Storylines
The event included six matches 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 , [6] [7] as well as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's (TNA) weekly television program, Impact! , following WWE and TNA signing a multi-year partnership in January 2025. [8] [9]
After Blake Monroe's NXT debut, she and Jordynne Grace formed an alliance, and at The Great American Bash on July 12, Grace and Monroe defeated Fatal Influence (NXT Women's Champion Jacy Jayne and Fallon Henley) in a tag team match. [10] The next night at Evolution, Grace, accompanied by Monroe, challenged Jayne for the title, but lost the match after Monroe attacked her with the championship, turning Monroe heel in the process. [11] Two nights later on NXT, a vignette aired where Monroe mocked Grace for not being worthy for a NXT Women's Championship shot, and invited Grace to watch her singles debut the following week, [12] where Monroe won. After that, Grace attacked Monroe, who would get the upper hand, injuring Grace's neck. [13] On the July 29 episode of NXT, Monroe stated that Grace was not good enough, continuing to mock her, [14] and one week later during Monroe's match, Grace appeared wearing a neck brace and chased Monroe out from the arena, costing her the match by countout. Later that night, NXT General Manager Ava announced that Grace would face Monroe at Heatwave. [15]
At Stand & Deliver, Oba Femi defeated Je'Von Evans and Trick Williams to retain the NXT Championship. [16] After that, Williams would win the TNA World Championship a month later at Battleground. [17] On the July 22 episode of NXT, Evans was thinking about what he should do next when he was approached by WWE Hall of Famer The Undertaker, who said that Evans should "go after the biggest dog in the yard". [13] The following week, Evans discussed Undertaker's advice when he was interrupted by Williams, who thought Evans was there to challenge him, however, Evans revealed he had come to challenge Femi. Williams felt disrespected, stating it would only be a matter of time before he defeated Femi and become a double champion. After that, they were interrupted by Williams' allies The High Ryze (Wes Lee, Tyson DuPont, and Tyriek Igwe) and after some exchange of words, Evans attacked Lee, but it was outnumbered by Williams and High Ryze. Later that night, Evans defeated Lee, and after that, Williams, Evans, and Femi confronted each other. [14] The following week, Femi stated that no one was worthy of facing him for the championship before being interrupted by Williams and Evans, with Evans proposing that he and Williams should face each other to determine who would challenge for the NXT Championship, with Femi stating that the match should happen on that night's episode. Williams declined, preferring it take place on the August 19 episode. It was later confirmed by NXT General Manager Ava, who also announced that the winner would face Femi at Heatwave. [15] The match was won by Evans. [18]
For months, DarkState (Dion Lennox, Osiris Griffin, Saquon Shugars, and Cutler James) had been attacking several wrestlers, including NXT Tag Team Champions Hank and Tank (Hank Walker and Tank Ledger). On the June 24 episode of NXT, Hank and Tank were attacked backstage by unknown assailants. [19] A month later, on the August 5 episode, Hank and Tank were attacked by DarkState after their successful title defense. Later that night, DarkState revealed that they were the ones who attacked Hank and Tank a month ago, while Hank and Tank demanded a match against any members of DarkState. NXT General Manager Ava then announced that Hank and Tank would defend their titles against two members of DarkState at Heatwave. [15]
On the June 26 episode of TNA Impact!, Ash by Elegance (who previously wrestled in WWE as Dana Brooke) won a battle royal to become the #1 contender for Masha Slamovich's TNA Knockouts World Championship. [20] A month later at TNA's Slammiversary, NXT Women's Champion Jacy Jayne defeated Slamovich in a Winner Takes All match, leaving with both titles. [21] On the following episode of TNA Impact!, Slamovich was granted by TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella a rematch for the Knockouts World Championship the following week, while later that night, during Fatal Influence's (Jayne, Fallon Henley, and Jazmyn Nyx) celebration, Jayne mocked the entire TNA women's division, including The Elegance Brand (Ash, Heather by Elegance, and M by Elegance). The following week, during Slamovich's rematch, Ash attacked her, costing Slamovich the match. [22] On the August 7 episode, Ash would have her championship match, where Fatal Influence and The Elegance Brand were banned from ringside. However, Slamovich attacked Ash, also costing her the match, and a brawl subsequently broke out between Slamovich, The Elegance Brand, and Fatal Influence. [23] On the August 12 episode of NXT, both Ash and Slamovich were in the crowd watching Henley and Nyx's tag team match, and later that night, NXT General Manager Ava announced that after speaking with Marella, Jayne would defend the TNA Knockouts World Championship against Ash and Slamovich in a triple threat match at Heatwave. [24]
At TNA's Slammiversary, a Winner Takes All match was scheduled for both the NXT Women's Championship and TNA Knockouts World Championship, with both Jaida Parker and Lash Legend making it clear that they would be coming after the winner. At the event, Jacy Jayne won the match, retaining the NXT Women's Championship while winning the TNA Knockouts World Championship. [21] Three days later on NXT, during Fatal Influence (Jayne, Jazmyn Nyx, and Fallon Henley) celebration, they were interrupted by both Legend and Parker. After some exchange of words, Fatal Influence brawled with Legend and Parker, with the latter two getting the upper hand. After that, both Legend and Parker confronted each other. [13] On the following episode, Parker defeated Nyx, and later, Henley defeated Legend. [14] During this time, Kelani Jordan and Lola Vice also stated their intentions of challenging for the NXT Women's Championship, and Jordan and Vice would defeat Jayne and Henley in a tag team match on the August 12 episode. [24] After the end of the show in a video posted on X, it was revealed that earlier in the show, Parker, Jordan, and Vice argued about who should challenge for the NXT Women's Championship, with NXT General Manager Ava announcing a triple threat match to determine the #1 contender for the championship between Parker, Jordan, and Vice at Heatwave. [25]
On the July 22 episode of NXT, Ethan Page debuted a custom version of his NXT North American Championship, which depicted the flag of his native Canada. [13] Two weeks later, Page cut a promo saying Canada was superior to America before being interrupted by Tavion Heights. SmackDown's The Green Regime (Chelsea Green, Alba Fyre, and Piper Niven) subsequently appeared, with Green siding with fellow countryman Page. [15] On the next episode, Heights introduced Tyra Mae Steele as his tag team partner, who attacked Page and The Green Regime. [24] On the August 19 episode, Page and Green attempted to foster a peace treaty between both Canada and America, only to argue with Heights and Steele over the two countries. After that, NXT General Manager Ava announced that the two teams would face each other in a mixed tag team match at Heatwave. [18]
