WWE NXT Great American Bash 2026 PLE Announced, Will Oppose AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door

June 28 was already set to be a crowded day for pro wrestling, with TNA Slammiversary set to take place in the afternoon and AEWxNJPW Forbidden Door set to take place in the evening. And now WWE has decided to get in on the action that day. Taking to X Tuesday afternoon, "WWE NXT" SVP Shawn Michaels announced that "NXT" would be holding The Great American Bash on June 28, beginning at 7 p.m. It will be the first "NXT" PLE to air on The CW, as part of a recent agreement made between "NXT" and its broadcasting partner.

Excited to finally share this one.@WWENXT and @TheCW present The Great American Bash Sunday, June 28 at 7e/4p.

See you tonight for #WWENXT at 8/7c pic.twitter.com/iFbEGgm8wl

— Shawn Michaels (@ShawnMichaels) June 2, 2026

Despite the significance of Great American Bash being "NXT's" first CW PLE, it will likely become the secondary story behind "NXT" once again going head to head with an AEW PPV. In 2025, "NXT" aired Battleground against AEW Double or Nothing in May, and The Great American Bash against All In in July. Many considered WWE's actions to be attempts at counterprogramming AEW, and the practice was deemed unsuccessful after both Double or Nothing and All In drew strong attendance and PPV buys.

Despite that, WWE decided to go against an AEW PPV again, this time with a main roster PLE, airing WWE WrestlePalooza against AEW All Out in September. Once again, the strategy was considered unsuccessful after All Out drew strong business, and many felt the move was embarrassing for WWE due to WrestlePalooza being the first PLE to air on ESPN's streaming service following WWE and ESPN reaching a multi-year agreement in August. Since WrestlePalooza, WWE hasn't run a PLE, main roster or "NXT," against an AEW event, with Great American Bash marking a return to their previous strategy.

There's a lot one can unpack from this news, including TNA President Carlos Silva now having to face more embarrassment as he is now faced with WWE moving a show to the same day he's running (albeit later in the day), the same reason he cited for removing TNA talent from matches with AEW talent a few months ago. Ultimately, however, that's a minor point; the significance here is that, once again, WWE has decided they're going to start counterprogramming AEW PPV's against "NXT" PLEs. And I only have three questions regarding this move; why? Are you a glutton for punishment? Or did you not learn your lesson the last three times you tried this, including once with a main roster PLE?

Yes, we all know that WWE's playbook has long been to counterprogram shows from rival companies, all the way back to the WCW days. But I'm not sure you'll find anyone who thought that strategy worked when WWE tried it last year. As noted, Double or Nothing and All In suffered no major hits from "NXT" airing Battleground and Great American Bash against them; if anything, both of those events were overshadowed instead, with some even suggesting they had been left for dead. And if that wasn't enough evidence that WWE's old strategy no longer worked, WrestlePalooza failing to provide a significant dent into All Out's business should've been. I'm not naive enough to think that WWE was never going to try this again, but if they were, it probably should've been another main roster PLE. Putting "NXT" against an AEW PPV once more? That's just asking history to repeat itself, and I hope WWE isn't shocked when Great American Bash comes off as the afterthought to Forbidden Door.