NXT once again came to us this week from the Capital Wrestling Center as the black and yellow brand continued to deliver a great two hours of wrestling as we sew Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly make another chapter in their long history and more, but what stood out on the show this week? Let’s find it as we take a look at the top 5 moments from The Great American Bash edition of NXT

5. Johnny Gargano and Karrion Kross is made official for next week as Samoa Joe is made the special guest referee   

After weeks of tension ever since NXT: TakeOver In Your House, NXT Champion, Karrion Kross and Johnny Gargano would have a face to face confrontation in the ring as Samoa Joe and William Regal watched on. Gargano would continue to infuriate Kross as he mocked the NXT Champion, telling Kross that he was living rent-free inside his head even telling Kross that he was afraid of Gargano as William Regal made the title match between the two men official for next week.

Kross would then call out Gargano, telling that in reality people like Gargano get beat up by people like Kross. Kross would then make things personal, referencing Johnny’s wife, Candice LeRae stating it looked like he put on his wife’s jeans. As tension built between both men, Regal then stated that Samoa Joe would be the special guest referee in the match. Gargano would be the one to get the last word in, telling Kross that he could not tie up his wife’s boots, causing Samoa Joe to hold back Kross against a cocky Gargano.

Later in the night, Joe would talk about the match next week, stating that things will remain fair and impartial unless he is provoked. This was a simple but effective storyline that helped the build towards the NXT Title match between Kross and Gargano next week. This segment also did another effective job into building towards a potential match between a returning  Samoa Joe and Karrion Kross as tension continues to build between the two men.

4. Io Shirai and Zoey Stark take on Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae as Tegan Nox returns 

Late in the night Io Shirai and Zoey Stark would take on the woman’s NXT Tag Team Champions, Indi Hartwell and Candice LeRae in a great match that also featured a huge return.  Shirai would get the upper hand of Indi Hartwell early in the match with Hartwell turning the tides after she dropped  Shirai face-first onto the turnbuckle, allowing LeRae to tag in and get the upper hand for her team.

Both teams would continue to go back and forth throughout the match with neither team getting the upper hand for too long. Late in the match, Hartwell would get tagged in as the lights went out. The Titantron would then show the battery that has been changing for weeks on NXT, with the battery finally reaching 100% as Tegan Nox made her return after a knee injury. The distraction would allow Stark to pin Hartwell for the win as Io Shirai and Zoey Stark became the new woman’s NXT Tag Team Champions. After the match Nox would attack LeRae chasing her off as Stark and Shirai celebrated their win.

Later it was revealed that Dexter Lumis carried Indi Hartwell out of the ring, advancing their romance. Despite just being used as a tag team the duo of Shirai and Stark has great potential especially given the experience of Shirai combined with the raw potential of Stark.

3. MSK defend their Tag Team Titles against Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher 

The Great American Bash would open with a huge clash of styles for the NXT Tag Team Titles as the high-flying duo of MSK took on the hard-hitting duo of Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Ciampa as both teams pushed each other to the limit in a great opening match. Tommaso Ciampa and Nash Carter would open things for their team with neither man being able to get a big advantage over the other, causing both men to tag in their partner. After more back and forth, Ciampa and Thatcher would get the upper hand as they unloaded strikes on Wes Lee and Nash Carter. Ciampa and Thatcher would continue to have the upper hand, unleashing submission holds and strikes onto Lee, until Lee hit Ciampa with a dropkick giving him the opportunity to tag in Nash Carter who turned the tide towards his team with the hot tag.

MSK would then showcase their high-flying ability as Nash Carter tried to hit a moonsault on Ciampa outside the ring, causing Timothy Thatcher to sacrifice himself, pushing Ciampa out of the way, allowing Ciampa to clothesline Carter back inside the ring as the match continued to go back and forth. Both teams would continue to push each other to their limit as Tommaso Ciampa and Timothy Thatcher seemed to have the win after Ciampa hit Project Ciampa onto Wes Lee, only for Lee to somehow kick out to the surprise of Ciampa and Thatcher. Ciampa tried to put the nail in the coffin getting Wes Lee in position for a Fairytale Ending but Lee would reverse, allowing Carter to hit a Swanton onto Ciampa with Lee following up with a corkscrew, with Ciampa being saved from being pinned after Thatcher dragged Lee out of the ring.

A leap from the steel steps from Carter would be met with an uppercut from Thatcher as Thatcher and Ciampa had the win in hand as they hit Lee with the Fairytale Ending followed up with an Ankle Lock from Thatcher, however, things would go downhill for Thatcher and Ciampa as Ciampa tried to hit the hanging DDT onto Carter, allowing Carter to push Ciampa onto Thatcher to break up the submission hold. In the confusion, Lee would roll up Thatcher for the win, as MSK barely retained the titles against their opponents. This was a great match that not only made MSK look strong as Champions, but was another great showing for Thatcher and Ciampa who looked strong despite losing to MSK.

2. LA Knight and Cameron Grimes go to war for the Million-Dollar Championship

While on paper this was one of the weaker matches on the card, as LA Knight and Cameron Grimes are two performers who are generally more known for their promo work rather then in-ring work both men put on a strong match and to some degree exceeded fans expectations, especially after both men had the tough job of following the NXT Tag Title match. Grimes would start the match off strong against Knight sending him to the outside, followed up by a kick from the ring apron. Grimes would continue his assault on Knight with a crossbody to get a close nearfall early in the match. Despite some offence in from Knight, Grimes continued to dominate Knight throughout the early part of the match with Grimes hit a standing moonsault on Knight for another close near-fall.

Things would soon change, however, as Knight hit Grimes with a powerslam to get back into the match. After some back and forth between the two men, Knight would hit Grimes with an inverted TKO for a near-fall with Grimes still staying in the match even after LA Knight hit Grimes with a superplex. A furious Knight would grab the Million Dollar Title and bring it into the ring causing an argument between the referee and Knight, this would allow Grimes to roll up Knight with Knight reversing with a roll-up of his own which still wasn’t enough to win. Knight would once again try to use the Million Dollar Title, but would accidentally push it outside the ring, giving Grimes the opportunity to hit a poisonrana on Knight for another near-fall.

Both men would take the fight outside the ring with Knight hitting a DDT on Grimes right on the Million Dollar Title without the referee knowing. Despite getting back into the ring before the referee’s 10-count, Grimes would lose to Knight after Knight hit him with the BFT for the win sending Grimes to the broom, with Grimes now being forced to become LA Knight’s personal butler in what was a great match that made Grimes look like a top babyface. While their feud is far from finished Grimes being Knight’s new personal butler as the chance to have some entertaining segments as both men have such great charisma and chemistry working with each other.

1. Kyle O’Reilly and Adam Cole make another chapter in their history

After both men went to war with each at NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver, Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly would remove the bells and whistles as they went one on one in a traditional wrestling match. Despite being a standard wrestling match both men would show the same level of aggression that did in their unsanctioned match at TakeOver as both men put on an amazing main event and arguably had the best match on a card that was stacked from top to bottom. Early in the match, neither men would be able to get the upper hand as both men traded several counters as they escaped each other’s submission attempts and dodged strikes, however, Cole would be the first to get the upper hand after Kyle tried to hit a running knee on Cole from the apron only for Cole to move and hit a running neckbreaker on Kyle outside the ring.

Both men would trade holds and strikes throughout the match with Kyle targeting Cole’s injured knee, however, the roles would be reversed after Cole slammed O’Reilly’s knee into the ring post multiple times with both men now having one bad knee. Late in the match, Cole hit O’Reilly with a Panama Sunrise outside the ring, rolling his former Undisputed Era partner in the ring only for O’Reilly to get his bottom foot on the rope to avoid getting pinned. Cole then tried hitting the Last Shot on Kyle, but Kyle reversed it, allowing him to do a brainbuster on Cole. Kyle tried to finish of Adam with the diving knee from the top rope but Cole reversed, hitting Kyle with the last show, only for Kyle to somehow kick out at 2 to the shock of Cole.

Cole attempted in the Panama Sunrise once again in the match with O’Reilly kicking Cole in midair. However, the kick would cause O’Reilly’s injured knee to give out once again, giving Cole the perfect opportunity to hit the Panama Sunrise on Cole followed up by the Last Show, giving Adam the win in a great rematch and an amazing main event. Cole winning due to outsmarting Kyle is a natural way to set up for their eventual third match which will most likely be at the next TakeOver event.

These were my top 5 moments from The Great American Bash edition of NXT this week. What were your top 5 moments and did you think the rematch with Adam Cole and Kyle O’Reilly was better then their match and NXT: TakeOver: Stand and Deliver? Let us know in the comment section down below.