NXT HITS & MISSES 7/1: Sasha Banks challenges Io Shirai, Strong vs. Lumis in strap match, Nox & Yim & LaRae vs. Kai, Thatcher vs. Lorcan

Fatal Four Way Elimination – Tegan Nox vs. Mia Yim vs. Candice LaRae vs. Dakota Kai – 50/50: This made the most sense to me as the opening match. With Fyter Fest opposite The Great American Bash, tough to say what they would open the night with. It makes sense to kick the GAB off with four of the best female wrestlers in all of the WWE. I was a little surprised Candice LaRae was eliminated so early in the match considering the focus on her character since her and her husband, Johnny Gargano, have turned heel. However, once Mia Yim was eliminated it became a bit more clear, they’re focusing on the Nox/Kai ongoing saga instead of the Mia Yim and LaRae feud in this particular match. I did not expect Tegan Nox to win this whatsoever. I would have actually had her pegged as the last person to walk away victorious. I question the decision, personally, as Tegan Nox just hasn’t seemed to connect with the audience to the same extent as the other four women in this match. Io Shirai vs. Tegan Nox just doesn’t feel like a big fight to me, where Io Shirai vs. any of the other four women do. Now, I don’t want anyone thinking that I’m not a fan of Tegan Nox. I am, and I want to see her succeed in what she’s chosen to do for a career. But at this point in time, I just don’t think she was is the right person to go opposite Shirai.

Damian Priest calls out Cameron Grimes – HIT: Priest was being interviewed back stage and pointed out all of the mind games that Grimes has been playing with him over the years. I had a feeling this would be a match we’d see next week at the 2^nd night of the Great American Bash.

Timothy Thatcher vs. Oney Lorcan – HIT: No, this match was not for everyone. But ohmygod this match was for me. If you tuned into this match to see high flying action, you were hardily disappointed. Thatcher and Lorcan are two submission-based, strong-style grapplers who complement each other’s styles so unbelievably well. When a wrestler like Lorcan, Thatcher, Kurt Angle, (I hate to say the name, but he was one of the best in this style) Chris Benoit, or William Regal begin to work certain body parts through submission grapples, stretches and strikes it is a thing of beauty. Oney Lorcan might be my favorite undercard wrestler in all of the WWE simply because of how crazy and intense he can get as the match goes on. Thatcher brings that same level of crazy intensity, making this match a battle of pure grappling testosterone. I think Lorcan was the perfect opponent for Thatcher to beat after his feud with Riddle. No, Lorcan isn’t a main event name. But he has a kayfabe reputation as a badass grappler, the exact reputation Thatcher is looking to make for himself.

 Rhea Ripley vs. Aliyah & Robert Stone: If Ripley loses tonight, she will become part of the Robert Stone Brand. To me, that was almost foreshadowing that she was going to lose here. Stone has been so unsuccessful to date, that the only thing that made sense in my head here was for Ripley to become part of the brand unwillingly for this story to continue to be intriguing. I genuinely can’t believe I’m so cold on a Rhea Ripley feud right now and that this was the match I was least looking forward to. With Ripley victorious here, I really don’t know how the Robert Stone brand even continues to survive. I wasn’t sure what to expect in terms of intergender wrestling, and I was surprised to see how much offense that Stone actually got off on Ripley considering the company stance on men fighting women. Overall, I think this might be the best match Aliyah has ever had, perhaps masked by the ga-ga of the match stipulation. The angle may have been well below Rhea Ripley, but they certainly did the best with what they had.

Strap Match – Dexter Lumis vs. Roderick Strong – HIT: Speaking of strange angles, what can be stranger than a stoic, psycho cartoonist who mentally abused a fellow wrestler by locking him the trunk of a car for half a day? Since then, Strong has been terrified of Lumis. Rather than locking them in a cage, why not tie them together so Strong really can’t run? Makes sense. A match stipulation that actually makes sense for the story, not just because “Oh, its October – time for Hell in a Cell!” The Strap match also has a storied history throughout The Great American Bash, probably most recently – or at least most notably in my mind as of this writing, was Eddie Guerrero vs. JBL in a “bullrope” match at GAB 2004. So I thought bringing this very old match stipulation into 2020 was a nice call back and homage to GAB’s of yesteryear. There were two American Sportscars near the stage just as decoration for the Great American Bash setting. Of course, the second NXT went on the air the first thing that went through my mind was “Roddy is going to lock Lumis in a trunk, or vice versa.” I was shocked that they only teased this for a moment midway through the match and never returned to it! Definitely not the best match that I’ve seen out of either competitor here tonight, but it was still a solid and entertaining contest.

Santo Escobar & Legado del Fantasma Speak – HIT: Escobar hit the ring with his two lackeys, essentially cutting a generic promo on how they are upset about something (lucha libre being disrespected) when Drake Maverick interrupted. Maverick showed up in a neck brace, but he immediately ripped it off and charged the ring only to get beaten down by Wilde and Mendoza. Breezango saw enough, and as two babyfaces, they came to the aid of Maverick. That’s the only reason I can think of for Breezango coming to help Maverick, that they are also babyfaces with nothing to do next week for night two of the Bash. Regardless, Fandango challenged Legado del Fantasma to a six man tag next week. I would have liked to see a rematch between Maverick and Escobar for the NXT Cruiserweight title, but I’ll take it.

Cameron Grimes Responds to Priest – HIT: Grimes cut a quick promo essentially glossing over Priest altogether and he named himself the next number one contender for the NXT Championship. It was a high energy promo, what weve come to expect from Grimes. But it seemed odd that he barely acknowledged Priest. Perhaps this plays into the match next week where Grimes doesn’t take this seriously and gets his clock cleaned?

Io Shirai vs. Sasha Banks – HIT: Sasha’s entrance was great. Its hard to have a big time entrance in a venue like the performance center, but hey, they made it work. This has been a dream match for a lot of wrestling fans, myself included, and they certainly delivered. Bayley had a great role as well, standing ringside rooting on her fellow tag champion. She would provide distractions, like honking the horn of one of the cars ringside, to keep the match in Sasha’s favor. A lot of high flying action from both Shirai and Banks, excellent ring psychology and great storytelling. The inclusion of Asuka was certainly a welcome cameo in Shirai’s defense, though I question the use of spitting green mist in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. Overall, this was easily the match of the night and certainly worth a watch. This match didn’t have anything at stake other than bragging rights, there was no build and it was just announced less than a week ago. But it didn’t matter. They went out there and created that story in the moment.