While AEW fans are focused on Forbidden Door and the main roster of Raw and SmackDown are heading toward Clash in Paris, WWE's next premium live event is actually NXT Heatwave, set to go down after Forbidden Door at 7pm ET this Sunday, August 24th.
Two more matches were added to the lineup for this show after last night's episode of NXT, including cementing the next No. 1 contender for the NXT Championship and possibly setting up a future North American title match.
In regards to the latter, the "peace treaty" segment with NXT North American Champion Ethan Page and Chelsea Green opposite Tavion Heights and Tyra Mae Steele was not the diplomatic agreement between Canada and the United States that the heels were hoping for. After enough bickering between the two sides, NXT General Manager Ava came out to announce a mixed tag team match with Heights and Steele teaming up against Page and Green for Heatwave. The Olympians placed their opponents in ankle locks and humiliated them until Secret Hervice members Alba Fyre and Piper Niven pulled them to safety.
In the main event of the show, Je'Von Evans defeated Trick Williams to earn the next shot at Oba Femi's NXT Championship for this Sunday. Williams had the upper-hand for most of the match, but a distraction from Mike Santana was enough of a momentum shift for Evans to capitalize and pin the TNA world champion. The segment was rushed as the show immediately went off the air the moment the pinfall took place, allowing no room to breathe, but apparently afterward, The Ruler of NXT came out to have a stare down opposite his challenger.
As it stands right now, this is the lineup for the WWE NXT Heatwave card:
- Mixed Tag Team Match: Ethan Page & Chelsea Green vs. Tavion Heights & Tyra Mae Steele
- Blake Monroe vs. Jordynne Grace
- Triple Threat Match for the TNA Knockouts World Championship: Jacy Jayne (c) vs. Ash by Elegance vs. Masha Slamovich
- Triple Threat Match to determine the No. 1 Contender for the NXT Women’s Championship: Jaida Parker vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Lola Vice
- NXT Tag Team Championship Match: Hank Walker & Tank Ledger (c) vs. DarkState (two unannounced competitors out of the group of Cutler James, Dion Lennox, Osiris Griffin and Saquon Shugars)
- Singles Match for the NXT World Championship: Oba Femi (c) vs. Je’Von Evans
Who do you think will win at WWE NXT Heatwave? Drop your predictions in the comments below!