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WWE NXT got its first edition of the Great American Bash as the event made its return to WWE TV after eight years. Too big for one night, the event has been divided into two nights and the first night's show took place this week while the second night is scheduled for next Wednesday.
The first night was headlined by a match between WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Sasha Banks and NXT Women’s Champion Io Shirai, while the second night will be headlined by the Winner Takes All match between NXT Champion Adam Cole and NXT North American Champion Keith Lee.
Apart from that, several big matches and segments took place during the night to make things exciting for the fans watching from home. Dexter Lumis and Timothy Thatcher scored big victories during the night while Tegan Nox defeated three other women to get in contention for the NXT Women’s Title.
The first night of the Great American Bash was a big success but left us asking a few important questions. In this article, we will look at the 5 biggest questions we have from this week’s special edition of WWE NXT.
#5 Where is the Robert Stone Brand heading to on NXT?
The Robert Stone Brand started off strong as the former "Robbie E" took Chelsea Green under his wing and launched her successfully after a couple of false starts. Green had her big moment on WWE NXT when she teamed up with Charlotte Flair and defeated Io Shirai and Rhea Ripley.
After the match, Green parted ways with Stone and has been missing from television since. Stone, on the other hand, has been desperately trying to find new clients and has been pursuing Rhea Ripley for the said role.
This week during the Great American Bash, Aliyah and Stone teamed up to compete against Ripley in a handicap match, but they were humiliated by The Nightmare of NXT.
With such booking, one wonders where the Robert Stone brand is headed to and whether the creative had planned this all along or if they’ve just hit the panic mode after Green split and could possibly head over to the main roster soon.
As for Rhea Ripley, It was odd to see the former NXT Women’s Champion get involved in such an ordinary storyline and her making quick work of Stone and Aliyah didn't help the latter either.
#4 Is Breezango the right option?
Drake Maverick has been fighting against all odds on WWE NXT and after a great performance during the NXT Cruiserweight Championship Tournament, he was rewarded with an NXT contract by Triple H.
Since then, we’ve seen El Hijo del Fantasma turn into Santos Escobar and reveal his heel faction comprising of Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde. The three men first disposed of Maverick a few weeks ago, and then took out Jake Atlas soon after.
This week, the trio was once again confronted by the former General Manager of 205 Live. This time, however, Breezango came to his aid and helped him even the odds against the heels, indicating the birth of a new babyface partnership.
WWE NXT has Cruiserweights who could do more with this opportunity
While Tyler Breeze and Fandango are excellent performers and have just come off an NXT Tag Team Championship rivalry, we are left wondering whether they are the correct choice to aid Maverick in his feud with "El Legado del Fantasma".
At one point, it looked like WWE was developing new stars in the Cruiserweight division and they should have done it to create a babyface alliance between Maverick, Atlas, and KUSHIDA.
Was bringing Breezango into the mix the correct choice considering the fact that Escobar is also the NXT Cruiserweight Champion?
#3 What’s next for Dexter Lumis?
Dexter Lumis has proven himself to be the creepiest dude in all of WWE. The NXT Superstar emerged out of nowhere and climbed the ladder quickly to become one of the biggest forces on the Black and Gold brand.
Lumis had been targeting The Undisputed Era for over two months, and it always seemed like Roderick Strong was his favorite man to pick on amongst the lot. Strong is an outstanding performer and WWE did the right thing by allowing Lumis to feud with him and get over big time with a victory this week.
Currently, NXT's main-event scene is pretty crowded with NXT Champion Adam Cole and NXT North American Champion Keith Lee set to collide next week and Karrion Kross carving his own path of dominance. So, the question is...
Does WWE NXT have a plan for Lumis?
With that in mind, what’s next for Loony Lumis going forward as his win last night was a strong indication that he is done with The Undisputed Era?
At one point, it seemed like Lumis would be paired with The Velveteen Dream, but we can forget about those plans now, given the rumors that he is on his way out of WWE. That being said, what’s next for Dexter Lumis?
#2 Is Tegan Nox the right choice?
One of the biggest matches of the night kicked off the Great American Bash on this week’s WWE NXT as Mia Yim, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, and Tegan Nox competed in a Fatal 4-Way elimination match.
LeRae was the first one to be eliminated by Yim in the match and she was joined backstage by Yim soon after. Nox and Kai then put on a stellar singles bout before the former managed to hit The Shiniest Wizard to pick up the victory.
Now that she has overcome three other top women of NXT, The Girl with the Shiniest Wizard will get a chance to challenge for the NXT Women’s Championship soon. While there is no doubt that Nox deserves a big match and a run with the NXT Title, is she the correct choice at this point?
Several WWE NXT heels could have done better at this point
Io Shirai now seems to be playing a babyface character after a great run as a heel, and since Nox is also a babyface, the intensity could be missing from their match. It also seems like The Jodi Judas won’t be losing her title anytime soon, and therefore Nox is just progressing to the next level without actually getting a chance to win the title.
In this case, would WWE NXT have done better by giving another competitor such as Aliyah, Chelsea Green, or Dakota Kai a chance to take on Shirai first?
#1 Will we get a huge WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship Match?
A couple of weeks ago, WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Bayley and Sasha Banks arrived on WWE NXT to defend their titles against Tegan Nox and Shotzi Blackheart. Even though both the challengers have never won a title in their WWE career, they gave the top women of WWE a tough fight but lost in the end.
Io Shirai arrived after the match to attack Bayley and Banks and sent them packing to remind them that NXT is her house now. This week, Banks looked to get revenge on Shirai and also earn some bragging rights as she squared off against the current NXT Women's Champion at the Great American Bash.
Both women put on a great show, and while Bayley’s distraction earned Banks a big advantage during the match, it was RAW Women’s Champion Asuka who had the last laugh as she helped The Jodi Judas pick up the victory.
WWE NXT must feature a Title match between these two teams
Asuka will be defending the RAW Women's Championship against Banks soon, but can WWE spice things up by giving us a huge match just before the two Champions meet in the ring at Extreme Rules?
Since the WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions were embarrassed by the two Japanese Superstars on WWE NXT, will WWE continue the story and give fans a huge match for the Tag Team Titles between these two teams? It was great to see Asuka come to Shirai’s aid, and such a match could help WWE build Asuka and Shirai as the next Double Champions!
