NXT Heatwave 2026: The Other Big One
Heatwave 2026
Date: August 30, 2026
Location: Bert Ogden Arena, Edinburg, Texas
Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T.
It’s another big event and the card looks to be backing it up. We have a four way for the NXT Title with Tony D’Angelo defending against a trio of challengers in Grayson Waller, Cruz Montana and Zilla Fatu. Other than that, the Women’s Title is on the line with Kendal Grey defending against Mercedes Mone. Let’s get to it.
The opening video looks at how hot it gets in Texas and how hot it has gotten in NXT, with a focus on the bigger matches on the card.
Women’s North American Title/Women’s Speed Title: Zaria vs. Wren Sinclair vs. Kali Armstrong
Zaria (North American) and Sinclair (Speed) are defending and this is a unification match, winner take all. They trade the rollups to start fast and Armstrong is sent outside, which just seems to make her mad. Back in and Zaria suplexes both of them (barely getting Sinclair over) before nailing a big boot each. Sinclair is knocked outside and Armstrong hits a big charge to take Zaria out. Another charge misses Sinclair though and Armstrong crashes into the steps as we take a break.
We come back with Armstrong spinebustering Zaria for two but charging into Sinclair’s elbow in the corner. Sinclair’s high crossbody takes out the two of them at the same time Sinclair chokes Zaria, who cannonballs the two of them into Armstrong in the corner. Armstrong sitout powerbombs Zaria for two, with Sinclair diving back in for the save.
The Final Wrench is blocked so Zaria spears both of them down. The Kali Connection is loaded up but countered into an F5, which is countered just as fast. Now the Final Wrench has Zaria in trouble, with Armstrong making the save. Sinclair is sent outside and it’s the spear into the F5 to finish Armstrong and give Zaria the titles at 11:46.
Rating: B-. It was a pretty basic triple threat match and that’s the right way to go in a match like this. The Speed Title needs to go away and having Zaria run through both of them is a good way to get rid of it. It’s not a match that burned the house down, but it’s something that took care of a job in an entertaining enough way, which I’ll take for an opener.
Cruz Montana is here to accomplish his dream and he thrives with his head on a swivel.
Tag Team Titles: Vanity Project vs. Myles Borne/Tavion Heights
Borne and Heights are defending and it’s Borne against Baylor to start things off. Borne takes over without much trouble and it’s off to Heights for a gutbuster, meaning the Project needs a meeting on the floor. The distraction means Borne gets taken down with a cheap shot and a slingshot knee to the back has him in more trouble as we take a break.
We come back with Heights cleaning house, with an ankle lock having Baylor in trouble. A rake to the eyes breaks that up and Smokes dropkicks Heights down. Heights kicks his way out of the corner though and a diving shoulder/tag is enough to bring Borne back in. House is quickly cleaned, with Smokes being neckbreakered while DDTing Baylor at the same time. Back up and a dropkick/spinebuster combination gets two on Borne, who is chopped into the corner for the tag to Heights.
A dropkick/sitout powerbomb combination gets two on Baylor and we slow down a bit. Baylor snaps off a powerslam on Borne but Heights catches Smokes on top. That means a belly to belly superplex to send Smokes crashing into Baylor for quite the crash. Borne and Baylor trade suplexes but Borne is sent into Heights on the apron. Smokes sends Borne into the corner and Hit It And Quit It gives us new champions at 14:07.
Rating: B-. The interesting situation here is that Borne is going to be wrestling again tonight and that now we get to see what he does next. The Project getting the titles back is probably the right move as it isn’t like Borne and Heights felt like a long time team. Having them lose here could open some doors later tonight and that’s the interesting way to go so they did the right thing here. The Project even got a mostly clean win and that’s a step forward for them, so maybe things are looking up.
We recap Jaida Parker vs. Nattie. A few months back, Nattie showed up and decided that she saw something in Parker, which resulted in her accusing Parker of being soft. Parker tried to show her that she wasn’t soft, which involved them trading wins over the months. Therefore, we’re having a submission match.
Jaida Parker vs. Nattie
Submission match and Nattie tackles her to start, with the brawl heading straight to the floor. Parker is back with a hard chop against the barricade, followed by a suplex on the floor. We take a break and come back with Parker running her over, setting up a cobra clutch. Cue Karmen Petrovic for a distraction as Nikkita Lyons pops up to grab Parker’s hair for the save.
Hold on though as AAA’s Los Perros del Mal (Petrovic is a member) pop up and Petrovic leaves with them. Nattie hammers on Parker but she’s right back up with the Tear Drop in the corner. The Rings Of Saturn has Nattie in more trouble until she slips out and grabs a rear naked choke.
Parker escapes that as well and grabs a short powerbomb but gets knocked right back down. The Sharpshooter goes on until Parker crawls out through the ropes for the escape. Lyons gets in a kick to the chest so cue Thea Hail to chase her to the back, with Parker going after the leg and kicking Nattie around. Parker grabs a (not so great) Sharpshooter and, after a lot of crawling, Nattie taps at 12:49.
Rating: C+. There was a lot here and the story was only so interesting in the first place. Parker getting through the odds and beating Nattie one on one is a good way to go, but what matters the most is that Parker gets away to face someone else. This feud has been going on for months and even this win only feels so important. Nattie has given her just about all you can ask from her here and it’s time for them both to move on. And for Parker to not try to do a Sharpshooter again.
Wren Sinclair gives Kendal Grey a pep talk and Grey tells her to get some rest.
We recap Kendal Grey defending the Women’s Title against Kelani Jordan. Grey is the young star with a rocket on her back but Jordan has been demanding a title shot for months. Now she’s finally getting one and is hoping to continue her success rate in her first chances to win pretty much anything.
Women’s Title: Kelani Jordan vs. Kendal Grey
Grey is defending. Jordan grabs a headlock to start and avoids a dive off the top to knock Grey outside. The Asai moonsault connects but Grey is right back with a hurricanrana off the apron. Back in and a double clothesline connects but they both pop back up as we take a break.
We come back with Grey getting caught with a flipping legdrop. Jordan bends her around the post but gets sent crashing out to the floor. Back in and Grey’s moonsault gets two but the bad ear is causing her even more trouble. Grey gets up and hits some elbows to the face, meaning the straps can come down. Jordan pulls her into a northern lights suplex for two, only to miss a 450. That leaves Jordan with a banged up ankle so Grey grabs an ankle lock, with Jordan kicking her out to the floor.
We take another break and come back again with the two of them going up top. Grey manages to get her into a reverse super Spanish Fly for the big crash and they both need a second after that one. Jordan gets to the apron and nails a slingshot cutter, followed by a middle rope forearm. Grey is back up with a superkick and flips her into a knee to the face for two more.
Jordan goes creative with a slingshot German suplex but Grey gets in one of her own, minus the slingshot, to leave both of them down. Another ankle lock is broken up and Jordan’s 450 gets two more. Shades Of Grey gives Grey two more so Jordan kicks her in the bad ear. A staggering Grey gets in a clothesline but crashes out to the floor, allowing Jordan to send her crashing into the post (or maybe the buckle). One Of A Kind gives Jordan the pin and the title at 21:58.
Rating: B. Well it got some time. This was a big deal for Jordan as she got the important win, albeit with a bit of chicanery in the process, but the result is what matters. In theory Grey is going to be getting a rematch but it wouldn’t stun me to see her move up to the main roster soon. It might be too soon, though there is only so much more for her to do in NXT than get more ring time.
Robert Stone is ready for the next two matches. Also, next up is Halloween Havoc, which will actually be on Halloween.
Video on Naraku, who is back and going after Shiloh Hill.
Tavion Heights isn’t happy with the Tag Team Title loss but gives Myles Borne a pep talk.
North American Title: Myles Borne vs. Jackson Drake
Borne is defending and tries to slug away to start but gets knocked back down. A Cactus Clothesline puts both of them on the floor and Drake stomps away. Borne’s suplex puts Drake down again as Tavion Heights is down here to cancel out the Vanity Project. Drake is fine enough to suplex Borne over the top but crashes down with him as we take a break.
We come back with Borne hitting a dropkick and powerslam for two as Heights approves. Borne Again is countered with a hot shot though and a handspring cutter gives Drake two more. The suicide dive connects with Borne, who is right back with a pair of powerbombs for another near fall. A suicide dive connects for Borne but Myra Lockwood gives him a powerbomb into the powerslam to plant him on the floor. Heights is busy going after Baylor, leaving Drake to 450 Borne for the title at 10:00.
Rating: B-. They didn’t have a ton of time here but it made sense to have Borne lose fairly quickly as he was banged up from the earlier match. Drake winning the title is certainly interesting, as I wasn’t sure if he was going to have success on the next level up from Evolve but it worked out here. Borne is probably not going to be happy with Heights but that could go in a few different ways. Either way, nice match here.
Post match the Project leaves and Borne lays Heights out with Borne Again. I guess that’s a heel turn, but Borne as a heel might be a difficult trick to pull off.
Kam Hendrix is sick of Mason Rook and is ready to beat him on Tuesday.
NXT Origins video on Gunther.
Here’s what’s coming next week.
We recap the main event. Tony D’Angelo is the reigning champion, Grayson Waller is back and wants to be taken seriously, Zilla Fatu is here and wants to be a big star and Cruz Montana is here after being the biggest star in TNA and wants to prove himself again.
NXT Title: Tony D’Angelo vs. Cruz Montana vs. Zilla Fatu vs. Grayson Waller
D’Angelo is defending and Montana charges at Fatu to start slugging away. Waller is thrown away for daring to interfere and we get the Fatu vs. D’Angelo showdown. The spinebuster drops Fatu so Montana is back in, leaving D’Angelo to hit a dive to the floor. Montana hits a big flipping dive as we take a break.
We come back with Waller cleaning house until Montana cuts him off with a chop. Fatu is knocked to the floor, leaving Montana to hit a rolling cutter on Waller. Montana and Fatu chop it out until D’Angelo is back in with a clothesline to Fatu. Montana gets suplexed into the corner and an overhead belly to belly superplex sends Waller flying as we take another break. We come back again with Waller getting dropped off a Doomsday Blockbuster.
Fatu gives D’Angelo a top rope splash and Montana Canadian Destroyers Waller out to the floor. Back in and Montana hits a big running cannonball to Fatu, who is back up with a jumping Samoan Spike to D’Angelo. Waller pulls the referee out at two and it’s time to load up the announcers’ table. D’Angelo is back up and spears Fatu in half before putting him on the aforementioned table.
Montana and D’Angelo go up top and crash down so Waller drops a top rope elbow to drive Fatu through the wood. Back in and Montana slugs it out with D’Angelo, with the latter grabbing a release German suplex. Montana pops up and counters Dead To Rites into a Codebreaker. Spin The Block hits D’Angelo but Waller is back in with the rolling Stunner. Waller steals the pin on D’Angelo for the title at 21:30.
Rating: B. That’s the right call, as it not only gives you a fresh name in the title picture but also mixes things up quite a bit. You can have a few people coming after the title, but Waller has looked rather good since his return. It helps that the match was a heck of a fight on the way there, with Waller winning making it even better. He probably won’t hold the title long, but to go from where he was three months ago to where he is now is quite the turnaround.
Overall Rating: B. This started off slowly but got better as the night went on, with the last few matches certainly feeling important. NXT has turned Heatwave into one of their bigger shows of the year and it’s nice to see them having something other than Stand & Deliver. Solid show here and NXT is going to look a bit different starting next week, which might be a good thing for its future.
Results
Zaria b. Wren Sinclair and Kali Armstrong – F5 to Armstrong
Vanity Project b. Myles Borne/Tavion Heights – Hit It And Quit It to Borne
Jaida Parker b. Nattie – Sharpshooter
Kelani Jordan b. Kendal Grey – One Of A Kind
Jackson Drake b. Myles Borne – 450
Grayson Waller b. Tony D’Angelo, Zilla Fatu and Cruz Montana – Spin The Block to D’Angelo
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