NXT Heatwave (2024)

The 2024 NXT Heatwave was a professional wrestling event produced by the American company WWE. This was the third annual Heatwave produced by the company for its developmental brand NXT, and 10th Heatwave overall. The event took place on July 7, 2024, at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as part of Money in the Bank weekend. Unlike the prior two years, which were held as television specials, the 2024 event aired via WWE's livestreaming platforms, marking NXT's first livestreaming event to be held in Canada since NXT TakeOver: Toronto in 2019.

Six matches were contested at the event, including one on the Countdown to Heatwave pre-show. In the main event, Ethan Page defeated previous champion Trick Williams, Je'Von Evans, and Shawn Spears in a fatal four-way match to win the NXT Championship by pinning Evans. In other prominent matches, Roxanne Perez defeated Lola Vice to retain the NXT Women's Championship, Kelani Jordan defeated Sol Ruca to retain the NXT Women's North American Championship, and in the opening bout, Oba Femi defeated Wes Lee in a Last Chance match to retain the NXT North American Championship.

Production

Background

Heatwave was originally the name of a professional wrestling event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) that took place annually from 1994 to 2000. The 1997 event was an Internet pay-per-view (iPPV), while the 1998 to 2000 iterations of Heatwave aired on traditional pay-per-view (PPV). ECW folded in 2001, and WWE acquired the assets of ECW in 2003. In 2022, WWE revived the event for its developmental brand NXT as an annual television special of the NXT program.[2]

On January 4, 2024, it was announced that the third Heatwave under the WWE banner, and 10th overall, would be held on Sunday, July 7 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as the third show of what WWE promoted as a three-night "Money in the Bank Weekend" event at the venue, with the live broadcast of Friday Night SmackDown taking place on July 5 and then Money in the Bank itself taking place on July 6. Instead of airing as a television special like the previous two years, the 2024 event was held as a livestreaming event, marking the first Heatwave to air on WWE's livestreaming platforms, Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in most international markets. This was also the first NXT livestreaming event to be held in Canada since NXT TakeOver: Toronto in 2019.[3] Tickets for all three Money in the Bank weekend events went on sale on March 15, 2024, with combo and hospitality packages available.[4]

Storylines

The event comprised six matches, including one on the pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program, NXT, and the supplementary online streaming show, Level Up.[5][6]

At Battleground on June 9, Trick Williams defeated Ethan Page to retain the NXT Championship.[7] On the following episode of NXT, SmackDown's Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes announced that Williams would be defending his title at Heatwave against the winner of a 25-man battle royal, which was scheduled for next week's episode.[8]

Event

Pre-show

On the Countdown to Heatwave pre-show, Karmen Petrovic and Arianna Grace took on Jacy Jayne and Jazmyn Nyx. In the end, Grace performed a Codebreaker on Jayne. Nyx attempted to pin Petrovic, but Grace pulled Nyx's hair so that Petrovic could pin Nyx to win the match.

Preliminary matches

The actual event began with Oba Femi defending the NXT North American Championship against Wes Lee. Lee countered a Super Spirit Bomb into a facebuster and followed up with the Cardiac Kick for a nearfall. Outside the ring, Femi caught Lee and performed a shoulder breaker. In the end, Femi countered a Cardiac Kick attempt and followed up with a thrust kick and Fall from Grace to retain the title. As a result, Lee could not challenge for the title while Femi was the champion.

In the second match, Kelani Jordan defended the NXT Women's North American Championship against Sol Ruca. During the match, Jordan performed a Pele Kick, a Poison Rana, and an Asai Moonsault. Ruca followed up with a Triangle Moonsault and later performed a powerbomb on Jordan for a nearfall. In the climax, Jordan countered a Sol Snatcher attempt for a nearfall. Ruca slammed Jordan in the turnbuckles and as she attempted an Electric Chair from the top rope, Jordan countered into a Poison Rana and followed up with a split-legged moonsault to retain the title.

In a backstage segment, NXT General Manager Ava booked Karmen Petrovic and Arianna Grace in a match against each other for the following episode of NXT.

In the third match, Nathan Frazer and Axiom defended the NXT Tag Team Championship against Chase University (Andre Chase and Duke Hudson, with Thea Hail and Riley Osborne). After several minutes of back-and-forth action, Frazer performed a dropkick on Hudson into the steel steps. Chase performed a High Fly Low on Axiom, but Frazer broke up the pin. Frazer tagged himself in and performed a superplex and a brainbuster on Chase. After Frazer took out Hudson outside the ring, Axiom performed the Golden Ratio on Chase to retain the title.

In the penultimate match, Roxanne Perez defended the NXT Women's Championship against Lola Vice. Throughout the match, Perez focused on Vice's injured hand. After Vice kicked out of Pop Rox, Perez performed Pop Rox on Vice onto the announce table. Perez then applied the crossface on Vice before performing Pop Rox three more times to retain the title.

Main event

In the main event, Trick Williams defended the NXT Championship against Ethan Page, Je'Von Evans, and Shawn Spears in a fatal four-way match. During the match, Williams performed a legsweep on Spears while Page performed a Doomsday Device on Evans. Spears then knocked out Evans, Page, and Williams with a steel chair. Outside the ring, Evans performed a suicide dive over the ringpost on Williams, who got sent into the barricade. Spears performed a Super Death Valley Driver on Evans, but Page tossed Spears away and pinned Evans himself for a nearfall. Evans performed a Super Spanish Fly and Springboard Cutter, but Williams broke up the pin. Evans performed a Super Cutter and a Corkscrew Splash on Spears, but Williams broke up the pin. Page later performed Ego's Edge on Williams, but Evans placed Williams's foot on the rope to break the pin. Williams performed the Trick Shot on Page and Evans, but was dragged away by Spears while Page pinned Evans to win the title.

promotion	WWE
brand	NXT
date	July 7, 2024
attendance	9,132‡R1R‡
venue	Scotiabank Arena
city	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
wwenlast	Money in the Bank
wwennext	SummerSlam
event	Heatwave
lastevent2	2023
nextevent2	2025
event2	NXT major events
lastevent3	Battleground
nextevent3	No Mercy
event3	WWE in Canada
lastevent4	Money in the Bank
nextevent4	Survivor Series: WarGames

NXT Heatwave (2024)

Production

Background

Storylines

Event

Pre-show

Preliminary matches

Main event

Reception

Aftermath

Results

See also

External links

References