NXT Heatwave (2023)

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 Heatwave to be held as a television special episode of NXT, the main program for WWE's developmental brand, NXT. The event's name is a reference to its summer scheduling.

On the August 8, 2023, episode of NXT, WWE announced that the second NXT Heatwave, and ninth Heatwave overall, would be held as the August 22 episode. It took place at NXT's home base, the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, and aired live on the USA Network.[1]

The card included matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand,[2][3] while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program, NXT, and the supplementary online streaming show, Level Up.

During Trick Williams, Carmelo Hayes, and Ilja Dragunov's six-man tag team match on the July 25 episode of NXT, Dragunov accidentally hit Williams.[4] The following week during a backstage segment, Williams told Hayes that he needed to do things for himself, ending their partnership. At the end of the same episode, Dragunov said that he was not finished with Williams.[5] On the August 8 episode, a match between Dragunov and Williams was set for Heatwave.[1]

During Carmelo Hayes and Wes Lee's tag team match on the August 1 episode of NXT, Lee accidentally hit Hayes with a Cardiac Kick, which cost them the match, which caused a post-match argument.[5] The following week, Dijak confronted Hayes and said that he was coming for Hayes' NXT Championship. Lee showed up and got in Hayes' face to talk about the previous week. Dijak interrupted and told Lee that he was no longer in the title picture. Lee stood up to Dijak, who left. Lee looked for Hayes, but was attacked from behind by Dijak who tossed him around the locker room. Later that same episode, it was announced that Lee would face Dijak to determine the #1 contender for the Hayes' title at Heatwave.[1] On the August 15 episode, Lee defeated Dijak.[6]

On the June 13 episode of NXT, Nathan Frazer defeated Oro Mensah—who wrestled on behalf of Meta-Four stablemate Noam Dar due to Dar suffering an injury—to win the NXT Heritage Cup.[7] Over the next few weeks, Dar became depressed and could not accept that he was no longer champion, until the July 25 episode, where Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson gave Dar an "undisputed Heritage Cup", which would snap Dar out of his depressed state.[4] The following week, Tyler Bate caught Meta-Four backstage and challenged Dar for a match for his title.[5] On the August 8 episode, Bate defeated Dar to win his Heritage Cup. Later that same episode, Meta-Four demanded it returned to Dar. Frazer showed up and suggested that Bate could give the cup back as long as Dar acknowledged that Bate's cup was a fake. Dar agreed and Bate returned the cup to him.[1] On the August 15 episode, it was announced that Frazer would face Dar to determine the undisputed NXT Heritage Cup Champion.[6]

On the August 15 episode of NXT, Baron Corbin said he was ushering in a new era for himself during a promo, but was interrupted by Von Wagner and his manager Mr. Stone. Wagner challenged Corbin to a match at Heatwave, which was made official.[6]

Since May, Schism (Joe Gacy, Jagger Reid, Rip Fowler, and Ava) had been feuding with Diamond Mine (Brutus Creed, Julius Creed, and Ivy Nile). On the July 4 episode of NXT, The Dyad (Reid and Fowler) defeated the Creed Brothers with a stipulation that the losing team had to leave NXT.[8] Over the next few weeks, unidentified individuals wearing Schism masks began costing matches for the group. Schism suspected the masked individuals were the Creed Brothers, but the latter denied involvement. A match between Ava and Nile (the former's debut singles match) was later scheduled for Heatwave.[9]

On the June 27 episode of NXT, during a confrontation between Lyra Valkyria and Jacy Jayne, Women's World Champion Rhea Ripley from Raw showed up to praise Valkyria.[10] Three weeks later, Ripley pulled Valkyria aside in a backstage segment and called her a "badass". Valkyria said she would prove her right, and a match between them was set up for the next week,[11] in which Ripley came out victorious but said Valkyria proved her right.[4] The following week, Dragon Lee interrupted Ripley and her Judgment Day stablemate, NXT North American Champion "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio, and challenged him to a title match the following week, which Mysterio accepted.[5] On the August 8 episode, Valkyria encouraged Ripley to let Mysterio fight his own battles in a backstage segment, but Ripley refused. Later that night, Mysterio defeated Lee to retain his title after interference from Ripley. After this match, Valkyria attacked Ripley.[1] The following week, Ripley and Mysterio challenged Valkyria and Lee to a mixed tag team match at Heatwave, which they accepted and was later made official.[6]