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NXT Heatwave III - 7/7/2024


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Hey, just because the briefcases have been won, doesn't mean the Independence Day weekend party is over!   It's Heatwave! 

THE CARD~!

FATAL FOUR WAY FOR THE NXT CHAMPIONSHIP - Trick Williams (c) vs. Je'Von Evans vs. Ethan Page vs. Shawn Spears

FOR THE NXT WOMEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP - Roxanne Perez (c) vs. Lola Vice

FOR THE WOMEN'S NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP - Kelani Jordan (c) vs. Sol Ruca

LAST CHANCE MATCH FOR THE MEN'S NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIP - Oba Femi (c) vs. Wes Lee

FOR THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP - Nathan Frazer & Axiom (c) vs. Chase U (Chase / Hudson)

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The card looks solid though Roxanne/Lola  Oba/Wes are my main interests. Not big on the4-way, but I suppose it makes sense with Page and Spears likely to get cheers.

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Arianna/Karmen vs. Jacy/Jazmyn was solid. Everyone worked well together, but it was particularly nice to see Karmen moving the smoothest and most fluid she ever has alongwith Arianna working so well as a face. They will have something good with both as time goes on. Grace might have more in her than just being a character though its still her strongest attribute.

Oba/Wes wasn't perfect but damn was is great. The two just fit together well and busted out some great action from beginning to end with both bumping around and selling for each other so well. Wes surprisingly had more flubs than Oba, but none of it was ever so devastating that it killed the flow of the match or interest of the crowd. Was surprised to see Oba adapt and move on so quickly any time something slightly off happened. This is probably his best performance yet. Its kind of shame this seemingly won't be happening again for a while, but I am happy they saved it for a big crowd.

Sol/Kelani was the junior/high speed style clash you would hope for/expect from these. They gelled pretty well together and busted out some really nice spots as the match went on. I particularly dug the finish. Pretty good overall though I still need both to develop more as personalities. 

Axiom/Frazer vs. Chase/Duke was so damn good. Both teams work well together, and it was great seeing them in front of a big audience into all of them. They built into some great action and moments with the crowd completely buying it was over at least once or twice. The result here was probably the right one, but I do wish Chase U would win the titles again. Duke and Andre are just so much better than you would ever expect.

Roxanne/Lola built into something good by the end despite some flubbing during the finishing sequence. Dug Roxanne's arm work in the second half and how it played into Lola never quite being able to take full advantage during the rest of the match. Roxanne brought out some nice hate in her face and eyes for the finish though a part of me wishes she had another impactful finish beyond the Pop Rocks.

Trick vs. Evans vs. Page vs. Spears was good. Evans looked great with all of the big moves he busted out and coming close to winning multiple times. That table spot with Evans & Trick was an insane jump to take. Starting to think Evans comes from the same line of crazy Ibushi & Mayu do. The finish was well executed but also a WTF moment. I like Page fine, but it felt like Trick's reign had barely begun. Just a strange choice to make though it could be interesting to have the first real heel champ in 2-3 years.

Every match here was solid-good. Sol/Kelani and the tag titles matches were both standouts. Still, Oba/Wes was easily MOTN and honestly probably the overall weekend for WWE. I think the Women's MITB is the only thing that comes close. Was good with most of the results. Only thing I really question is Page as champ however long or short the reign is. Pretty good show overall, definitely an improvement over Battleground as far as PLEs go.

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That main event finish…woof. Have to assume they’re either clearing the runway for Trick to get called up to the main roster later this year or they realized he’s not even close to being top guy level and backed off the push. Time will tell which.

Either way, that finish was not a strong vote of confidence for Page, who basically slipped on a banana peel and won. Hard to think of a weaker way to start a title reign. You have to assume he’s a short-term transitional champ.

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 It felt like the last time NXT was in Toronto because Heatwave stole the weekend.

It's crazy how good Oba Femi is when he's probably wrestled less than 50 matches in his career. He's either NXT Champion or on the main roster at this time next year. Also, I need to know who has been showing Femi tapes of Jeff Cobb after he busted out the F-500 and using his opponent as a surfboard. That said I think by the end of the match Oba and Wes were both super gassed which I can't really blame either of them for. 

Was also really impressed by the match that Sol and Kelani were able to put on together with how new they both are. They really came up with some pretty creative spots and for the most part executed everything pretty well. Fear for what they(and Je'von will do one day in a MITB match.)

37 minutes ago, Eivion said:

Roxanne/Lola built into something good by the end despite some flubbing during the finishing sequence. Dug Roxanne's arm work in the second half and how it played into Lola never quite being able to take full advantage during the rest of the match. Roxanne brought out some nice hate in her face and eyes for the finish though a part of me wishes she had another impactful finish beyond the Pop Rocks.

The fantasy booking in me would have had Lola pass out in the crossface. The Pop Rocks on the table was a nice spot and the repeated finishers was a nice idea for viciousness but I agree that multiple Pop Rocks isn't that impactful. At this point if they're not ready for Giulia, I think they might just have to start bringing in legends to face Roxy.

I don't think the main event ever hit that next level but it was really good and enjoyable. They had some inventive spots and I think everyone got to shine a bit. I don't know how many people caught it but I loved the crowd chanting "Rest in Peace" for Evans after his table bump. Thought the finish was perfect because it's the kind of spot that happens all the time but almost never actually ends a match. Trick is probably stronger chasing the title and the circumstances that Page won the title are great for a heel that thinks he's better than he's shown himself to be and that everyone hates.

Oh and if you didn't watch all the way through:

 

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I knew the tag match would rule. I was not ready. That step-up Destroyer was beautiful and a good way to make the move not seem as set-up-heavy 

 

See this is how you pace a 5-match show.

 

I don't know what you do with Wes or Roxanne now. They can both bring it, but I can't really figure out where you take either of them in the short term.

I completely mis-called the booking for the main. I also wasn't expecting it to be particularly good, and I was wrong about that too--it's not an instant classic, but it worked a lot better than I expected.

All in all, I had a great time. Definitely not the title I expected to change hands tonight.

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Posted (edited)
37 minutes ago, blitzkrieg said:

The fantasy booking in me would have had Lola pass out in the crossface. The Pop Rocks on the table was a nice spot and the repeated finishers was a nice idea for viciousness but I agree that multiple Pop Rocks isn't that impactful. At this point if they're not ready for Giulia, I think they might just have to start bringing in legends to face Roxy.

I had the same thinking in a pass out finish would have worked better. I think it can still be vicious, and Lola comes out looking even better having never tapped.

Not sure what is next for Roxanne either. So many of the higher status women in NXT that should logically face her are other heels while the most talented faces are more NA level right now. I think Thea would be a good choice, but they seem to have her overly focused on Chase U and Ridge right now.

Edited by Eivion
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15 hours ago, Eivion said:

Not sure what is next for Roxanne either. So many of the higher status women in NXT that should logically face her are other heels while the most talented faces are more NA level right now. I think Thea would be a good choice, but they seem to have her overly focused on Chase U and Ridge right now.

Lash, but she'd be coming in pretty cold. Izzi seems on an upswing, but I think the crowd buying her as a challenger is a coinflip at best. Fallon and Jacy seem too close to the NA/Chase U vortex for the moment.

There's an outside shot of Tatum, or the winner of Grace/Petrovic. Before Ava put that match together, I was thinking she was about to announce a Women's Dusty Classic and force Team Canada to stay together while giving Roxy something non-title to do. 

Multi-woman cluster- ahoy?

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17 hours ago, EVA said:

That main event finish…woof. Have to assume they’re either clearing the runway for Trick to get called up to the main roster later this year or they realized he’s not even close to being top guy level and backed off the push. Time will tell which.

Either way, that finish was not a strong vote of confidence for Page, who basically slipped on a banana peel and won. Hard to think of a weaker way to start a title reign. You have to assume he’s a short-term transitional champ.

You and I generally agree like 95% of the time, but this is one of those rare times we differ. Not every champ has to be strong. Not every champ has to be booked the same way. Things get a little samey with everyone always having to look so strong.

It's perfect for Page's character to luck into a title run and talk shit on how great he is ignoring how it happened. Also keeps Trick strong for him to have the title taken away due to no fault of his own. It was his finish that knocked both dudes out. Just a stroke of bad luck, not him being bested.

I like the way it was done. And I think character wise it helps both Page & Trick out.

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Iron Moose said:

Lash, but she'd be coming in pretty cold. Izzi seems on an upswing, but I think the crowd buying her as a challenger is a coinflip at best. Fallon and Jacy seem too close to the NA/Chase U vortex for the moment.

There's an outside shot of Tatum, or the winner of Grace/Petrovic. Before Ava put that match together, I was thinking she was about to announce a Women's Dusty Classic and force Team Canada to stay together while giving Roxy something non-title to do. 

Multi-woman cluster- ahoy?

Izzi, Fallon and Jacy are all heels though. Roxanne already has to go full cartoon to get booed, there's no way you put her up against a stronger/more comfortably heelish heel than her.

Edited by Cliff Hanger
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For Roxy, it almost feels like she should have faced Lola before Jordynne but Lola kinda needed the win over Baszler to justify her getting a shot at Roxy.

Maybe they just shift focus onto the North American title for a bit and have Roxy stew and get into it with Ava till they have a big name to announce for Roxy. 

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I thought it was a good show. I thought for sure Sol would end up turning after the match with a beat down. 

Evans is a mad man for that table bump. I like the idea of Page bragging about his win and beating 3 other men. 

Tag match was really great and I honestly was hoping we'd get a Chase U victory.

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Page winning the title by accident seems fitting for his character. Chickenshit heels winning either by dumb luck or chicanery is basically heel booking 101.  I feel like I’ve seen the “heel gets flattened by a move but falls on someone for the pin” ending a hundred times or so over the years.  Not really anything unusual, imo.

Finish feeds Page’s inflated ego, protects Trick, and sets up a Trick-Page match. Works for me.

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Jordan vs Roca was really good but I enjoyed Vice vs Perez much more. Perez is good but she's better as a babyface. I hope Lola evening takes the title.

Trick Williams is over as fuck but you can tell the crowd was legit surprised that he lost the title. I don't know it I would have put the title on Page but I think Trick will improve alot faster by working against those two. There aren't too many people in NXT at their experience level and that's why he needs because he has everything else to be a star.

This was my first time seeing a full Javon Evans match. He has a presence too that he can be a big star. Shawn and Hunter love to run back 123 Kid push from 93. They did it with Leon Ruff a few years ago. The only difference with Evans is they have him almost immediately at the top of the card.

This show was the closest to the Black and Gold TakeOvers. I'm almost ready to start watching the TV every week. I usually enjoy the NXT PLEs but this was the first one in a very long time that made me want to start watching the weekly TV

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