Summer is in full swing and the weekend is nearly here, and that means it's almost time for "WWE NXT" Heatwave 2026! The card features six matches total, five of which will be contested for championships, as Myles Borne, Kendal Grey, and more seek to defend their gold against those who would take it away.But which of these matches has the Wrestling Inc. staff hyped for the show, and which have us a bit more discouraged? That's what this column aims to find out. FromZaria's title unification match to Zilla Fatu's debut quest for the gold, here are WINC's biggest draws and biggest duds for "WWE NXT" Heatwave 2026!
To paraphrase Papa Cox, "The wrong WWE Speed title is getting unified."Wren Sinclair is the latest in a line of champions who have given a fresh challenge to the WWE NXT women's division. A gateway to the women's North American title, the women's Speed Title feels like it has lived up to the promise of its premise, and now it's going to be lumped in with the Women's North American title, while Lexis King gets to run around with the men's Speed title, like it has any competition.It's hard to explain, but the Men's Speed title has just become a lesser version of the NXT Heritage Cup. It feels like a loose plot device that ties stories together, rather than the contendership series that the Women's Speed Division has become.It just doesn't feel like the men's Speed division has quite lived up to the hype the way the women's has, and it's cast a pall over the triple threat match at Heatwave. Kali Armstrong rules, Zaria is an ass-kicker, and Wren Sinclair has plucky babyface spirit, but I will be mourning the loss of one of "NXT's" more interesting divisions, more than I will be celebrating whatever magic they can conjure.Written byRoss Berman
Myles Borne will be pulling double duty at Heatwave as he defends both the North American and Tag Team Championships against the three members of Vanity Project; he will team with Tavion Heights to defend against Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes and defends the North American title in singles action against Jackson Drake.Of the pair of matches there's definitely a sense of greater intrigue to the North American title match, with the tag title match little more than a rematch designed to inform the singles title picture. Heights has made it clear that he will react badly if he were to lose his first title, having previously been in the pursuit of his partner's North American title before Borne effectively pacified him with a tag title match. It felt, during their title feud, like it would only be a matter of time before Heights turned on his former No Quarter Catch Crew stablemate.That has yet to happen and it creates a question over everything that's set to transpire, thus an interest, and it really feels as though Borne and the North American title are under threat from it all. Drake is more than a credible challenger and could easily be seen as someone to sneak a title win at this stage. Couple that with the idea that he could be the catalyst for a more significant story moving forward, and it's really intriguing to see what happens.Written by MaxEverett
While the in-ring action is no doubt going to be great between these two women, the heat just isn't there, no pun intended, compared to the other matches on the card. Kelani Jordan called her shot, after weeks and weeks of complaining that she's never received a televised NXT Women's Championship match, and on the August 11 edition of "WWE NXT," champion Kendal Grey granted her the opportunity at Heatwave.It's hard to believe Jordan has never had a title shot on "NXT" television, which is partially what makes this feud a bit hard to believe. While that fact is indeed correct, Jordan has been in "NXT" for over three years now, as she made her on-screen debut back in June 2023, as a protege of Dana Brooke. She's also pretty accomplished within the developmental brand, as the inaugural Women's North American Champion, and she's undergone a heel turn in the last few years, as well, making the fact she's never challenged a women's champion on TV seem unbelievable. It's not like she's never not had a shot at the gold at all, just on bigger stages,and she's been TNA Knockouts Champion,which is what helps make this feel off.Jordan previously lost a triple threat No. 1 contender's match back in July to Lola Vice, in a bout also involving Kali Armstrong, that led to Vice's last match in "NXT." Prior to that bout, she had a televised victory over Tatum Paxley, but outside of that, Jordan hasn't exactly had herself a hot summer with any interesting stories. Following the contendership loss, she continued to whine backstage about never getting opportunities, and that's really all she's done for quite some time. She wasn't booked in another match in order to stack a win or two before challenging Grey, either, though she and Armstrong defeated Grey and Wren Sinclair in tag action on the August 18 edition of "NXT."Compared to the other title matches on the Heatwave card, Jordan vs. Grey just isn't the most exciting due to its lackluster build. It's difficult to call any women's match at the highest level in "NXT" a "dud," but the story behind this one just isn't there. While Grey is getting much better on the microphone, neither she or Jordan are the strongest promos, which doesn't help this rivalry in any way. There's just something about this feud that isn't clicking enough for it to be a major draw at Heatwave, no matter how good the match itself may be.Written byDaisyRuth
The NXT Championship scene is the most chaotic it's been in years, with the arrival of Grayson Waller from the main roster with a chip on his shoulder, as well as former TNA World Champion Cruz Montana and the newly-debuted Zilla Fatu. Tony D'Angelo is set to defend his gold against all three men at Heatwave, and the four-way match is bound to be exciting. Just who walks out of the event holding the NXT Championship is anyone's guess at this point, making it all the more intriguing.The arrivals to the brand came fast and furious over the latter portion of the summer, beefing up a men's division that desperately needed some new faces and storylines, especially at the top. Montana debuted to the delight of fans on the July 21 edition of the show. He showed up through the Performance Center crowd and stared down D'Angelo to end the episode. To kick off the very next week, Waller "hijacked" the show, and delivered what many described as a CM Punk-esque "pipe bomb" promo, putting the "NXT" locker room, and D'Angelo, on notice.In perhaps the most surprising debut in recent memory, as it felt like the NXT Championship picture was complete for the time being and despite his arrival being rumored for what felt like months two weeks after Waller's fiery promo, Fatu debuted to end the August 11 edition of the show. He caused a non-finish in Montana and Waller's number one contender's match. While it seemed obvious that Fatu would be added to the title match at Heatwave after that, it wasn't until last week that "NXT" General Manager Robert Stone revealed it was actually in the star's contract that his first match on the brand would be a title match. Things in the NXT title picture went from zero to 100 pretty quickly, which is what it needed.D'Angelo and Montana are solid hands in the ring, and despite barely being used on the main roster in recent months, Waller is also no slouch. For those who didn't witness Fatu on the independent scene, his offense at least looks exciting from what those in the PC have seen thus far. The match is going to put together a chaotic mix of styles, which could work well in the no disqualification format of a four-way. The match is either going to be well put-together, fast-paced chaos, or possibly a trainwreck, though the latter does seem unlikely. Either way, it will be a fun main event, and all the unknown with three new challengers for the title makes it one of the biggest draws on the Heatwave card.Written by DaisyRuth
