The first part of NXT's Great American Bash event is in the bag, and there were some very entertaining - if not particularly eventful - matches on the card.
We'll get to the Women's Championship and No. 1 Contenders Elimination Matches later on, but a trio of singles matches were also featured. First, the brutal submission expert Timothy Thatcher managed to submit Oney Lorcan with his Fujiwara Armbar after a hard-hitting encounter.
Next up, former Women's Champion Rhea Ripley won a Handicap Match against Robert Stone and his client Aliyah after locking on her leg lock submission on both opponents at the same time.
Finally, the deranged Dexter Lumis defeated The Undisputed ERA's Roderick Strong in a pretty violent Strap Match. Despite Bobby Fish's attempts to interfere, Lumis was able to lock on his Silence cross choke submission with the strap for extra leverage and force the tap-out win.
All solid bouts, but one can't help but feel that the quality of NXT's TakeOver events and weekly shows has taken a deep over the past month or so. Let's hope the black and gold brand is able to get back on track soon.