NXT Heatwave (2024)

Background

Heatwave was originally the name of a professional wrestling event produced by Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) that took place annually from 1994 to 2000. The 1997 event was an Internet pay-per-view (iPPV), while the 1998 to 2000 iterations of Heatwave aired on traditional pay-per-view (PPV). ECW folded in 2001, and WWE acquired the assets of ECW in 2003. In 2022, WWE revived the event for its developmental brand NXT as an annual television special of the NXT program.^[2]

On January 4, 2024, it was announced that the third Heatwave under the WWE banner, and 10th overall, would be held on Sunday, July 7 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada as the third show of what WWE promoted as a three-night "Money in the Bank Weekend" event at the venue, with the live broadcast of Friday Night SmackDown taking place on July 5 and then Money in the Bank itself taking place on July 6. Instead of airing as a television special like the previous two years, the 2024 event was held as a livestreaming event, marking the first Heatwave to air on WWE's livestreaming platforms, Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in most international markets. This was also the first NXT livestreaming event to be held in Canada since NXT TakeOver: Toronto in 2019.^[3] Tickets for all three Money in the Bank weekend events went on sale on March 15, 2024, with combo and hospitality packages available.^[4]

Storylines

The event comprised six matches, including one on the pre-show, that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program, NXT, and the supplementary online streaming show, Level Up.^[5][6]

At Battleground on June 9, Trick Williams defeated Ethan Page to retain the NXT Championship.^[7] On the following episode of NXT, SmackDown's Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes announced that Williams would be defending his title at Heatwave against the winner of a 25-man battle royal, which was scheduled for next week's episode.^[8] The battle royal was won by Je'Von Evans. Later that night, however, Page argued that he was never officially eliminated from the battle royal as he was attacked by Oro Mensah. A match between Evans and Page was scheduled for the main event, which Page won. After the match, Williams and Page brawled while Shawn Spears attacked Evans.^[9] The following week, Spears defeated Williams in a non-title match. With Evans, Page, and Spears each having a claim for a title match, NXT General Manager Ava announced that Williams would defend his title against the three men in a fatal four-way match at Heatwave.^[10]

On the June 18 episode of NXT, it was announced that Nathan Frazer and Axiom would defend the NXT Tag Team Championship at Heatwave against the winners of the tag team turmoil match, which was scheduled for the following week's episode.^[9] The turmoil match was won by Chase University (Andre Chase and Duke Hudson).^[10]

At Battleground, Oba Femi successfully defended the NXT North American Championship in a triple threat match, which involved Wes Lee.^[7] On the following episode of NXT, Femi celebrated his successful title defense before being interrupted by Lee, who requested a title match. Femi accepted, but under the stipulation that if Lee lost, he could never challenge Femi for the title for as long as he was champion.^[9] The match was later made official at Heatwave.^[10]

At Battleground, Kelani Jordan won a ladder match to win the inaugural NXT Women's North American Championship.^[7] On the June 18 episode of NXT, Jordan complimented Sol Ruca and promised to give her a title match. Arianna Grace interrupted, assuming Jordan was talking about her. A match between Grace and Ruca was scheduled for the following week where the winner would face Jordan for the title at Heatwave,^[9] which Ruca won.^[10]

At Battleground, Roxanne Perez successfully defended the NXT Women's Championship.^[7] On the next episode of NXT, Perez addressed the state of the women's division, with several women stating why they deserved to be Perez's next challenger, which included Lola Vice, who cited her victory over Shayna Baszler in an NXT Underground match at Battleground.^[8] The following week, Perez and Vice teamed together in a triple threat tag team match, which they won, only for Perez to attack Vice after the match, turning Vice face for the first time in her career.^[9] On the next episode, Vice attacked Perez after her match and stole the title. Later that night, Vice placed the title in the office of NXT General Manager Ava and demanded a title match against Perez at Heatwave, which was later made official.^[10]