WWE NXT Heatwave Review - August 24, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Lola Vice def. Jaida Parker and Kelani Jordan in an NXT Women's Championship No. 1 Contender's Triple Threat Match

Although this could've happened on any ordinary edition of NXT, it was still a good, well-worked Triple Threat and having something at stake obviously helped. It also helped that the outcome felt genuinely unpredictable. While I would have preferred either Parker or Jordan going over, Vice vs. Jacy Jane is a fresh match as well, though I don't see Vice winning the NXT Women's Championship from her.

DarkState (Dion Lennox and Osiris Griffin) def. Hank Walker and Tank Ledger to Win the NXT Tag Team Championship

​Hank and Tank have had a mostly forgettable tag title run, but when it matters most, they do deliver. This started out as an average outing, but it got fun once they picked up the pace, especially down the stretch. Hopefully DarkState can have more matches like this as champs and not continue to bounce around as opponents for people who are feuding with each other. The title change was necessary, but we'll see if the division is actually elevated going forward.

TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champion Ash by Elegance def. Masha Slamovich and NXT Women's Champion Jacy Jane in a Triple Threat Match to Win the TNA Knockouts World Championship (NXT Women's Championship Was Not Defended)

Doing two Triple Threat matches on the same show was a weird call, and the first one was better than this one. That said, it was a quality contest while it lasted. I have no idea what the point of Jane winning the Knockouts title was if she was just going to lose it a month later, to Ash of all people. Slamovich really should have won both belts at Slammiversary, but WWE wasn't going to have that. Does that mean we're headed toward Ash vs. Indi Hartwell for the Knockouts title at Bound for Glory? I want Hartwell to win the title, and Ash has improved since leaving WWE, but that's not exactly appealing as an attraction for that event.

Blake Monroe def. Jordynne Grace

While this wasn't the barn burner I think these two are capable of, for the first match of their feud, this was solid. It was similar to a majority of the matches on this card in that it started out slow and got better as it progressed. Monroe cheating to win made the most sense to prolong the program, especially with it being Monroe's first singles match on an NXT premium live event.

Chelsea Green and NXT North American Champion Ethan Page def. Tyra Mae Steele and Tavion Heights

Green is so entertaining that the crowd was firmly behind her here and heavily booed Steele and Heights as a result, which is unfortunate because Steele and Heights are talented and had impressive performances. God bless Page for trying to turn the crowd against them by cutting an impromptu heel promo, ultimately to no avail. This was the hottest the crowd had been up to this point in the night. I'm surprised the heels went over, if only because I assume we're still getting Page vs. Heights for the NXT North American Championship eventually.

NXT Champion Oba Femi def. Je'Von Evans

This was my most anticipated match of the night and it was definitely the best. They had great chemistry in the Triple Threat also involving Trick Williams at Stand & Deliver back in April and that was once again the case here. They told a strong story with Evans having to fight from underneath (selling the injuries he sustained against Williams from Tuesday's NXT) and coming close to winning on multiple occasions. This was excellent stuff. Based on what happened afterward, it looks like Ricky Saints is next in line to challenge Femi. If isn't him who dethrones Femi, then I have no clue who it could be, unless they revisit Evans vs. Femi down the line.

Overall Show

I think this was the most "ladies' night" premium live event NXT has ever done, with four of the six matches featuring the women. The women's division is the best part of NXT these days, so that was cool to see and well deserved. On the whole, however, this was a fairly standard show. It was good, but it felt more like a special edition of NXT TV than it did a true PLE or TakeOver of old. Only the main event stood out as somewhat special, but I enjoyed the experience being there live. The atmosphere inside the Lowell Memorial Auditorium is an awesome one.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews