*Article Note: This article was written prior to last night’s NXT The Great American Bash special.
Welcome everyone to the 90th, special Wednesday edition of Spandex and Suplexes: A Wrestling Review. I cover a week that saw the continued build to WWE Money in the Bank, the final build to NXT The Great American Bash, and the AEW TNT Championship on the line. Let’s get started.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Matt Riddle won a Battle Royal last eliminating Damian Priest to earn the third spot in the Triple Threat Money in the Bank Qualifying match on Randy Orton’s behalf
2. Drew Gulak defeated Akira Tozawa (c) at ringside to become the new WWE 24/7 Champion (took place during the Battle Royal)
3. R-Truth defeated Drew Gulak (c) at ringside to become the new WWE 24/7 Champion (took place during the Battle Royal)
4. Akira Tozawa defeated R-Truth (c) at ringside to become the new WWE 24/7 Champion (took place during the Battle Royal)
5. Nikki Cross defeated Shayna Baszler
6. Doudrop and Eva Marie defeated Asuka and Naomi
7. Ricochet vs. John Morrison went to a double countout
8. Charlotte Flair, Natalya, and Tamina defeated Dana Brooke, Mandy Rose, and Rhea Ripley
9. Jaxson Ryker defeated Elias in a Strap match
10. Drew McIntyre defeated Matt Riddle and AJ Styles in a Triple Threat Money in the Bank Qualifying match
Thoughts: Drew McIntyre winning the last spot in the Money in the Bank Ladder match on the Raw side makes the match even more interesting. McIntyre is clear favorite to win the briefcase, but the interesting twist is that if he does win it, how will it be affected by the stipulation of Drew being unable to challenge for the WWE Championship while Bobby Lashley is champion? Will he wait until Lashley is defeated (or even go as far as costing The All Mighty the title) or will he instead attempt to challenge for the WWE Universal Championship over on SmackDown? If he chooses the later, then this could put him on a collision course with an old rival in Roman Reigns.
Overall, this was a good episode of Monday Night Raw with the highlights being the Kofi Kinston/MVP confrontation, Ricochet vs. Morrison, and the main event.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Io Shirai and Zoey Stark defeated Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez & Shotzi Blackheart and Ember Moon in a Triple Threat Tag Team #1 Contenders match to earn a shot at the NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships
2. Roderick Strong defeated Asher Hale by submission
3. Cameron Grimes defeated Ari Sterling
4. Tian Sha (Xia Li and Boa) defeated Mercedes Martinez and Jake Atlas by referee stoppage
5. Isaiah ‘Swerve’ Scott defeated Bronson Reed (c) to become the new NXT North American Champion
Thoughts: This was the go home show before the NXT Great American Bash special. In the opening match Io Shirai and Zoey Stark picked up the win in a fantastic triple threat tag team match to earn a shot The Way’s NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships at The Great American Bash. I predict that Shirai and Stark will defeat The Way to win the titles. As for the rest of card for The GAB, my predictions are as follows: MSK (Nash Carter and Wes Lee) will defeat Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships, LA Knight will defeat Cameron Grimes to retain the Million Dollar Championship, forcing Grimes to become Knight’s butler, Kyle O’Reilly will defeat Adam Cole, and Karrion Kross will defeat Johnny Gargano to retain the NXT Championship.
Overall, this was a great episode of NXT with the highlights being the Triple Threat Tag Team match, the fights between Kross and Gargano, the post-match promo between Grimes and Knight, the O’Reilly/Cole Face Off, and the main event.
Credit: All Elite Wrestling
Results:
1. Eddie Kingston and Penta El Zero Miedo defeated The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)
2. Jungle Boy defeated Jack Evans
3. Miro (c) defeated Brian Pillman Jr. by technical submission to retain the AEW TNT Championship
4. Britt Baker and Rebel defeated Nyla Rose and Vickie Guerrero by submission
5. MJF defeated Sammy Guevara after interference by Shawn Spears
Thoughts: AEW started the slow build to the eventual showdown between AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and his former tag team partner, Hangman Page. As Omega stood in the ring and declared that he had no more challengers, the crowd chanted for Page, causing Kenny to claim that Hangman did not have the right to hoist the title. Page’s friends in The Dark Order would later reassure the cowboy, saying that it was his time to become champion.
This showdown has felt like an eventuality ever since Omega first won the title back in December. With the match presumably taking place at AEW All Out on September 5th, AEW has two months to build up this encounter. I also feel that it is Hangman’s time and that he should be the one to end The Cleaner’s reign and win the championship that has eluded him since the first All Out back in 2019.
Overall, this was a great episode of Dynamite with the highlights being Kingston/Penta vs. The Young Bucks, Omega’s promo and Hangman’s reaction, Miro vs. Pillman, and the main event.
Credit: WWE
Results:
1. Shinsuke Nakamura and Big E defeated Baron Corbin and Apollo Crews
2. Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn in a Last Man Standing Money in the Bank Qualifying match
3. Liv Morgan defeated Zelina Vega
4. Otis defeated Angelo Dawkins
Thoughts: Edge started off SmackDown with a fiery promo about his disappointing night at WrestleMania, listing his complaints with how it all went down before wrapping up by expressing his confidence in defeating Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship at WWE Money in the Bank. Later in the night, Jimmy Uso attempted to lay a trap for The Rated R Superstar but was instead beaten down by Edge as Reigns was nowhere to be seen to assist his cousin.
While Edge may be feuding with a bigger heel in Roman, the tone of his promo and his saying that he was not going to make excuses for Mania before doing exactly that seems to indicate that he is not fully a face again. The Head of the Table not coming to the aid of Jimmy will surely reignite the bad blood between the two cousins after Jimmy had seemingly decided to finally follow The Tribal Chief.
Overall, this was a great episode of Friday Night SmackDown with the highlights being Edge’s opening promo, Owens vs. Zayn (which is My Match of the Week), Otis’ dominant showing over Dawkins, and Edge’s beatdown of Jimmy Uso.
That’s it for this week’s Spandex and Suplexes. While you are here on Florida Geek Scene, be sure to check out the second episode of my spin off series, Spandex and Suplexes: The Interview Series, where I interviewed veteran pro wrestler, Randy Hogan. Until next time, I’ll see you at ringside!
Nicholas Slade
Nicholas grew up reading J.R.R. Tolkien's books, watching Disney and Studio Ghibli films, and reading Marvel comics and Japanese manga. The superb storylines and characters ignited his passion for writing. He graduated from Full Sail University in 2015 with a BFA in Creative Writing for Entertainment. During his writing career thus far, Nicholas has had numerous short stories and articles published in an array of literary magazines and websites.
