Jeremy’s WWE NXT Review 8.22.23

Hello everyone, and welcome to our live WWE NXT Heatwave coverage right here on 411! I’m Jeremy Thomas as always, and tonight NXT presents its latest special episode. Tonight’s show will see Carmelo Hayes defend the NXT Championship against Wes Lee while Dragon Lee & Lyra Valkyria team up to face “Dirty” Dom & Rhea Ripley in mixed tag team action. Nathan Frazer and Noam Dar will finally settle their differences over who the NXT Heritage Cup champion is, Trick Williams will face Ilja Dragunov, Ivy Nile and Ava face off, and Von Wagner tries to take down Baron Corbin. It’s a big show and one that promises to offer a lot of good wrestling, so hopefully it should be fun.

Here at Thomas HQ, I had a busy week of movie watching. I watched the well-made Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret film, which hit all the nostalgia notes for me, and saw Blue Beetle which was an mid-upper tier DC film with plenty of fun to be had. The horror flick Talk to Me was impeccably done even if it lost me a bit in the final act. Shudder’s documentary Sharksploitation was a blast that distinguished itself by being more than just a genre clip film, and Joy Ride had me laughing my ass off; I can’t recommend it enough.

On the down side, I also saw The Out-Laws on Netflix and Hypnotic, both of which were utter drags despite being barely over 90 minutes each. Finally, I saw Gerard Butler’s latest film Kandahar which was a perfectly solid little action thriller that suffers by comparison to the similarly-themed The Covenant from earlier this year.

Outside of my movie-watching, I’ve got into Marvel Unlimited to catch back up on how my X-Men are doing after a couple years off. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the reads and am now caught up to September 2022 on all X-Books, having gotten just past the A.X.E. event which made an admirable effort of making me care about a lot of Eternals that I really don’t have time for in their comic book forms. I do still enjoy Sprite, Ajax and have gained some appreciation for Eros though, so there is that. But really, it’s about the X-Men and they’re killing it as usual.

Anyway, we’re gonna have a lot to cover tonight so let’s hop right in.

As a reminder, the GoFundMe for Larry’s daughters is still active and if you can make a donation, that would be awesome. Thank you so much to everyone who’s done so thus far.

* We start of with a vignette where Stacks calls Tony D’Angelo and says there’s a situation they need to handle. Tony says he already has too much heat, so Stacks jumps into a pool and splashes him. Tony then has The Family go after him. They’re then floating in the pool as they preview the mixed tag match, Ilja and Dragunov vs. Trick Williams.

Big Ang and her girls show up and Stacks and Tony invite them in to party. One of the girls asks Big Ang who she has in the main event and she says Wes Lee. Tony says the streets are saying there’s a lot of money coming in on both guys and Stacks thinks Lee’s going to score big. Tony says summer is coming to an end and holds a toast for Heatwave.

* We’re LIVE in the Capitol Wrestling Center and it’s time for Ilja vs. Trick!

Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams

Ilja with a kick right at the bell! He chops Trick and puts him in the corner for some shots, then brings him to another corner for a chop. Third corner but Trick is fighting his way out! Bodyslam, Ilja floats over and locks in a waistlock. Trick elbows out but gets kicked right in the head.

Ilja with a waistlock and a shot to the back of the head. He lays into Trick and hits a spinning back fist. Kick to the head, then a chop in the corner. Center of the ring for another chop and kick to the head. He goes for one more, Trick grabs the foot and gets up — they’re trading blows and Ilja goes down. Ilja turns a whip around for a chop, but Trick with a dropkick. Whip ingo the ropes, Ilja spins through but Trick picks him up for an uppercut.

They’re out of the ring now and Ilja kicks Trick, then hits a German to the mats. Trick thrown back in, Ilja follows and we’re on PIP break.

We’re back as Trick is in the corner and Ilja approaches for some rapid-fire chops. He picks Trick up, but Trick chops him and eats some more rapid chops — but Trick grabs his hand! Trick with elbows, they start trading shots and Ilja with an enzuigiri — but Trick with one of his own! Both men on the mat now, looking dazed.

Trick and Ilja back to their feet and Trick takes over with shots to the head. Big uppercut knocks Dragunov down, and Trick with kicks to the head now. But Ilja says he wants more! Trick goes for a suplex but Ilja blocks it for body shots, a trip but Trick kicks him off. Irish whip, Trick with an lifting drop. BIG KNEE! Cover but Ilja kicks out at two-plus.

Trick grabs Dragunov’s hand and pulls him up, but Ilja with a DDT and another, cover gets two. Ilja puts Williams in the corner and puts him on top, shot to the face and he climbs up. Superplex attempt but Trick is fighting out of it. Ilja with elbows — but Trick with a uranage off the top! Cover gets two and 9/10ths!

Trick is up now and lying in wait, Ilja up and Trick with the spinning roundhouse — but Ilja catches it and plants Trick! He picks Trick up — powerbomb and a fist to the head! Cover gets a nearfall and Ilja is shocked.

Trick slaps Ilja and gets kicked in the head. Ilja pulls him to the corner and climbs up to the second rope — leap for a shot to the head for three.

Winner: Ilja Dragunov (12:48)
Rating: *** 1/4
Thoughts: Great match to kick off the show. It was unlikely that Trick was going to win here, but this made him look fantastic in that he kept competitive with Dragunov. This was a hard-hitting match that had very few slips to it, and it was a lot of fun.

After the match, Trick gets to his knees. Ilja stands next to him and looks over, nodding in approval.

* Tyler Bate is doing some tai chi backstage as Nathan Frazer walks in. Bate says Dabba-Kato hurt him last week and this is him dealing with it. He says it was brutal but tonight’s about him defending the Heritage Cup. Frazer says he could use a second to have him back. Bate says he’s got him and Frazer says he knows he owes Bate two favors, so he’ll give him first shot at the Cup after tonight. Bate says it’s time to deal with the Meta-Four frauds.

* Rhea Ripley and Dominik are backstage. Rhea asks what they’re doing tonight, and Dom says “punish.” Mustafa Ali comes in and Rhea asks what he’s doing in here. Ali says he’s wishing them luck tonight and says break a leg — especially Dominik. He wants Dom to break his leg into a million pieces so he can be out of NXT. Dom says he doesn’t care about NXT, just Mami. Rhea tells Ali he has 10 seconds to get out before they give him a preview of what’s happening to Lyra and Dragon Lee tonight. Ali gives a last bit of snark, saying they’re used to 10 seconds, and leaves.

Ivy Nile vs. Ava

Ava and Ivy circle to start and Schism distracts Ivy, letting Ava attack from behind. She throws Ivy into the corner and then bodyslams her twice. Ava throws Ivy into the corner and hits an avalanche. Elbow to the head, then a backbreaker — where she drops Ivy — and covers for one.

Whip into the corner, Ava charges but Ivy dodges. Ivy with fists and kicks. She gets an Irish whip reversed, Ava with a scorpion kick for two. Ivy crawls to the ropes and is choked against it. Ava snaps Ivy back, then picks her up — but Ivy slips off the back for a dragon sleeper and Ava taps.

Winner: Ivy Nile (2:13)
Rating: N/A
Thoughts: What we got wasn’t great from Ava, to say the least.

* Schism surrounds the ring and Ivy starts to fight them off. She grabs Ava but Schism members pull her out of the ring and carry her away.

* Wes is on the phone as Ilja comes in in pain. Wes asks if he’s good, and he says he’s good because Trick is no longer an issue. And he will find his destiny as NXT Champion. Wes says he realizes there’s an NXT Title match tonight, right? He says he wasn’t destined for anythying but he made his own destiny. He’s beating Hayes tonight and knows he’ll have to deal with Ilja, but he looks forward to it — as NXT Champion.

NXT Heritage Cup Match
Nathan Frazer vs. Noam Dar

Round One

Frazer and Dar trade a few reversals until Dar gets a wristlock. He snaps Frazer’s arm down, but Frazer reverses it and does the same. They jockey for position, Dar shoves Frazer off and they talk some trash, then go into a test of strength — but Dar backs out and puts Frazer on the mat.

He works over Frazer’s arm and gets a cover for two. Back up and Fazer locks in a headlock, taking Dar down. Dar back to his feet but Frazer has the headlock on — shot into the ropes and they collide in the center. Dar with a shin kick but Frazer reverses a headlock. They go into the ropes, dodges each other, cover but Far goes for a submission. Frazer escapes, they dodge each other and Dar slaps Frazer — which leads to Frazer beating on Dar. Round ends as we go to PIP break.

Round Two (0 – 0)

We’re back and during the commercial break, Noam Dar got a fall thanks to Dabba-Kato attacking Bate and Dar getting a sneak roll-up.

Round Three (1 – 0)

Frazer escapes a charge in the corner and catches Dar, rolling him into an STF but Dar gets to the ropes. Frazer charges at Dar bvut gets put on the apron. He springboards but gets kicked and lands face-first on the ropes. Dar pulls him through the ropes and drops him into a kick to the face, cover gets two.

Dar with a kick to the head, then picks him up for a Euro uppercut. Dar lays in a first to the head, then snapmares him down and stomps on his hands. He picks Frazer up and he fights back, he goes for a kick but Dar whips him over into an anklelock. Frazer flips Dar to the outside and dives onto him. Back in the ring, springboard inverted DDT, standing SSP and cover for a nearfall. Dar escapes to the outside and then hits a cheap shot after the bell.

Round Four (1 – 0)

Frazer dodges a kick and comes off the ropes for a kick to the head, cover for two. Frazer with a chop in the corner, he gets sent into the other corner and goes up and over, powerslam and cover for two. Frazer on top, Pheonix Splash, Dar dodges and he rolls through. Takedown and cover for two, Dar hits a big shot and gets his own two-fall.

Dar up now and he sets Frazer’s leg on the ropes before climbing — but Frazer is up! He hits a superplex and the Final Cut for three! We’re back into a PIP break.

Round Five (1 – 1)

We’re back with less than 30 seconds as Frazer dives on Dar from the outside! He rolls Far in and Lash grabs him to prevent him from making the pinfall — and Frazer doesn’t get the pin in time.

Round Six (1 – 1)

Frazer and Dar meet in the center of the ring and trade shots. Dar takes over with kicks and elbows — but Frazer fires right back! Dar kicks Frazer’s knee out from under him and grabs him for kicks in the head. He charges in but Nathan dodges, Dar with a Superman punch and Frazer with an enzuigiri! Frazer gets his foot caught in the ropes, Dar kicks him, Frazer with a springboard invterted DDT but Dar rolls through for an anklelock!

Frazer manages to kick his way free and hits a big kick to the head. He goes up top, Dar tries to punch him off but gets knocked back. Mensah gets involved but gets knocked down, Pheonix Splash — Dar moves! Dar wipes out Frazer and gets the pin!

Winner: Noam Dar (Round 6)
Rating: *** 1/4
Thoughts: Stellar match as we might expect, hurt only by the two PIP breaks. But even that aside, we had two great performers delivering top-notch stuff. Dar winning restores his confidence, and Frazer was quite protected by the loss.

* Ava says thanks to the bravery of her two followers she’s still save under the Schism’s tree. She says Ivy tried to end her career and she knows where to find her, so come get her.

* Tiffany Stratton is here! SHe says the summer of Tiff-Tiff is coming to an end, and it’s been a hot one. It started at Battleground where she won the Women’s Champion before retaining her title against Thea Hail at Gold Rush and GAB. And with summer coming to an end, the Fall of Tiff-Tiff is approaching, so she’s going to make this much better. But how could that be? She’s basically a perfect champion. And perfection scares some people but when you’re here perfection comes easy.

She says the title isn’t going anywhere and she’s going to go down as the best NXT Women’s Champion of all time — better than Bayley, Asuka, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair. She’s going to remain at the Tiffy-Top.

Here comes Gigi Dolin, who says while she’s at the Tiffy-Top, do us all a favor and shut the hell up. She gets the summer of Tiffany, but she’s dying to see the Fall of Tiffany and her fall of being NXT Women’s Champion. She says she’s Tiff’s next challenger, and Tiff says she’s officially shooting it down. She says Gigi doesn’t deserve an opportunity against her, and she says the last time Tiffany defended the title her, she tapped out.

That brings out Kiana, who says Gigi doesn’t deserve a title chance. Her win-loss record is as bad as her chances of beating Tiffany. Kiana says Gigi doesn’t deserve a shot but she does. Tiffany says that’s rude, but Blair Davvenport comes out and says they can argue about who has what, but she doesn’t care about that. It’s been a cruel summer for the women courtesy of Blair Davenport. She says she deserves the shot.

Gigi says to lay claim to the division, Blair has to go through the division. No one has forgotten Blair’s trip to the convenience store and seeing Blair’s face ping-pong off the frozen food door is priceless. Blair says Gigi doesn’t want to mess with her, as she’ll pound her face until her brother doesn’t recognize her.

Tiffany says she’s going to leave no because this is getting out of control — and here comes Roxy! She’s surprised Blair is running her mouth when she put Blair through a table and chairs at GAB. She says she has somethign to tell Tiff — and nails her! It turns into a brawl.

* Drew is running drills with Dempsey and Kemp when Myles Borne walks in. Drew asks if he’s tired and he says no. Drew says good, because we don’t get tired here. Dempsey comes up behind Borne and chokes him out.

* Ava is back and she says with every passing second it’s proven that Ivy is a coward. Ivy shows up and Ava tells the boys to get her. They unmask and it’s The Creeds. Ava gets grabbed and Julius says if they want to see Ava again, they’ll compete in a match where they’re reinstated if they win — and it’s a cage match.

* The Meta-Four is celebrating backstage and Jakara says Frazer’s phony reign is over. A woman walks up saying the Heritage Cup committee is serving Dar. Ora reads it and it congratulates Dar for winning the title. He reads it and says there’s an eight-man international tournament taking place that will conclude at No Mercy. Dar celebrates that he doesn’t have to defend it until No Mercy and says they’re headed to California.

Rhea Ripley & Dominik Mysterio vs. Lyra Valkyria & Dragon Lee

Dom and Lee start it off and lock up. Lee backed into the corner, ducks a shot by Dom and hits one of his own. Double-leg takedown and shots to the head, Dom reverses and covers Lee. Lee reverses with a sunset flip for two, Dom with a shot to the head. Into the corner, Lee sent to the apron and he nails Dom. Somersault onto Dom’s shoulders, he slips free and Dom with a slap to the chest, off the ropes but caught with a dropkick.

Dom over to Rhea, who tags in. In comes Lyra, and they talk trash. Shoves back and forth, Lyra with a headlock. Rhea shoves her off, Lyra with an Irish whip stopped by Rhea. Rhea grabs Lyra and picks her up — Lyra flips over but Rhea off the ropes to run her over. Rhea talks shit and gets kicked in the head, Rhea manages to dodge several roundhouses and goes into the ropes.

Rhea right back out and slaps Lyra. Lyra swings but is caught with a couple short-arm clotheslines, then a suplex — but Lyra floats over and decks Rhea! Lyra ducks swings and lays in shots until Rhea grabs her leg. Rhea gets the tag as Lyra goes after her, Dom is in now — and Dragon Lee in with a kick! Lyra springboards off the ropes and takes out Dom, then sends Rhea out of the ring! Lee and Lyra charge, Lee dives and Lyra kicks Rhea as we go to PIP break.

We’re back and Rhea has Lyra in a bodyscissors and is slapping her to boot. Lyra tries to fight her way out as Rhea talks trash to her; she backs Rhea’s shoulders onto the mat for two. Rhea keeps the bodyscicssors on and Lyra gets another two-count, but Rhea flips Lyra over and wears her down.

Lyra with a headbutt and she gets into a sitting position, elbows Rhea and manages to finally break free. She’s back up but gets dropped with a kick. Knee from Rhea, she flips Lyra into a suplex for two.

Rhea stares at Lee and grabs Lyra for a kick to the side. SHe lays in a shot and crotch-chops Lee, then bates on Lyra more. But Lyra is fighting back until she gets beat down. Rhea goes for another flipover suplex — Lyra counters with a DDT! Lyra goes to make the tag, but Rhea grabs her. Lyra kicks Rhea in the head and dives but can’t get to the tag.

Rhea picks LYra up, Lyra ducks a big boot and hita a roundhouse. Dom tags in and gets run over by Lee, Lee into the ropes for a running rana. He snaps Dom’s leg with a dragon screw, then sets Dom over the top rope and climps up for a double stomp! Cover for two.

Dom with a back elbow but gets rolled up for less than one. Dragon Lee charges but gets tripped into the ropes. 619 but Lee dodges, he hits a big powerbomb! Cover but Rhea breaks it up. Lyra throws Rhea to the outside and goes for a rana, but Rhea catches her and slams her into the barricade. Rhea’s on the apron — and Raquel Rodriguez is out! She pulls Rhea off the apron and beats her to the back. Dragon Lee wipes out Dom and gets the pin!

Winner: Dragon Lee & Lyra Valkyria (14:04)
Rating: ***
Thoughts: Another damned good match. It relied heavily on Lyra and Rhea, and they work very well together. The pin gives Lee momentum toward the likely NXT North American Championship rematch between them, which should be great.

* Melo is backstage as Trick walks up and asks if he’s ready. Melo says he’s ready and gives Trick props for his match. Trick says tonight started with him, and it ends with Melo. First title defense without Trick, and Melo says the whole thing with Trick has an asterisk on his defense against Ilja. Trick asks if he’s blaming him and says no, but he has to do this alone.

* Tiff is with McKenzie and says her mentions are going wild right now because Becky Lynch was never NXT Women’s Champion. Tiff says Becky is irrelevant and calls what happened in the ring an atrocity. It’s not how she wanted to end the summer of Tiff-Tiff. She says the four wannabes in the ring will get a chance to fight her, and McKenzie lays it out. Tiff says “Good enough. Toodles!”

* We get a recap of Thea Hail’s loss last week and Andre Chase trying to help. We cut to backstage last week where Hail tries to get the loss reversed. Hail is upset when she’s told no, and Jacy Jayne walks up and says the beast she fought isn’t the person who walked in there. Thea says she’s grown up now, and Jacy says whatever, but

Von Wagner vs. Baron Corbin

Corbin attacks as Wagner walks out. Corbin picks Wagner up but Wagner fights back and they’re brawling on the outside. Corbin tries to throw Von into the ringpost but Wagner reverses it. Corbin kicks Von in the gut and slams him into the ring steps.

They’re now trading shots on the outside, Von throws Corbin into the ring steps. He walks over to the booth and pulls the top off, but Corbin blindsides him. Corbin with a back suplex onto the mat and then grabs Stone. Von makes the save and hits a big boot on Corbin. He clears the table and grabs Corbin — and Bron Breakker comes out of the crowd to spear him! Bron says something to Corbin and then poses.

Winner: No match

* Joe Gacy says the Creeds have no morality and tarnished the Schism’s purity. For what? To try and restore their career? Gacy says there isn’t anything they’ll do, so return Ava and they agree. Reid and Fowler make threats.

* Dijak is pissed that Eddy Thorpe cost him his #1 contender’s match last week and says he doesn’t need to look to the stars or anything to predict Eddy’s future. He says in seven days he’ll break Eddy’s body and spirit.

* Becky Lynch said on Twitter that she hasn’t been NXT Women’s Champion — yet.

Set For Next Week:
– NXT Women’s Championship #1 Contender’s Match: Roxy vs. Kiana vs. Blair vs. Gigi
– Steel Cage Match: Creed Brothers vs. Dyad
– Global Heritage Invitational kicks off.

NXT Championship Match
Carmelo Hayes vs. Wes Lee

Wes and Melo circle and Melo with a headlock, sends Lee into the ropes and hits a back elbow. Back up, they go into the ropes, Lee with some acrobatic dodges. They trade counters and go for the dropkick at the same time, flip up and stare off. Lee with a dropkick, cover but immediate kickout. Back up and Melo decks Lee, Lee fires back. They trade shots and hit each other with knee, kip up and Melo with the standing Sliced Bread as we go to PIP break.

We’re back with Melo backing Lee into the corner and driving the shoulder in. Lee strikes his way out and they trade blows there in the corner. Enzuigiri from Lee, he goes up top but gets kicked. Melo sets Lee up for the Fadeaway and hits it.

Both men slow to get up, Melo with an elbow to Lee who fires one back. They’re trading shots now in the center of the ring. Melo gets the momentum, kicks Lee a couple of times and hits a chop. Lee chops back, Melo with shots and Lee sends him into the ropes. Clothesline by Melo, he splashes Lee in the corner and then hits a superkick for two.

Melo up now and he grabs Wes, but Lee blocks it briefly. Melo goes for the suplex, Lee floats over, he hits the Meteora on Melo off the ropes for two. Melo with a kick and leaps — right into a superkick. Northern lights slam by Lee, he goes up top for a corkscrew splash for a nearfall.

Lee with a front facelock, but Melo escapes and goes for a suplex. Lee escapes, kicks Melo in the corner, Cardiac Kick but Melo blocks it and hits a suplex cutter. Lungblower gets a nearfall.

Melo looking frustrated now, he grabs Lee and throws him out of the ring, following after. Lee with a back elbow, Melo with a pump kick. Lee is on the booth, Melo goes for a springboard Coffin Drop — LEE CATCHES HIM! Uranage through the table but Melo turns it into a DDT!

Melo throws Lee in, he goes for his Nothing But Net — no dice! Lee with the Cardiac Kick! Melo rolls out of the ring and Lee is pissed. Lee goes to dive — and he comes up short as Melo moves. OUCH, that looked harsh. The referee starts the count, they get to eight, nine, Lee gets in at 10! Hayes goes up top — Nothing But Net! That finishes it.

Winner: Carmelo Hayes (11:38)
Rating: *** 1/4
Thoughts: I honestly can’t tell if that was a legit botch or part of the storyline. It looked absolutely brutal and Lee’s head was unprotected. At the same time, if it was a botch they covered for it so well that it felt like part of the story. I’m going to hope that Lee is fine either way and the fact that they covered well enough says a lot about these guys. Melo’s retaining was pretty well expected, but Lee gave it his all here.

And with that, we’re done for the night!

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

This was, to no surprise, a fantastic episode of NXT. The brand almost always delivers when it comes to these and this was no different. Yes, Ava vs. Ivy Nile wasn't good; Ava has a LONG way to go still. But the rest of the matches were largely fantastic and all worth checking out. Put simply, it was one of NXT's better episodes in a good while.