A weekend as jam-packed with wrestling as any the mainstream American industry has seen in years kicks off Saturday with "WWE NXT" Great American Bash, the latest premium live event from WWE's developmental brand! Three titles are on the line, newcomer Jasper Troy is set to burst onto the scene against Je'Von Evans, and Blake Monroe makes her "NXT" debut in tag team action alongside Jordynne Grace against NXT Women's Champion Jacy Jayne and her FatalInfluence teammate Fallon Henley.
As always with PLEs and PPVs, Wrestling Inc. is here to make our predictions, and boy is it going to be a big prediction weekend! Especially because we are really torn on some of these matches we barely chose a predicted winner for one of them, and failed to choose one entirely for another! What kinds of shenanigans do we see going down to get Saturday's action started?Let's get to the picks!
Sol Ruca and Number One Contender Izzi Dame are set out to contest Ruca's "NXT" Women's North American Championship at Saturday's Great American Bash card, and only one can walk out of Atlanta with the Women's North American title. We here at Wrestling Inc., are nearly certain that Ruca will kick off a weekend of great wrestling with a title retention, as 94% of our staff chose to back the champion.
While Ruca and Dame will contest the "NXT" Women's North American Championship in singles action, we cannot ignore the influence of both women's expected ringside associates in our match predictions. In Ruca's corner is Zaria, whose power has been a source of both respect and fear in the "NXT" women's locker room. Dame is backed by Tatum Paxley, whose loyalty earned Dame this title opportunity in the first place, as she helped Dame pin Ruca in tag team action on the July 1 episode of "NXT."Paxley, however loyal, is undoubtedly unhinged this unpredictability makes her a wild card for Saturday's match. No stipulations banning either Zaria or Paxley from ringside have been announced as of writing, and as the days tick down to Atlanta, the likelihood of ringside interference in this "NXT" Women's North American Championship contest only grows.
Despite their recent tag team loss, Ruca and Zaria have otherwise curtailed Dame and Paxley's every attempt at ringside interference, and are often seen hauling either Dame or Paxley away from the apron during pivotal match moments. Saturday will test Dame's ambition, Ruca's resilience, and the strength between both women and their associated partners. Anything can happen when the bell rings in Atlanta, but if we were to predict the outcome of Ruca's "NXT" Women's North American Championship title defense, we'd put our money on a soul-snatching performance from the champion.
Written by Angeline Phu
In a near split amongst Wrestling Inc. staff, Je'Von Evans is slightly favored to defeat Jasper Troy (56%) at "WWE NXT" Great American Bash.
With Troy making his "NXT" premium live event debut, some of us feel that WWE would want him to emerge out of it looking strong, specifically with a win. Also coming off a recent loss to NXT Champion Oba Femi, a victory would additionally put momentum back into his favor and potentially on track for another title match down the line. After all, Troy won the inaugural season of "WWE LFG," which means he should be positioned to be a future legend and great...at some point.
What we can't overlook, however, is Evans' premium live event record. Since arriving to "NXT" last year, Evans has competed at four PLEs. His record? 0-4. Two of those losses, and his most recent, came with the NXT Championship on the line. Another pitted him against four other competitors in an Iron Survivor Challenge. The last saw him fall to former NXT Champion Ethan Page in a singles match with no added stipulations.
For a young and "bouncy" talent that has already been granted a solo bout against future WWE Hall of Famer Randy Orton, we expected Evans to have obtained some sort of success at premium live events by now. Unfortunately, that has yet to happen, which is why a slight majority of us believe it is time for Evans to finally pick up some legitimate steam. And what better way to do that than by overcoming a powerhouse that WWE and several Hall of Famers have deemed as a "future great"?
Written byElla Jay
The NXT North American Championship will also be on the line at the Great American Bash in the only stipulation match of the evening as Ethan Page will defend his title in a Falls Count Anywhere match against Ricky Saints. For months, Page and Saints have been at each others throats, quite literally considering Page put Saints on the shelf for a couple of weeks after taking the title away from him back on the May 27 episode of "WWE NXT," and they will be looking to finally settle their differences in a contest where the rules are thrown out the window, and they get to finish things wherever they want in the arena.
Unlike some of the other bouts on the card, we here at Wrestling Inc. are torn down the middle as to who we think will get the victory in this one. It didn't really seem like Saints got a fair shot with the title the first time he held it, holding it for less than two months, and while he did defend it against Page at Stand & Deliver, that ultimately acted as the first of a three-part series that will end this Saturday. But the real thing to consider is, one of these guys is almost certainly getting called up to the main roster.
The safest bet for that would be on Page, as he has done almost everything there is to do in "NXT" since debuting on the brand in May 2024, and a call-up to the main roster has surely got to be in his future. There are rumors and rumblings that he could potentially have something to do with Seth Rollins and Paul Heyman's group the problem is, those same rumors have applied to Saints as well, and he doesn't really need to be in "NXT" for much longer. Would it be nice to see him win more gold? Of course it would, but even the fans who have followed him since his AEW days know that he is destined for things far beyond the confines of the WWE Performance Center, and a call-up could only really be possible if he lost to Page.
Overall, you can make the case for both guys to win and lose, as we don't think either of them are going to be sticking around in "NXT" for much longer. In this match, your guess is as good as ours.
Written by Sam Palmer
Blake Monroe, "WWE NXT's" hottest debutante, and Jordynne Grace, the Number One Contender for Jayne's "NXT" Women's title, have everything to prove as they are set to take on Fatal Influence's Fallon Henley and "NXT" Women's Champion Jacy Jayne at Saturday's Great American Bash premium live event. This high-stakes match-up is anyone's to win, but 81% of us at Wrestling Inc. feel confident in a Grace and Monroe victory come Saturday.
Grace and Monroe are an unconventional pair, but their common enemy in Fatal Influence has been the foundation of their Great American Bash alliance. Monroe arrived to "NXT" by interrupting a Fatal Influence segment, and "NXT's" newest addition continued to clash with the faction as Monroe's "NXT" contract signing turned into a full three-on-one brawl, with Fatal Influence's numbers ultimately overwhelming Monroe. Grace is on similarly poor terms with Fatal Influence, as stable leader Jayne holds the "NXT" Women's World Championship: a title that Grace has been gunning for ever since her own "NXT" debut. With Monroe's decorated inter-promotion resume and Grace's strong "NXT" performances, the pair will be hard to beat on Saturday.
Despite Grace and Monroe's strong background, Jayne and Henley are not to be underestimated. Jayne dethroned the wildly popular Stephanie Vaquer for her "NXT" Women's Championship back in May, and Henley is known for 111 day reign as the "NXT" Women's North American Champion. They will also likely be accompanied by Jazmyn Nyx, who will undoubtedly run ringside interference. Fatal Influence may not even have to sweat for their victory, as a rumored team implosion and heel turn between Grace and Monroe may jeopardize the opposition's chances.
We're forecasting a Grace and Monroe victory on Saturday. Until the pinfall or submission is scored, however, there is simply no telling where the wind will blow at the Great American Bash.
Written byAngeline Phu
Many have tried, but all have failed to dethrone Oba Femi in his reign as NXT Champion. At "WWE NXT" Great American Bash, we believe that trend will continue when Femi defends his title against Yoshiki Inamura, a star brought over to "NXT" as part of WWE's partnership with Pro-Wrestling NOAH.
Weeks ago, Inamura pinned TNA World Champion (and former NXT Champion) Trick Williams in six-man tag action, and in doing so, put his name in orbit of Williams' title. In a surprising move, Inamura bestowed a TNA Title shot to his tag team partner, Josh Briggs, instead. Meanwhile, Inamura opted to pursue the NXT Championship, with the vision of he and Briggs holding the respective titles side by side.
Briggs, however, fell short in his quest for TNA gold. In fact, he and Inamura have both fallen short when it matters the most.
Together, Briggs and Inamura have already lost two televised NXT Tag Team Championship opportunities, dating back to "NXT" Vengeance Day. Shortly after, Inamura suffered defeat to Ivar in a WWE Speed Championship tournament semi-final match that lasted merely two minutes and 22 seconds. And we're supposed to reasonably believe that he could go the distance with Femi, a man who hasn't sustained a singles loss since last October?
Don't get us wrong, Inamura has been a pleasure to watch during his time on "NXT" television. He even impressed us with his number one contender's victory over Jasper Troy. Femi, however, has been virtually unstoppable, even with taped ribs, since arriving to "NXT" in the 2023 Men's Breakout Tournament. 100% of Wrestling Inc. staff believe he will remain that way after Great American Bash.
Written byElla Jay
