WWE NXT Review - August 25, 2026

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Saquon Shugars def. Dion Lennox in a Weaponized Steel Cage Match

We've seen at least a few Weaponized Steel Cage matches before in NXT, and the timing of this one is funny because it's basically a one-on-one version of TNA's Lethal Lockdown match and TNA just had one of those for the first time in a decade two days ago. Nonetheless, this was a pretty good cage match. The feud hasn't done much for me personally, but the important thing is that Shugars went over in the end.

Jaida Parker Accepted Nattie's Challenge to a Submission Match at Heatwave

Similar to Shugars vs. Lennox, this is another feud that has lasted for longer than necessary and now we're finally getting the blowoff at Heatwave. The Submission stipulation is interesting because it's Nattie's specialty, yet submissions aren't really Parker's thing. Obviously, that gives Nattie the advantage, which is the point. This was a decent exchange to set it up, though I could done without the women always ending their promos with "bitch." It's so forced.

Keanu Carver def. Kam Hendrix

Carver is trying to prove himself as a nice guy, hence why he won with a clean-looking fisherman's suplex instead of his usual finisher. I guess the idea is to make him less dominant and more wholesome. Okay, sure. The match itself was okay, but it only existed so Mason Rook could show up at the end and cost Hendrix the win to further the feud between those two.

Kali Armstrong def. NXT Women's North American Champion Zaria (Non-Title)

As a result of her victory here, Armstrong has been added to the NXT Women's North American Championship and WWE Women's Speed Championship unification match at Heatwave. You knew Armstrong was winning when that stipulation was announced. She and Zaria had a solid matchup, though it was slightly hurt by the heel vs. heel dynamic. Plus, I'm not a fan of Zaria taking unnecessary losses while champ.

BirthRight (Charlie Dempsey, Uriah Connors, Channing "Stacks" Lorenzo and WWE Speed Champion Lexis King) def. Noam Dar, Romeo Moreno, Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux

BirthRight haven't been able to get anything going since forming because their booking is so damn inconsistent, making it hard to care whenever they win. I'm just concerned it won't be followed up on accordingly. As a match, however, this was fun with everyone getting some time to shine. NXT's tag team division feels like it's heating up again as any of these tandems could step up at any time for a title shot.

AAA World Cruiserweight Champion Rey Fenix def. EK Prosper

Fenix is already confirmed to be facing Penta in the finals of the World Heavyweight Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament next Monday on Raw, so there was no way he was losing here, but it didn't matter because this was a blast. He and Prosper had a hell of a sprint that the crowd was very much into. While it bothers me that WWE didn't let Fenix loose sooner, I'm glad he's getting the chance to showcase his skills now.

The NXT Heatwave Summit Descended Into Chaos

I hate this sort of segment where everyone takes turns interrupting each other and nothing of note is said. Yes, you could argue that it effectively hyped multiple matches for Heatwave at once, but I can't say this segment got me any more interested in the event than I already was. Zilla Fatu standing tall with the NXT Championship belt was quite the visual, though it all but confirms he isn't winning come Sunday.

Overall Show

As a go-home show for Heatwave, this was quality stuff. Putting aside my issues with the final segment, we got plenty of hype for the event as well as a few standout matches. Sure, Fenix vs. Prosper had nothing to do with Heatwave, but the brand could benefit more from featuring matches of that caliber more often. It sucks that the NXT folks will have AEW's All In to contend with on Sunday, but I hope they can have a strong show, regardless.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews