After weeks of surprise attacks and ambushes, it was finally time for Oro Mensah to get his one-on-one match against WWE NXT Champion Ethan Page at the Great American Bash. Mensah managed to get under Page’s skin a bit over the past few weeks after pinning him several times, though it was never in a match that counted. Tonight Mensah was out to prove he belonged, and he certainly achieved that, almost pinning the Champion a few times throughout the match. Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite take Page down, as Page would capitalize on a miss from Mensah and take him down, retaining his NXT Championship.
A Bitter Feud
The two superstars locked up and Mensah got the first hits in, connecting with chops before Page got some in of his own. Mensah then whipped Page around and sent him to the mat before clocking Page in the jaw with a big kick, and Mensah continued to press with more strikes to the back and a nasty chop to the chest. Page hit back with force, knocking Mensah around with two big chops and a punch to the face, but Mensah came right back with a bevy of strikes and at least 8 chops to the Champion.
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Mensah tried to pin Page but couldn’t quite hook him, though he kicked the Champ in the head and knocked him further away from the ring. The fight continued at ringside, but back in the ring, the Champ took control, keeping Mensah grounded and delivering a number of strikes to the head before hitting a nasty clothesline. Page kept Mensah from getting to his feet for a while, and then when the challenge finally did get up, Page connected with a huge dropkick to the face.
Mensah was able to kick out of the cover though, and he still had some strikes left in him. Mensah then came back in a huge way, connecting with a big kick to the head and some key dodges to stay in the fight. After the kick, Mensah went for the cover but Page kicked out, though Mensah went up top for an impressive sky-high kick to Page, which knocked him to the floor. Mensah then dove through the ropes for another kick, sending Page further up the ramp.
Unfortunately, Page then grabbed Mensah and threw him on top of the picnic table that was set up by the stage, but he wasn’t done. Page then picked up Mensah and slammed him through the table, completely breaking it into pieces. Page got Mensah in the ring and hit a DDT on the challenger, but somehow Mensah was able to still kick out of the pin.
Mensah came close to pinning the Champion right after and then hit a DDT of his own and a spinning heel kick before going for a cover, but Page got his foot on the bottom rope before the count. Mensah went up top for a splash but he seemed to slip, and Page hit a big boot to the face. Page then hit a second Ego’s Edge, and that was it for Mensah. Page is still your NXT Champion.
What did you think of the match? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!
