WWE NXT Heatwave 2024 Review

Trick Williams met his toughest challenge as the NXT Champion, Oba Femi & Wes Lee were poised to curb their tension, and Lola Vice stepped into Scotiabank Arena with a focused goal of dethroning Roxanne Perez for the Women’s Championship. All of this and more ensued in this Premium Live Event from Toronto, Canada.

The Countdown

Tag Team Match: Karmen Petrovic & Arianna Grace vs. Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nyx

Petrovic and Grace won (Petrovic pinned Jazmyn) in 7:40

It was nice to see the hometown heroine, Grace pick up a win alongside Karmen. Even though it wasn’t the most engaging storyline, the in-ring work was crisp and on point to warm up the crowd. Jacy has outdone herself as a snarky villain, and despite eating a surprising loss, it was cool to see her stay prominent. The same could be said for Karmen as she’s stepped up to a commendable level in a short time. Grace and Jazmyn did their part well enough and the crowd was sound enough to acknowledge their efforts.

Rating: 2.5/5

The Main Show

NXT North American Championship Match: Oba Femi [C] vs. Wes Lee

Oba Femi pinned Wes Lee to retain in 16:19

It’s another day for Mr. Femi to show his dominance and climb up the rankings of the division, and to show this kind of upscale at this stage is wild. With that being said, Wes Lee must be appreciated a lot because of his gifted athleticism and expressive nature. His evolution as a top-class solo prospect has been amazing to watch, and I’m confident that he will thrive in the big leagues one day. This match was expected to work under the David vs. Goliath formula which was done magnificently by these lads. As much as I would’ve loved another underdog triumph, Oba’s stature is too risky to break at this point. I’m curious to see where Wes will be headed and who will step up to impose Oba.

Rating: 4/5

NXT Women’s North American Championship Match: Kelani Jordan [C] vs. Sol Ruca

Kelani Jordan pinned Sol Ruca to retain in 11:37

I have to take back my doubts off Kelani ever since she won the title at Battleground because she outshined someone who was majorly considered as the inaugural champion-to-be at the said event. Coming with a gymnastics background, Kelani was outstanding and never gave away the feeling of being nervous in her first singles match at a PLE, and the same can be said for Ruca who has shown tremendous progress in her work. It reminded me of a classic Black And Gold match considering its treatment where both women tried to ace up their sleeves by pulling something better than the previous move. As much as this match deserved to crown Ruca, Kelani thwarted the doubts and cemented her stance firmly as the underdog on the mountaintop.

Rating: 4/5

NXT Tag Team Championships Match: Axiom & Nathan Frazer [C] vs. Chase U (Andre Chase & Duke Hudson)

Axiom pinned Andre Chase for the team to retain in 16:49

This is probably the best match for both teams and for the titles in a long time. The main issue of Axiom doubting Frazer’s plans of accomplishing as a singles star rather than a tag champion was nicely addressed as the duo regained composure and went ballistic as usual despite meeting a halt with Frazer’s accidental superkick to Axiom. That doesn’t mean disrespect to Chase U as they replied in the most frenzied way possible, melting the audience to a raucous applause. I’m glad that Chase U never lost an ounce of momentum and still prevails as one of the hottest acts of the brand. The works for a dissension between the champs have begun, but tonight wasn’t the first step.

Rating: 4.25/5

NXT Women’s Championship Match: Roxanne Perez [C] vs. Lola Vice

Roxanne targeting Lola’s arm to avoid being wrecked by the latter’s spinning back fist was a great way to let the crowd sympathize with Lola and root for her. Both women worked their way to deliver a great back-and-forth encounter which went out of control towards the end, cementing Roxanne’s character deeper as an emotional wreck. Even the miscued Pop Rox in the final sequence suited her wackiness, and as curious as I feel to see her next challenger, there’s a mild feeling that the story between these two is far from over.

Rating: 3.75/5

Fatal Four Way Match for the NXT Championship: Trick Williams [C] vs. Ethan Page vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Shawn Spears

Ethan Page pinned Je’Von Evans to win the title in 17:24

After such a fantastic showing, every single individual in this match deserves to stay in the main event for the foreseeable future. Especially, to see a bright upstart like Je’Von at the age of 20 step up and outshine the rest was incredible. Keeping his performance aside, the remaining three stars evolved to superstardom by holding their respective forts and delivering exceptional performances. The thin lines of Trick & Ethan’s unsettled tension and Spears’ underestimation of Je’Von were played coyly, but the bigger story is Ethan escaping out of Toronto with the title! I’m happy that they pulled the trigger on his turf in the most surprising way and I’m extremely curious to see the repercussions in this title picture.

Rating: 4.5/5

Overall Match Rating: 4/5 Overall Show Rating: 10/10

Match of the Night: Fatal Four Way for the NXT Championship Highlight of the Night: Massive tease from Joe Hendry Weak Link of the Night: N/A

Overall Thoughts

Call me a crazy fellow, but this show reminded everyone how magnificent NXT has been recently considering the number of people that undermined after the repackage. From the radical opener to the ballistic main event, all the matches were incredibly done with the right winners leaving Toronto with the respective championships. The biggest surprise is Ethan Page pulling off a sub-consciously smart way to win the main title followed by a clueless yet crazy tease from TNA’s Joe Hendry. There were zero disappointments out of this PLE and, to be frank, NXT smoked the main roster after a while by delivering an all-timer!

What are your thoughts on this Premium Live Event? Chime in your opinions in the comments section below.

Until the next write-up, enjoy wrestling and life!