WWE NXT promised to bring the heat to summer with NXT Heatwave emanating from the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Trick Williams put his NXT Championship on the line against "All Ego" Ethan Page, Shawn Spears and Je'Von Evans. Who would emerge with NXT's top prize?
Roxanne Perez faced her a motivated Lola Vice with the NXT Women's Championship on the line. Could she defeat her toughest challenge yet?
Wes Lee put everything on the line to challenge Oba Femi. Would he regain his North American Championship, or would he never get another shot at the title during Femi's reign of terror?
Kelani Jordan wanted to face the best, and she found a worthy challenger in Sol Ruca. Could the Women's North American champion retain her gold again?
Axiom needed Nathan Frazer focused for their latest NXT Tag Team Championships defense. Could they defeat the reinvigorated Chase U led by Andre Chase and Duke Hudson?
This would be a special night for the gold brand talent, battling in front of a crowd of 10,000+ excited Canadians with so much gold on the line.
Countdown: Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx vs. Karmen Petrovic and Arianna Grace
Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn had trouble figuring the odd pairing of Karmen Petrovic and Arianna Grace. With some unorthodox offense, Petrovic picked up the win after Grace helped her reverse the leverage on a roll up.
While this last-minute match did not earn a spot on the Heatwave card (even the Countdown), the talent out-worked the lack of build to sell the story dynamic. It was little more than a TV match in quality but a fun crowd warmer.
The crowd got into the action, especially when the Canadian-born duo were rolling. The fan favorites picked up a great win that sells them as a real tag team, even if they will need to do more outside of Canada to bring it together.
It was fun to see Grace lean into a babyface role, getting the biggest reaction of anyone in the match. She is an absolute star in the making and may take the next step with this pairing.
Jayne and Nyx are building something with Fallon Henley, but losses like this may hurt their credibility. Hopefully, whatever the big plan is will try to develop soon.
Result
Petrovic and Grace def. Nyx and Jayne by pinfall.
Grade
C+
Notable Moments
- Grace got a massive pop for her hot tag, rolling over both competitors with power.
- Grace took all the credit for the win after the result.
- Ava congratulated the team backstage, but Grace said she wanted to run solo. Ava made a match between Grace and Petrovic for Tuesday.
North American Championship: Oba Femi (c) vs. Wes Lee
Oba Femi targeted the bad back of Wes Lee, enjoying battering him with the ring and his pure strength. That damage paid off as Lee slowed down just enough for Femi to hit the pop-up powerbomb for the victory.
Going in, this was the most exciting match on the card due to the personal stakes. Lee sold how much this title meant to him, and he was likely never going to hold it again if he lost to the big man.
The action absolutely delivered. It was not the cleanest battle down the stretch, but that only added to the sense of desperation that was clear down the stretch. These two emptied their reverses to try and win.
Lee was the clearest threat to Femi on the current roster. It will take a while to build someone else that can legitimately dethrone the big man.
It was the right move though to keep the focus on Femi, who has much to still learn in NXT while also showing himself to be one of the best on the roster.
NXT would benefit from pushing Lee forward into the main event scene. He and Trick have history left to explore.
Result
Femi def. Lee by pinfall to retain the North American Championship.
Grade
B+
Notable Moments
- Lee was rolling for a moment until Femi chopped him hard into the apron.
- Femi caught Lee diving off the top rope, but the former champion reversed into a headscissors takedown for a stack-up pin nearly for three.
- After a vicious uppercut could not get the win, Femi carried Lee to the second rope. Lee battled out and landed a Cardiac Kick for the near-fall.
- Backstage, Lee refused an interview after losing, heartbroken by his failure.
Women's North American Championship: Kelani Jordan (c) vs. Sol Ruca
Sol Ruca looked like the faster woman early in this battle, but Kelani Jordan had the better stamina. She planted her challenger with a poisonrana off the second rope then the split-legged moonsault.
Two of the most athletic women in all of WWE (including the main roster) went to war and knew exactly what to pace to take. This was pedal-to-the-metal lucha-libre-style action that is only possible with serious trust between the competitors.
This was the best match of both women's careers to date, aided by a hot crowd but further sold by strong pacing that highlighted the strengths of the champion and challenger.
This is a match-up that WWE should revisit in the future as this two will only get better with time. More experience would iron out the rougher edges and allow them to tell a more complete story in the ring.
Still, it's hard to get much better than this. Hopefully, the next challengers for the Women's North American Championship can find a way to live up.
Lani is already making the most of her time with the championship and should reign for much of the rest of 2024. Ruca could jump to the NXT Women's Championship scene without anyone blinking an eye.
Result
Jordan def. Ruca by pinfall to retain the Women's North American Championship.
Grade
A+
Notable Moments
- Ruca planted Jordan with an impressive springboard 360 clothesline.
- Lani went for a 360 splash but landed on the knees of Ruca. Ruca went for the Sol Snatcher, but Jordan caught her leg and sent her to the mat.
NXT Tag Team Championships: Nathan Frazer and Axiom (c) vs. Chase U
Nathan Frazer and Axiom were not on their A-game, but Chase U still could not stop their incredible momentum. Frazer hit a superplex into a Falcon Arrow/superkick combination with Axiom, followed by Axiom hitting the Golden Ratio on Andre Chase to win.
While this match could have used a clearer build, these two tag teams were never going to disappoint. That would be an understatement on a match that built to a furious home stretch that had the crowd rocking more than anything so far.
This was a match that solidified Frazer and Axiom as one of the best tag teams in WWE today (maybe even the best, period). Chase U though proved themselves as well, showing why they develop such an easy connection with NXT fans.
This could have gone either way, but The Supersonic Duo keeps the gold for a little while longer. Whenever the champions do drop the gold though, both Frazer and Axiom are more than ready for a main-roster run.
Result
Frazer and Axiom def. Chase U by pinfall to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.
Grade
A-
Notable Moments
- During the Countdown, Frazer arrived late to the stadium, and Axiom was visibly frustrated.
- When Hudson finally got the hot tag, he rolled over the champions all on his own as the crowd chanted "Duke" after every strike.
- Axiom hit Hudson with a frog splash into a springboard 450 from Frazer for a huge near-fall.
- The MVP nearly took the win with a Trish Stratus-inspired super Frankensteiner into a spin-out uranage.
- Chase broke up the pin after a Phoenix Splash on Hudson then jumped off Frazer's back to plant Axiom with a Canadian Destroyer.
- Frazer accidentally blasted Axiom with a back elbow and a superkick, but Axiom managed to barely kick out of the follow-up pin.
NXT Women's Championship: Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Lola Vice
Lola Vice had all the advantages early in this match, but an injury to her right arm became a target for The Prodigy to exploit. Perez took advantage and hit five Pop Rox in short succession to seal the victory.
On another night for NXT, this would have been the best match. However, after three barn burners, this was only good in comparison. That should not take away from what was a really well structured and executed battle.
The consistent story sold how one bad hit became Perez's target and gave The Prodigy her avenue to success. Vice felt more like a babyface than she ever has before, battling with passion to stay in the fight.
The fourth and fifth Pop Rox were a bit much, but it did show that Perez was unafraid to do anything to make sure she won.
Result
Perez def. Vice by pinfall to retain the NXT Women's Championship.
Grade
B
Notable Moments
- Perez slapped Vice right after the bell, which only frustrated Vice who ran over her with fast technical offense.
- Vice caught Perez with a series of kicks into a corner hip attack and running smash kick for a near-fall.
- Vice missed her first spinning back fist, hitting the LED post. She hit on her second attempt, but The Prodigy escaped outside to recover.
- Perez managed to block the third attempt and hit Pop Rox but only for a near-fall. Out of frustration, she exposed the announce table for a second Pop Rox, still only getting a near-fall.
- In dueling X videos, Lexis King disparaged Eddy Thorpe and called out Tony D'Angelo then The Don agreed to put his Heritage Cup on the line on Tuesday.
NXT Championship: Trick Williams (c) vs. Ethan Page vs. Shawn Spears vs. Je'Von Evans
"All Ego" Ethan Page was in the right place at the wrong side in an insane battle. Trick Williams blasted Je'Von Evans with a Trick Shot, but Shawn Spears caught him while All Ego stole the pinfall to win.
Matches like this can quickly devolve into choreographed spots, and this one fell into that trap early and often. However, the spots were fun and had the crowd invested.
If a match is going to devolve into a complete spot fest, those spots need to be this fun and this consistent. This was absolutely wild and barely gave anyone a chance to breathe.
On a night where every other champion retained, Page stealing the gold from Trick was a great cherry on top. It sold that anything can happen and made this show not only great for its action but also moments.
Trick will likely regain the NXT Championship in time, but sometimes a hero is better on the chase than holding the title. This was a much better moment for All Ego to steal it than at Battleground with a better match and better crowd.
Result
Page def. Trick, Evans and Spears by pinfall to become the new NXT champion.
Grade
A-
Notable Moments
- Page definitely lost the entrance music lottery between these four men. Meanwhile, Trick's entrance in a big arena is always special.
- Page came out in a "Resident of the USA" jacket despite coming from Canada to guarantee he was not a crowd favorite.
- Evans cleared the top rope and sent Trick through the barricade with a somersault plancha.
- Spears hit a super C4 on Evans, and Page tried to steal the pin. The Young OG managed to kick out. This devalued Spears' finisher a bit.
- Trick barely broke up the pin after a springboard cutter from Evans on Page. He did it again after The Young OG hit a springboard corkscrew senton on Spears.
- The NXT champion pushed The Young OG through the announce table. Trick looked visibly shaken by having to go that far with a friend.
- The show ended with a surprise Joe Hendry picture.
Overall Show
For the first time in a very long time, NXT completely out-shined the main roster competing on the same weekend. This felt like an old-school NXT TakeOver carried by great action from hard-hitting athletes.
On paper, this show looked fine going in. Most of the weekly build was struggling to sell the card. However, talent prevailed in front of the best crowd for an NXT event in a long time.
While most of the results were expected, every contest sold both results as an option. It all led to the most shocking result of all as "All Ego" Ethan Page stole the NXT Championship away from Trick Williams.
This gives the gold brand a hook for the summer as NXT's top star will have to scratch and claw his way back to the top against a veteran willing to do anything to win.
The women's roster in NXT is loaded. Kelani Jordan and Sol Ruca stole the show with one of the best pure athletic showcases of the year. Roxanne Perez overcame a game Lola Vice and awaits many possible exciting challengers.
Oba Femi reigns dominant in NXT and will remain so for a while, but NXT will eventually established a new hero that can slay the monster.
Nathan Frazer and Axiom have some work to do to elevate the tag team division around them, but they showed once again that they can make any opponents look great in the ring.
What a show! NXT can ride the momentum of this show for months to come.
Grade: A+
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