WWE NXT Great American Bash Results: Day 2 Winners, Grades, Reaction, Highlights

The showdown between WWE and All Elite Wrestling continued this week as NXT held the second night of The Great American Bash while AEW put on the second night of Fyter Fest.

Last week featured five matches from the black-and-gold brand. Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai and Mia Yim all fell short when Tegan Nox won a Fatal 4-Way to become the No. 1 contender for the NXT women's title.

Speaking of the Women's Championship, Io Shirai managed to overcome Sasha Banks in the main event of last week's show.

We also saw Timothy Thatcher defeat Oney Lorcan, Dexter Lumis beat Roderick Strong and Rhea Ripley beat the odds to defeat Aliyah and Robert Stone in a handicap match.

Let's take a look at how WWE closed out The Great American Bash on this week's NXT.

Here is the lineup for Day 2 of The Great American Bash on NXT:

• Keith Lee vs. Adam Cole (Winner Takes All)
• Mia Yim vs. Candice LeRae (Street Fight)
• Breezango and Drake Maverick vs. Legado del Fantasma
• Isaiah "Swerve" Scott vs. Johnny Gargano

The show opened with a recap of what happened last week during the first night of The Great American Bash before LeRae tried to make her entrance. Yim attacked her on the stage and began the fight right away.

The HBIC threw her into the steel steps and took several weapons out from under the ring. LeRae got in a few hits with a kendo stick before Yim grabbed her own and unleashed a flurry of shots to the body.

The Poison Pixie set up a table in the corner. She and Yim fought in and out of the ring and into the seating area. They even tore up the catering area as they threw food and trays at each other.

LeRae blasted Yim in the face with a fire extinguisher before she tried to suplex her through a table. The HBIC countered and dropkicked off the platform to send her crashing through the table onto the concrete floor.

After the commercial break, both women dished out a lot of punishment as they traded control back and forth. At one point, Yim produced a set of brass knuckles. LeRae blocked with a chair and took the knucks from her.

The Poison Pixie hit her in the face before using a swinging neckbreaker from the top rope onto a pile of chairs to get the pin.

Grade: A-

Analysis

This match started hot and never slowed down. The buildup for this feud has been great, and the match lived up to the hype.

LeRae is a well-known badass who has proved herself capable of putting on hardcore matches, so it wasn't surprising to see her do so well in this bout. The HBIC was not about to be outshined and had just as many painful-looking spots as her opponent.

Matches like this can be difficult because one or two missed spots can take the crowd out of the performance. Luckily, that never happened here.

The only minor complaint with this bout was how both Superstars seemed to recover from big spots a little too quickly. Other than that, this was a fantastic match.

Tony Nese vs. Bronson Reed was a late addition to the show. The Premier Athlete is used to being one of the biggest guys in the cruiserweight division, so facing someone like The Thicc Boi was new for him.

The big man kept Nese off his game early on by taking him down with a textbook wristlock into an armbar. Nese tried to make a comeback, but a senton forced him to take a break at ringside.

Reed didn't let him rest, but Nese was able to use the apron to trap him and take control. It didn't take The Thicc Boi long to regain the upper hand.

The Premier Athlete resorted to using dirty tactics a few times throughout the match, but it didn't help him when Reed hit a splash from the top rope to score the pin.

Grade: B-

Analysis

This may not have been one of the major selling points for the show, but it was a good match between two guys who have been impressive in recent performances.

Reed has great physicality for a guy his size and has built up a lot of momentum over the past couple of months. It's too bad Nese can't get into the same groove.

This match came about after Scott stepped in to help Yim while LeRae and Gargano attacked her on a recent episode of NXT.

They started with a nice technical exchange that saw Gargano get a quick two-count. Swerve tried his best, but Johnny Wrestling had the advantage when it came to mat-based grappling.

Scott used his speed to bring the pace up to his comfort level and began taking Gargano down with high-flying moves that showed off his impressive agility.

We returned from a break to see Johnny Wrestling back in control. They spent the next several minutes exchanging takedowns as they built toward the finish. After delivering a poisonrana at ringside, Gargano got the win with a slingshot DDT.

Grade: B+

Analysis

These are two of the most athletic Superstars in NXT, but for some reason, it felt like they were holding back during this bout.

It never quite reached the level of intensity we have come to expect from Gargano's matches, especially since he turned heel.

Swerve continues to be a bright spot in NXT. This wasn't his best outing to date, but it was still an impressive performance against a guy who has become known as one of the biggest workhorses on the black-and-gold brand.

Santos Escobar led Joaquin Wilde and Raul Mendoza in this six-man tag match against Drake Maverick, Fandango and Tyler Breeze. Breezango embraced the lucha-libre spirit by wearing some masks during their entrance.

Fandango and Wilde started for their teams with a standard collar-and-elbow tie-up. The former ballroom dancer had the size and power advantage, and he used it to take control right away.

Prince Pretty was the first man to tag in, but he was quickly cornered so Mendoza could enter the match. Fantasma kept him isolated as each member of the team took turns on offense.

After all six men brawled for a few moments, Escobar hit his finisher on Maverick to get the win.

Grade: B

Analysis

This match was booked so Maverick and Escobar didn't make any contact until the time was right. This meant Fandango, Breeze, Wilde and Mendoza had a lot of time in the ring.

Breezango has only been part of this feud for a short time, but Fandango and Breeze worked well with Maverick as a trio against Legado del Fantasma.

The passion from Maverick has been what has kept this feud going from day one. He never ceases to be entertaining, even when he is putting somebody else over.

This was a fun bout, but it wasn't on the level of some of the other matches from the show. It never felt like anything was going to be settled in this encounter, so there were no stakes.

Another late addition to the card saw Santana Garrett take on Mercedes Martinez. As soon as the bell rang, Martinez took control with a boot to the body.

She cornered Garrett, but the second-generation Superstar used her quickness to escape and get in a few moves, including a nice handspring elbow in the corner.

Martinez finished off her opponent with a fisherman's buster in less than five minutes.

Grade: B-

Analysis

This was little more than a squash match, but it did a good job establishing Martinez as a dangerous competitor in the women's division.

Garrett has been struggling to build up momentum, and this bout did not help her cause. She has plenty of time, but she needs that first big win to get herself going.

The main event of the evening began with Lee and Cole keeping things technical with a series of basic holds and counters.

Once the fight spilled out of the ring, Cole sent Lee through part of the plexiglass divider on the barricade to put himself in the driver's seat.

The leader of The Undisputed Era did a good job keeping the big man grounded to neutralize his power and size advantage, but Lee didn't let him keep the upper hand for long.

The Limitless One eventually began to regain his strength as he started taking Cole apart. Whenever Cole tried to get back into the fight, Lee would take him down with a power move. Even a series of superkicks and the Last Shot didn't stop him.

After surviving the Panama Sunrise, Lee hit his finisher to get the pin and become the first double champion in NXT history.

Grade: A

Analysis

As expected, Lee and Cole stole the show to close The Great American Bash with a physical contest that took both men to their limit.

Even when he is facing guys who are literally twice his size, Cole always manages to seem like he can realistically defeat his opponents with sheer skills and athleticism.

The pacing of this match is part of what made it work so well. It never felt like either guy was making a comeback at the wrong time or recovering from a big move too early. They sold everything well and took their time to make sure every spot landed.

Lee winning was absolutely the right call. He is a great representative of the brand and will help make both titles look more prestigious.