilja Dragunov

SUMBISSION MATCH FOR THE WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP - Tiffany Stratton (c) vs. Thea Hail

TRIPLE THREAT MATCH FOR THE NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP - DIRTY~ Dominik Mysterio (c) vs. Wes Lee vs. Mustafa Ali

FOR THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - Gallus (J. Coffey / Wolfgang) vs. The Family (D'Angelo / Lorenzo)

WEAPONS WILD MATCH - Roxanne Perez vs. Blair Davenport

Baron Corbin vs. Gable Steveson

Dragon Lee / Nathan Frazer / Yulisa León / Valentina Feroz vs. Meta-Four (Dar / Mensah / Jackson / Legend)

 

[Dolfan in NYC]

"You're not Angle."    hooo boy.  Gable's got some work to do. 

[Eivion]

The mixed tag was a little off at times but pretty damn fun overall. Thought everyone got a decent chance to impress. Really enjoyed Lash Legend as Meta-Four's powerhouse. It worked well given how much bigger she is than everyone else here.

Gallus vs. Tony D & Stacks was good.

Dug Roxanne/Blair a good deal. I liked how Blair opened up with the sneak attack. She was also wonderful asshole to Roxanne's mother and sister. Was also good to see the crowd get so behind Roxanne though those "We Want tables" chants will never not suck. I do like that Roxanne and Blair mostly ignored those and told the story they needed to tell.

Corbin/Steveson was a match. Thought Gable was a bit stilted though still generally game. The crowd actively being behind Corbin kind of threw things off here as his normal style wasn't really working. It felt weird for them to go for a double countout finish just as it felt like things were kicking into next gear. Did enjoy the post match brawl which the crowd was definitely up for even with the shit finish. Will be interesting to see if they pivot and turn Steveson heel after this. 

Loved the NA title match. Its easily one of Dom's best matches yet. I really dug how this leaned more into Dom's sleazy heel bastard act than the usual spotfest. We still got plenty of solid action, but it took a backseat to the character aspects like how they handled the 3 Amigos section and Rhea chasing Wes.

Stratton/Thea was a bit rough at times, particularly on Stratton's part, but was pretty fun overall. 

Melo/Ilja was as great as expected. Dug how this played out as gradually becoming an uphill battle for Melo due to Ilja's overwhelming intensity. Was a nice test of Melo's spirit. I only wish the finish hadn't involved Trick the way it did. Would have been better for Trick just to provide that last mental push and let Melo persevere. Still pretty damn good overall.

Another good NXT event despite one weak match in Corbin/Steveson. The NA title match and main event were the highlights with everything else still being pretty solid-good. Also seems like the bigger crowds are getting mor einvested with each PLE. Hopefully that trend continues. 

Edited August 1, 2023 by Eivion

[hammerva]

8 hours ago, Dolfan in NYC said:

"You're not Angle."    hooo boy.  Gable's got some work to do. 

If it wasn't for the fact that we waited almost a year and a half for this debut, it wouldn't have been this bad.  I know that the WWE doesn't want to show one of the great college wrestlers in the modern era as "normal" for lack of a better term but I have a hard time believing that having him just suck on Level Up for about 6 months would have been worse to build him.   He has serious potential but it is going to take a long time.   Right now it is like watching the Rock when he was in Memphis

[Dolfan in NYC]

D'Angelo is looking... ahem... main roster ready.  

[Iron Moose]

Hale-Stratton would be really interesting to rewatch with an emphasis on pace and timing. I think not having three-counts was a bit disorienting.

[Steventon]

Main event ruled. Ilja does not miss and Hayes is probably the biggest success of the 2.0 era. Thought they really good a good job elevating him by having his mettle tested and survive one of the most durable guys on the planet (side note - Ilja / Darby Allin tag team would be excellent). Finish was a bit flat agreed but still worth going out of your ways for.