WWE NXT Turns June 28 Into a “Great American Mess”

On Tuesday night, before the weekly NXT episode, Shawn Michaels dropped a bomb. NXT Great American Bash 2026 will take place on Sunday, June 28, at 7 PM EST on The CW. “That’s good news!” you’ll say. In fact, no. Once again, it will be one of these crazy weekends for the wrestling fans and writers like me. In fact, WWE NXT adds a PLE to an already stacked day of shows. Yet, on June 27, WWE presents Night of Champions live from Saudi Arabia.

Then comes the “big day”: TNA presents Slammiversary live from Boston, MA, while AEW x NJPW x CMLL x Stardom presents Forbidden Door from San Jose, CA. Plus, now, WWE presents NXT Great American Bash. Before Dave Meltzer said it, we all thought the same: this is not a coincidence. If it’s a mess in my writer’s mind, I can’t imagine what it’s like for the fans.

AEW Forbidden Door was announced on April 15, with tickets on sale on April 27. The 2026 edition is reuniting wrestlers from All Elite Wrestling (AEW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), and World Wonder Ring Stardom. It will air at 8 PM EST on HBO Max and Prime Video. No matches have been announced yet, but Will Ospreay will compete in the Men’s Owen Hart Cup Final. The winner will receive an AEW World Championship match at AEW All In.

TNA Slammiversary was announced on April 9, with tickets on sale on April 29. The 2026 edition of TNA’s anniversary show comes as the company could reveal a full year of live events, live TNA Thursday Night iMPACT and PLEs, something that may have never happened before. It was supposed to air at 8 PM EST on TNA Plus. TNA President Carlos Silva preferred to move the debut hour to 4 PM (3 PM for the Countdown) to “avoid conflicts” with AEW Forbidden Door.

The event is probably the most “built-up” one, even though many things remain to be said and done. Every Championship will have to be defended. The X-Division Championship will be defended in a 6-Man Ultimate X match, including Champion Cedric Alexander and former Champion Leon Slater. A Ladder match is set to happen; it could involve the Hardys and the Righteous. KC Navarro and Xia Brookside became the contenders for the TNA International and TNA Knockouts World Championships, respectively.

On June 2, two months after TNA Wrestling and AEW, Shawn Michaels announced NXT Great American Bash. The event has a date, an hour, and a broadcaster, but no location or ticket sales information. It seems clear that the WWE Performance Centre in Orlando, FL, will be the location. To attend an event there, you have to be a member of a Facebook private group and fill out a form. Less than four weeks before an event, how convenient the formula is.

No matches have been announced yet, but the card is so highly predictable. For me, it should look like this:

• NXT Championship: Tony D’Angelo vs. Naraku and/or Mason Rook

• NXT Women’s Championship: Lola Vice vs. Kendal Grey or Kelani Jordan

• NXT Tag Team Championship: Vanity Project vs. OTM

• Dion Lennox vs. Saquon Shugars

• NXT Women’s NA Championship: Tatum Paxley vs. Zaria and/or Lizzy Rain

• NXT NA Championship: Myles Borne vs. ?? (it could be Jackson Drake, Shiloh Hill, Kam Hendrix, or a member of BirthRight)

NXT Championship: Tony D’Angelo vs. Naraku and/or Mason Rook

NXT Women’s Championship: Lola Vice vs. Kendal Grey or Kelani Jordan

NXT Tag Team Championship: Vanity Project vs. OTM

NXT Women’s NA Championship: Tatum Paxley vs. Zaria and/or Lizzy Rain

NXT NA Championship: Myles Borne vs. ?? (it could be Jackson Drake, Shiloh Hill, Kam Hendrix, or a member of BirthRight)

Even though TNA Wrestling announced its PLE first, the company decided to allow wrestling fans to watch both shows. And, at the same time, preventing the audience from choosing AEW instead of TNA. WWE chooses to go face-to-face with AEW. The Forbidden Door Zero Hour will be at the same time as the NXT PLE first hour.

Twenty-five or so years ago, a wrestling fan would have gone nuts. Which one should I watch? Which one do I record (if I can record)? We’re in 2026, the era of the replays. Every show can be watched when we want. There’s no choice to make anymore. If WWE thinks they can bring some fans from AEW to NXT, the answer is no. A “true” wrestling fan will watch his/her favorite show when he/she wants.

A big question here is: Why do a PLE the same day as TNA Wrestling when the two companies are partners? TNA Slammiversary airs at 4 PM and NXT Great American Bash at 7 PM (lucky me, as I’m doing both live); that means you can watch them back-to-back. The partnership has evolved since the beginning of the year. NXT has been in rebuilding mode, while TNA Wrestling has found a fantastic pace since the AMC deal.

In many ways, TNA doesn’t need any NXT additions to make TNA Slammiversary an unforgettable show. On the other hand, NXT has a lot to prove with this PLE. With so many NXT talents called up to the main roster, the newcomers have to prove they are worth the chance they have been given.

So, instead of targeting AEW, WWE and NXT should focus on themselves because their worst enemies have always been WWE and NXT. When it comes to the fans, I don’t worry about them. Things have never been made to change. They will continue to enjoy the bickering and watch as much wrestling as possible ever. Don’t worry about me, too. If Nygma writes, Nygma is.