NXT Heatwave results: Moore’s live review of Tony D’Angelo vs. Cruz Montana vs. Grayson Waller vs. Zilla Fatu for the NXT Championship, Kendal Grey vs. Kelani Jordan for the NXT Women’s Title 

By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)

NXT Heatwave
Edinburg, Texas, at Bert Ogden Arena
Streamed live August 30, 2026, on The CW and ESPN Unlimited (Netflix internationally)

[Hour One] A intro video aired with a heatwave and dehydration theme (I liked it better when they were doing Paul Heyman ECW Heatwave-themed intros for this PLE). Side note: if you’re watching the show on CW through antenna, the show is actually airing live instead of on Tape Delay like the Tuesday Night show…

Vic Joseph and Booker T were on commentary. Mike Rome was the ring announcer…

Vic Joseph introduced the show and noted that the crowd was still around from the AAA show. Arrival shots were shown of Kelani Jordan, Wren Sinclair, Kendal Grey, Zilla Fatu, Cruz Montana, Granson Waller, and Tony D’Angelo…

Women’s North American Champion Zaria made her entrance. WWE Women’s Speed Champion Wren Sinclair made her entrance. Kali Armstrong made her entrance wearing Lakers silver and purple Sunday colors (Nice change-up. I’m biased as a Lakers fan). Vic reminded viewers that there wasn’t going to be a Speed Match time limit for this match…

1. Zaria vs. Wren Sinclair vs. Kali Armstrong in a Title Unification Match for the NXT Women’s North American Championship and WWE Women’s Speed Championship. All three traded rapid pin attempts. Zara took down both opponents with suplexes and then with running strikes. Kali took out Wren with a pop-up punch. Kali rallied with Road Dogg-style punches. Wren tripped up Kali and dragged her to ringside. Kali hit Zaria with a high-speed shoulder tackle. Kali tried to do the same to Wren, but Wren dodged, sending herself into the steel steps heading into Picture-in-Picture break.[c]

Back from break, Wren hit Zaria with a Butterfly Superplex. Kali gave Wren a Spinebuster for a nearfall. Wren dodged Kali and got a two count off Zaria with a backslide. Wren dropkicked Kali to cause her to hit Zaria with a DDT. Wren hit Zaria and Kali with a crossbody block for a nearfall on Zaria. Zaria escaped a final WrenCh and hit Wren with a Discus clothesline. Zaria dumped Kali into the corner. Wren went for a Sleeper, but Zaria escaped by using Wren to hit Kali with a Backpack Cannonball.

All three women traded hands and heads in the center of the ring. Kali scooped up Zaria for a power bomb for a nearfall. Wren rolled up Kali for a two count. Wren got another two count after an inside cradle. Zaria hit Wren and Kali with a double Spear. Kali broke up Wren’s rollup with a Kali Connection. Kali hit Zaria with a Power Slam. Kali reversed Zaria’s F5 attempt with a rollup for a nearfall.

Wren hit Zaria with an X Factor and put in the Final Wren-ch. Kali dragged Wren away to break the hold. Wren went for a dive at ringside, but Kali hit her with a Power Slam at ringside. Zaria caught Kali entering the ring with a Spear and F5 for the pinfall win.

Zaria defeated Kali Armstrong and Wren Sinclair in a Triple Threat via pinfall in 11:46 to unify the NXT Women’s North American and WWE Women’s Speed championships.

John’s Thoughts: I’m curious as to why they shoehorned Kali Armstrong in this match when the ultimate result was them hurting Kali even more by having her eat a clean pin to the champ? Wren and Zaria are two talented veterans and probably could have put on a better match if this was one-on-one. I don’t see any reason to protect Wren as she’s the plucky underdog type that can shrug off losses. Soooooo, the Women’s Speed title is gone, right? Time to burn the Men’s Speed title too?

Sarah Schreiber interviewed Cruz Montana. Cruz said he’s a poor Puerto Rican kid from the New York City projects, with a dream. He said you can watch him work, and the NXT Title is his for the taking. Cruz said he thrives with his back against the wall. He said what separates him from his opponents is he’s willing to go to hell and back. Cruz said his title win won’t just be for himself, but also to show those who said he couldn’t do it that he can…

Separate shots of Vanity Project and NQCC were shown as they were warming up backstage…[c]

Still shots of Kelani Jordan, Bron Breakker, Roxanne Perez, and Trick Williams were shown as they highlighted past Heatwave shows…

Smokes, Baylor, and Myka Lockwood made their entrance. Tavion Heights and Myles Borne made their separate entrances. Heights is back to his Afro hair look (The afro is fine enough, but was a fan of him shaking things up with the dreadlock look. Vic reminded viewers that Myles Borne is doing double duty tonight (essentially wrestling all three male members of Vanity Project…

2. Tavion Heights and NXT North American Champion Myles Borne vs. “The Vanity Project” Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes (w/Myka Lockwood). Baylor rolled up Borne for a nearfall. Borne hit Baylor with a dropkick. Tavion tagged in and tossed around Smokes. Baylor and Smokes called for a time out. [c]

Back from break, Heights had Baylor in an ankle lock. Smokes helped Baylor escape. Smokes hit Tavion with a chop block after the distraction from Lockwood. Vanity Project cut the ring in half on Tavion. Off the clothesline, Tavion was able to bring in Borne with the hot tag. Borne hit Baylor with a Power Slam and Eye of the Hurricane. Borne hit Smokes with a Neckbreaker. Borne hit Baylor with a Ushigoroshi for a two count.

Tavion and Smokes took each other out at ringside. Baylor rolled up Borne for a nearfall. Smokes hit Borne with a dropkick-assisted Spinebuster for a nearfall. Height broke up Ricky’s pin. After trading Stereo strikes, Heights and Borne hit Vanity Project with stereo suplexes. Heights hit Baylor with a sitout bomb. Smokes broke up the pin by sending Borne into Heights with a Slingshot Spear. Heights got a two count on Smokes with a Small Package.

Smokes caught Heights with a running Meteora. Heights hit Vanity Project with a Double German Suplex. Baylor hit Borne with a Power Slam. Heights hit Smokes with a Super German Suplex to send him into Baylor. Heights hit Smokes with a compact knee trap suplex. Borne hit Baylor with a German Suplex. Borne hit Baylor with an X-Plex for a two count. Baylor shoved Borne into Heights to knock him off the apron. Vanity Project hit Borne with their Double Stomp Scorpion Death Drop combo to give Smokes the pinfall win over Borne.

Ricky Smokes and Brad Baylor defeated Myles Borne and Tavion Heights via pinfall in 14:07 to become the new NXT Tag Team Champions. 

After the match ended, Borne and Heights hugged it out. The camera hung on both men to tease a breakup, but Heights just put his arm over Borne’s shoulder to support him to the back…[c]

John’s Thoughts: Given the match order and result for Borne’s two matches, my radar is up now regarding Tavion Heights costing him the North American title. The camera angle teased it here, but I think that was just a little bit of a red herring where the actual betrayal is likely to happen in the NA title match. Well, all is right in the world, though, and they have the tag belts back on the right team again. Given where I think they’re going, there’s a good chance we get Vanity Project draped in gold by the end of the night.

A hype package aired for the Nattie vs. Jaida Parker match…

Nattie, Karmen Petrovic, and Nikkita Lyons made their entrance. Karmen was at ringside for the second time, as she was also at ringside during the AAA Heatwave event. Nikkita wore a weird Catwoman costume. Jaida Parker made her entrance…

3. Nattie Neidhart (w/Nikkita Lyons, Karmen Petrovic) vs. Jaida Parker in a Submission Match. Nattie tossed Jaida around at ringside. Vic Joseph noted that this feud has somewhat been going on all the way back to last year’s Royal Rumble. Jaida reversed Nattie at ringside with a suplex heading into picture-in-picture.[c]

[Hour Two] Parker put Nattie into an abdominal stretch and then a sleeper. Karmen distracted the ref, which allowed Nikkita to pull Jaida’s hair to break the hold (This is no DQ though, right? Booker and Vic were also wondering). Suddenly Daga, Berto, and Angel appeared on the stage. Karmen slowly retreated with them to the back, like she was being pulled by a Mexican tractor beam. The distraction allowed Jaida to rally.

Nattie avoided Hip Notic. Jaida reversed an Anvil Lariat with a Rings of Saturn. Nattie escaped and put Jaida in a Rear Naked Choke. Jaida escaped by falling on her back. Nattie tripped up Jaida and slammed Jaida’s knee into the mat. Nattie put Jaida into the Hart Family Sharpshooter. Jaida escaped and spilled to ringside. At ringside, Nikkita hit Jaida with a Taekwondo spin kick. Thea Hail ran out and brawled with Nikkita to the back.

Jaida blocked a Sharpshooter and hit Nattie with a Chop Block. Jaida put Nattie in the Hart Family Sharpshooter. Nattie quickly ran to the ropes, but there were no rope breaks. Nattie tapped out after a good amount of time.

Jaida Parker defeated Nattie Neidhart via submission in 12:50. 

Vic Joseph noted that it really means something to defeat someone from the Hart family with a Sharpshooter…

Wren Sinclair was disappointed at her loss backstage. Kendal Grey said it’s fine because she didn’t get pinned. Grey said Wren will get her shot against Zaria in no time. Wren then gave Kendal some encouragement for her upcoming match, saying she’ll save a piece of cake for her in the end…[c]

John’s Thoughts: A really good back and forth submission match. Jaida tends to fit in and step things up when it comes to PLE matches, and this was no exception. Nattie was her usual solid veteran self on the other end. While I’ve been fairly lukewarm with this feud, mostly because they are so wishy-washy with how they book Nattie, Jaida does come out elevated with some of her mojo back. I’m actually kinda shocked they went with the added heat by having Jaida tap out Nattie with the Hart Family signature hold. I did get a bit of a chuckle of them repeating that strange Bronco Nima storyline with Karmen Petrovic this time. Why all of a sudden with that one? I also think that with Nima called up to the main roster, Perros Del Mal needs a replacement heavy since Nima really enhanced the look of that group with that presence (WWE has plenty of NIL linebacker types, so that should be easy to pull off).

Vic Joseph and Booker T checked in on commentary and sent the show to the Kendal Grey vs. Kelani Jordan hype package…

Kelani Jordan made her entrance first. Kendal Grey made her entrance still sporting that giant wad of cotton in her ear to sell her eardrum injury. Vic reminded viewers that Kendal’s equilibrium may be off. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship match introductions…

4. Kendal Grey vs. Kelani Jordan for the NXT Women’s Championship. Grey started the match with a kneeling takeover. Kelani came back with a dropkick. Kelani caught Kendal at ringside with an Asai Moonsault. Kendal came back with a Suplex on Grey at ringside. Kelani dodged a slingshot stomp and came back with a few armdrags after a Tiger Feint. Grey and Kendal took each other out with clotheslines and did a kip-up to signify a stalemate heading into picture-in-picture.[c]

The show cut back with Kelani working on Kendal with methodical offense. Kendal took down Kelani and told the ref that her ear was hurting. Both women traded fatigued strikes. Kendal rallied after an uppercut. Grey hit Kendal with a Belly to Belly and sold the ear injury. Grey took down the straps and hit Kelani with Saito Suplexes. Kelani flipped out of a German Suplex. Kelani hit Grey with a Northern Lights for a nearfall.

Kelani ripped out the cotton bandage from Kendal’s ear. Kendal came back with a quick snap Power Slam. Kelani reversed Shades of Grey with a dropkick. Grey dodged a 450 with Kelani selling a leg injury. Grey ran up to and locked Kelani in an ankle lock. Kelani shoved Grey off the apron and into the announce table. Kelani hit Kendal with One of a Kind heading into another picture-in-picture.[c]

Back from break, Kelani was working on Grey with methodical offense, working on Kendal’s injured eardrum. Both women brawled to the top rope. Kendal hit Kelani with an impressive Super Inverted Spanish Fly. Kelani hit Kendal with a clean-looking Slingshot Cutter for a nearfall (That would make a great finisher for someone if they can execute it as smoothly). Kelani hit Kendal with a Springboard Forearm.

Kendal rolled up Kelani for a nearfall. Kendal hit Kelani with a Superkick. Both women traded gutwrenches. Kendal hit Kelani with a Gutwrench modified GTS for a nearfall. Kelani hit Kendal with a rebound German Suplex. Kendal came back with a retaliatory German Suplex. The crowd chanted “this is awesome”. Both women dodged strikes. Kendal caught Kelani’s kick into an ankle lock.

Kelani slammed Kendal’s injured ear into the mat. Kelani set up and hit Kendal with a 450 for a great nearfall. Kendal surprised Kelani with a Shades of Grey (Paydirt). Kelani kicked out at two. Kelani got a couple of two counts. Kendal got to her feet and put Kelani in the ankle lock. Both women traded rapid pin attempts. Grey put Kelani in a Juji Gatame. Kelani escaped by getting to her feet and hitting Kendal in the injured ear.

Kelani hit Kendal with a knee lift. Kendal dodged a Lionsault. Kendal Grey hit Kelani with a running elbow strike. Kelani whipped Grey’s injured ear into an exposed turnbuckle. Kelani quickly hit Kendal with the One of a Kind for the victory.

Kelani Jordan defeated Kendal Grey via pinfall in 22:57 to become the new NXT Women’s Champion.

Wren Sinclair went to check on Kendal at ringside while Kelani celebrated her win…

Zilla Fatu was shown warming up at ringside…[c]

John’s Thoughts: Excellent match which, even with All In happening now, will be in the running for best women’s match of the weekend. Even up there with the best men’s matches this weekend too. That’s how good Grey and Jordan are. I feel bad for these fans tonight. WWE is counter-programming AEW by giving these poor fans in Texas the AEW endless matches experience. These things are exhausting, but what was cool to see was the good work of Grey and Lani waking them up into a “this is Awesome” chant. They’ve been laying it on thick by protecting Grey with the eardrum injury for weeks, so I felt like the title change was a huge possibility. Very happy to see Kelani Jordan pick up the win after her strong heel evolution. I really like the story of how Kelani won a title every single time she got her first shot at it. I wouldn’t mind if they carry that to the main roster somehow.

Grayson Waller was shown shadow boxing backstage…

Sarah Schreiber interviewed NXT GM Robert Stone. Stone praised the women’s matches from earlier. Sarah wondered how Myles will do in his second match of the night. Stone said, speaking of the tag titles, you should stay tuned to what he has cooking for the tag division. Stone hyped up the next PLE on CW being Halloween Havoc…

Vic and Booker sent the show to a subtitled Naraku promo. He spoke in perfect English, but the subtitles helped with his accent. Naraku said Shiloh Hill is a smart and wise man, but even the smartest men lack judgment. He said even though Hill did online research on the mist, he doesn’t truly understand the mystery of the mist. Naraku said Hill’s curiosity drew him into an unknown world he’ll regret. Naraku said Hill won’t be prepared for the toxins seeping into Hill’s eyes. Naraku said Hill felt the pain of the red mist, and he’ll show the world why Hill will live in darkness on Tuesday…

Myles Borne and Tavion Heights were looking crestfallen at their loss. Heights said they can’t change the past, and it’s all in the past. Heights said they should focus on keeping the title around Borne’s waist. Borne said Heights will be a champion again. Heights said they’ll be brothers for life, and he needs to go out there to even things up with Vanity Project. Heights and Borne dapped it up to end the segment…[c]

John’s Thoughts: I really like what they’re doing with Borne and Heights, as Heights is teetering on turning heel or staying loyal. I like that this can go either way, as it doesn’t make my prediction earlier a foregone conclusion. They can shock me by having Borne keep the title, and even save the Heights heel turn for down the road because WWE likes to slow-burn these days. As for the Naraku, I liked how he spoke in perfect English, but they had the subtitles anyway to help with understanding through the accent. The subtitles are really helpful, and I wouldn’t mind those for people with thick British accents too (like your Will Ospreays or Leon Slaters).

[Hour Three] Vanity Project made their entrance first. Myles Borne was out next. Mike Rome handled the formal in-ring championship match introductions…

5. Myles Borne vs. Jackson Drake (w/Myka Lockwood, Brad Baylor, Ricky Smokes) for the NXT North American Championship. Borne beat up Drake around the ring with right hands. Borne and Drake took each other out with a clothesline to ringside. Drake sent Borne into the steel steps. Borne reversed a suplex at ringside with a suplex of his own. There’s Chekhov’s Tavion running out! Tavion Heights ran out to ringside to support his tag team partner. Borne and Drake dumped each other out to ringside, heading into picture-in-picture.[c]

Borne hit Drake with a dropkick, Power Slam, and Eye of the Hurricane for a nearfall. Drake held on to the ropes to block Borne Again. Drake hit Borne with a flapjack and Lethal Injection for a nearfall. Drake caught Borne with a Suicide Dive at ringside. Drake hit Borne with a Gutbuster for a nearfall. Borne recovered and hit Drake with a double power bomb for a nearfall. Borne dropkicked Drake off the top rope.

Borne hit Drake with a Suicide Dive. While the referee was distracted with Baylor, Myka Lockwood hit Borne with her very impressive-looking Power Bomb Jack Hammer Finisher. Lockwood tossed Borne in the ring. Jackson Drake hit Borne with a 450 Splash for the victory.

Jackson Drake defeated Myles Borne via pinfall in 10:12 to become the new NXT North American Champion.

Vanity Project celebrated with their title belts at ringside. Heights helped Borne to his feet. Borne surprised Heights by hitting him with a Borne Again out of frustration…

A Kam Hendrix promo aired where he was hyping up his upcoming match against Mason Rook…

Tony D’Angelo was shown backstage psyching himself up…[c]

John’s Thoughts: Thank you NXT! I love it when wrestling can fool me and subvert my expectations. I love that they laid it on thick that Tavion was going to be the one who turns heel, but instead they pull the fun swerve of having Myles Borne be the petty one. They still might say he snapped out of frustration and drag out the heel turn, but that can lead to some fun storytelling. Meanwhile, Tavion Heights gets elevated potential as a babyface by coming off as the genuine friend in the end.

A WWE Money in the Bank ad aired…

A NXT Origins vignette aired for Gunther…

The following matches were advertised for Tuesday’s NXT: Nikkita Lyons vs. Thea Hail, Naraku vs. Shiloh Hill, and Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno vs. Dorian Van Dux and Sean Legacy…

A hype package aired for the Four Way NXT Championship Match…[c]

Hometown boy Zilla Fatu made his entrance first. Vic Joseph noted how close Booker T was with Zilla’s dad, Umaga. Booker T also trained Zilla to wrestle in Houston, Texas, at the Reality of Wrestling training school. Grayson Waller made his entrance. Cruz Montana made his entrance from the Concourse through the crowd like he usually does in these big arenas. Vic Joseph noted that Cruz Montana defeated Trick Williams to become TNA Champion. NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo made his entrance. Waller threw the first hands before the bell…

6. Tony D’Angelo vs. Zilla Fatu vs. Cruz Montana vs. Grayson Waller for the NXT Championship. Cruz and Waller had Zilla in a wombo combo. Zilla managed to dump Waller and Cruz to ringside. Tony D showed up and planted Zilla with a spinebuster. Cruz dumped Tony to ringside. Cruz hit all three opponents with a Flip Dive, shades of his LAX days. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]

Waller was standing tall after the break after he sent Zilla into the steel steps. Montana went for a Sunset Flip, but Waller reversed it with a PK. Waller worked on Cruz with methodical strikes. Waller got a two count on Cruz after a neckbreaker. Waller tossed Cruz into Zilla to knock Zilla off the apron. Cruz knocked Tony D off the apron and hit Waller with the Rolling Buck 50. Zilla recovered and hit Tony D with a throat punch.

Zilla and Cruz had a staredown. Both men traded strong style chops in the ring. Zilla squeezed in an Umaga Pose. Cruz gave Zilla some chops in the corners. Zilla took down Cruz with a right hand. Tony D ate a Zilla right hand and fired himself after taking out his hair tie. Tony took down Zilla with a flying clothesline. Tony D gave Waller Snake Eyes and a Spinebuster on the apron. Tony D tossed Zilla and Montana around the ring. D’Angelo hit Waller with a Super Belly-to-Belly heading into the second picture-in-picture break.[c]

During the break, Tony D tried to bring a table into play, which fired up the crowd. Waller got that heat when he shoved the table back under the ring. Back from the break, Waller and Cruz brawled to the top rope. Zilla and Tony D put Waller in the Electric Chair. Montana hit Waller with a Super Blockbuster for a modified version of his old Street Sweeper Finisher with Ortiz.

Zilla took down Tony and hit him with a Splash. Cruz broke up the pin and hit Waller with a Canadian Destroyer. Cruz slipped out of Zilla’s Samoan Drop. Montana hit Zilla with a cannonball. Tony D hit Cruz with a pop-up Power Slam for a nearfall. Zilla hit Tony D with a pop-up Samoan Drop. Zilla called for his dad’s Samoan Spike. Zilla hit Tony D with a flying Samoan Spike. Waller yanked the referee to ringside to prevent Zilla from getting a pinfall.

A “culero” (“asshole” in Spanish) chant ensued. Zilla punched down Waller and cleared the announce table. Waller raked Zilla’s eyes to escape a Fireman Carry. Tony D’Angelo surprised Zilla with a Spear. Montana recovered and laid Zilla on the announce table. Tony D and Cruz brawled to the top rope, and both took each other out. Waller saw Zilla on the table and was thinking of doing one of his signature viral moments.

Waller went to the top rope and hit Zilla with a top rope elbow drop to send Zilla through the announce table. Waller sold a leg injury after the big spot. The match hit the 20-minute mark at this point. Vic’s mic died, leading to Booker on solo commentary. Cruz and Tony D traded hands and traded hands. Cruz hit Tony D with a cross kick.

Cruz Montana no-sold Tony D’s German Suplex. D’Angelo reversed Spin the Block with a Spear. Cruz reversed Tony D’s finisher with a Codebreaker. Cruz Montana nailed Tony D with Spin the Block (Discus Lariat). Grayson Waller hit Montana with a rolling Stunner. Waller stole Montana’s pin on Tony D to win the championship.

Grayson Waller defeated Tony D’Angelo, Cruz Montana, and Zilla Fatu in a four-way via pinfall in 21:31 to win the NXT Championship.

Vic noted that he’s heartbroken for Cruz having the win stolen from him. Vic also noted that Grayson Waller called his shot and won the title. NXT closed…

John’s Thoughts: This main event had an uphill battle, being the main event of a double-header show with 13 matches (Jeez). Even more so, a handful of these matches went over 20 minutes. That said, I think the men put a really fun main event together. We didn’t get to see a ton of stuff from Zilla, but we got to see some fun stuff. Smart decision to put him in the main event because he was able to wake the crowd up with a hometown pop. Looking forward to seeing what Zilla can do in a longer-form match, as he fit in fine enough with three veterans here, and he’s been very strong on the mic.

I’m very happy for Waller winning the title as he’s really elevated his game after the pipe bomb style promo. He also looks like a million bucks too. Waller plays off like he’s not an in-ring guy, but he is really talented, and his psychology is off the charts. I loved it when he oversold a leg injury to throw the viewer a bit off the scent here, even though he was the logical pick to win here to maximize story potential. Let’s not forget Cruz Montana, as this was one of his better main events I’ve seen from him in recent memory, going back to his TNA run.

Cruz was pulling out a lot of his agility moves that he used to do as a part of LAX. Bonus points to Vic for setting up Cruz as a sympathetic figure at the end of this match, where he got his pin stolen. This sets up Cruz well to go on his protagonist run as he did in TNA. I can’t wait until we get Cruz and Waller sparring on the mic because Waller is more edgy now and can use Cruz’s family and past addiction struggles as red meat. Tony D was great, but like the build, he was overshadowed by everyone else. Overall, a really good show. I’d still recommend All In first even though I didn’t see it. Higher stakes, and WWE is being petty.

What I will recommend, though, for the 13-match total night is the Frazer vs. Mini Vikingo vs. Cartwheel match, the Kendal Grey vs. Kelani Jordan match, and the NXT Championship match. Then divvy up the rest of the matches in your free time. Well then, I’m off to record my audio reviews. I’ll have two separate audio reviews of the AAA and NXT Heatwave-themed shows for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).

 

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