NXT is back at the Performance Center in Orlando tonight, 2 days after their end-of-summer PLE, Heatwave. For the fallout episode, three singles matches and a tag team match have been announced for the show. Be sure to tune in to the action on the CW starting at 8 PM ET, and follow along with all the action right here on Cageside!
The Outstanding Standout
She finally did it!
The story heading into Heatwave with Kelani Jordan was her finally earning a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship. Vic Joseph made sure to remind us frequently
throughout her match with Kendal Grey on Sunday that Jordan had lost her first nine #1 contender’s matches. The thing with Jordan, though, is that once she gets to the title match, she usually does pretty well.
In June of 2024, Kelani competed in a ladder match at Battleground to crown the first-ever Women’s North American Champion, and won.
In September of 2025, Jordan competed in a Knockouts Battle Royal, where the last two women standing competed later in the night for the vacant TNA Knockouts World Title. Jordan survived the battle royal, then beat Lei Ying Lee just a little while later to win TNA’s top women’s prize in her first attempt.
Then, just last night, in her first title match, Kelani shocked the world and knocked off Kendal Grey, becoming the 24th different woman to hold the NXT Women’s Championship and ending Kendal Grey’s reign at 63 days. As for the match, it was arguably the best one of the show and showed why the women’s division is the best part of NXT.
Now, Kelani Jordan gets her chance to show us what the show looks like with her as the main character. After spending the majority of her first year or two as a babyface, she’s been flexing her heel side for quite a while now. A run with the top championship on the brand seems to be one of the final tests the NXT writers like to put their talents through before sending them off to Raw or SmackDown. Most recently, stars like Trick Williams and Roxanne Perez took a similar route to the main roster. What will a Kelani Jordan title reign look like? We’ll start to find out tonight.
NXT feels the Grayson Waller Effect
When Grayson Waller resurfaced in NXT a little over a month ago, he made it pretty clear from the get-go that not only was he not impressed with the NXT men’s division, but he had his sights firmly set on the man sitting at the very top of that division, Tony D’Angelo. After Grayson’s #1 contender’s match with Cruz Montana was interrupted by a debuting Zilla Fatu, all three of those men were given a chance to knock Tony D off the top of his perch at Heatwave.
In a result that not many (and only one on the Cageside crew) predicted, the opportunistic Aussie left Edinburg, Texas on Sunday night as the new NXT Champion. On the same day that his former New Day stablemates took their game to a New Level, Grayson Waller earned the first singles championship of his WWE career.
Now tonight, we’ll get to see what NXT looks like with Grayson Waller on top. It’ll be interesting to see who will be the first one to step up to the new champ. Tony D is the former champion and, at least historically, would have a legitimate case for a rematch. Zilla Fatu’s debut was a big splash on Tuesday nights, but rumors are that he could be thrust into Bloodline drama sooner rather than later. Cruz Montana’s arrival in NXT came with considerable fanfare, but he’s yet to click with the NXT crowd in the same way that he became the face of TNA for the last few years. Will one of those guys stake their claim to get the first shot at the new champ? Or will somebody else come out of the woodwork looking to shoot their shot?
Myles Borne loses two titles and a friend
While I was the only one who predicted Grayson Waller’s win on Sunday, Geno was the only one on the Cageside staff who predicted that Vanity Project would pull off a clean sweep at Heatwave. Shortly after Swipe Right upset the former NQCC for the NXT Tag Team Titles, Jackson Drake got his own gold by beating Myles Borne for the North American Championship. Some of us saw Myles Borne losing one of his titles over the weekend, but I gotta admit, I didn’t have Myles turning on Tavion on my bingo card.
It’s an interesting path to take this story for sure, but not a completely crazy one. Myles was already firmly established as the North American Champion when Tavion convinced him to jump back into the tag team division with him over the summer. While things appeared to be looking up when they knocked Vanity Project off a few weeks ago, everything came crashing down on Sunday. Is the relationship between Borne and Heights salvageable, or has their revived partnership come to its end?
Quick Hits
- Naraku returned to NXT TV a few weeks ago, emerging from underneath the ring and spraying Shiloh Hill with the poison red mist during Hill’s match with Jackson Drake. After exchanging pre-taped promos, Hill and Naraku will meet in the ring tonight. Can Hill get some revenge on the former IWGP Champion? Or will Shiloh fall victim to a different color of mist tonight?
- Hopefully, the Kam Hendrix health meter is close to 100% because he’ll need it for his match with Mason Rook tonight. Rook and Hendrix reconvene tonight after Hendrix won their first encounter a few weeks back. Will Mason even the series up and set up an inevitable rubber match? Or will it be Lights, Kam, Action for Rook again?
- Karmen Petrovic peaced out on Nattie and Nikkita at Heatwave after her Los Perros del Mal buddies emerged on the ramp. Is Karmen done in NXT and focusing on AAA pursuits full-time now? Plus, Thea Hail attacked Nikkita on Sunday, helping keep Nattie’s submission match with Parker a one-on-one affair. Now tonight, Thea and Nikkita go one-on-one. Will Miss Parker have her buddy Thea’s back after making a member of the Hart family tap to the Sharpshooter over the weekend?
- With the Borne and Heights partnership seemingly done, two-time NXT Tag Team Champions Brad Baylor and Ricky Smokes are in need of some #1 contenders. Noam Dar and Romeo Moreno will square off with Sean Legacy and Dorian Van Dux in a match that could raise the winning team’s stock in the tag team division. Will one of these teams get a step closer to a title match? Are there any other teams in the NXT locker room like Hank & Tank that might throw their hats in the ring?
- Zaria unified the North American and Speed titles at Heatwave by beating Wren Sinclair and Kali Armstrong in a triple threat match. Wren was already talking about getting another shot at Zaria since she wasn’t the one pinned on Sunday night. Will Sinclair convince Zaria that the line starts with her? More importantly, will the Speed title be going away for good, now that the two titles have been unified?
- Saquon Shugars beat Dion Lennox in a Weaponized Steel Cage match last week, presumably putting an end to their rivalry. What’s next for the former and remaining members of DarkState?
- Keanu Carver continues to try to thrust himself into title contention the right way. After a few wins in a row, will Carver be booked in a match again tonight? If he is, will he finish it off with the Perfect Plex again?
All this and more on the CW tonight as the road to Halloween Havoc begins! Let us know what you’re most excited for on tonight’s show in the comments below, and be sure to follow along with the live coverage here on Cageside tonight, starting at 8 PM Eastern!
