There is a Heatwave coming through tonight.
WWE NXT Heatwave 2023 goes down tonight from the Capitol Wrestling Center in Orlando, Florida at 8/7c on the USA Network.
On tap for tonight’s special themed show is Carmelo Hayes vs. Wes Lee for the NXT World title, Nathan Frazer vs. Noam Dar for the NXT Heritage Cup Championship, as well as The Judgment Day vs. Dragon Lee & Lyra Valkyrie.
Also scheduled for the show this evening is Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams, Baron Corbin vs. Von Wagner, Ava Raine vs. Ivy Nile and more.
Featured below are complete WWE NXT results from Tuesday, August 22, 2023. The following report was written by PWMania.com reporter Matt Boone (@MattBoone0709) as the show aired live from 8-10pm EST. on the USA Network.
WWE NXT HEATWAVE RESULTS (8/22/2023)
The “WWE Then. Now. Forever. Together.” signature airs now to get this week’s Heatwave edition of NXT on USA officially off-and-running.
NXT Heatwave Special Cold Open
We then shoot into a special cold open with The Family and others at a pool party. They lay out in the pool and start talking about tonight’s matches when several of the competitors, particularly the ladies, involved in the show appear and join them in the water to talk about tonight’s matches.
Ilja Dragunov vs. Trick Williams
Now we head inside the CWC where the crowd is cheering and chanting. Vic Joseph and Booker T welcome us to the show as Ilja Dragunov’s theme hits. He makes his way down to the ring for our opening match.
He settles in the ring and out comes his opponent, Trick Williams, with his own theme music. The fans chant “Whoop That Trick!” as he settles inside the squared circle and soaks in the admiration from the crowd.
As soon as the bell sounds, Dragunov charges across the ring and immediately starts unloading on Williams with ferocious striking combinations. He chops the hell out of him in the corner. Trick starts fighting back but Dragunov rocks him with a flying kick off the ropes.
Trick fires up and gets in some offense, but his run in the driver’s seat is short-lived, as Dragunov takes back over within a few seconds and then we head into a mid-match commercial break as this hard-hitting opener continues.
When we return from the break, we see Ilja still in control. Williams hits him with one chop that has him wide-eyed, however, and then he starts fighting back. He lands a big flying knee as Booker T does his super annoying “YEAAHHHHH!” thing on commentary, multiple times. The fans break out in a “Trick gonna beat your ass!” chant.
Moments later, Trick hits an insane urinagi off the top-rope. He goes for the cover and comes very close to getting the win. The crowd even breaks out in a “That was three! That was three!” chant afterwards. Dragunov fights back and hits a big German suplex and a soccer kick before hitting a power bomb and going for a cover.
Somehow Trick kicks out. The crowd explodes. Seconds later, however, Dragunov connects with a finishing shot that scores him the big win in an excellent, physical opening bout at NXT Heatwave.
Winner: Ilja Dragunov
Ivy Nile vs. Ava
After a backstage segment with Tyler Bate and Nathan Frazer talking about their matches tonight, we shoot back inside the CWC where Ivy Nile makes her way out and heads to the ring for our next match of the evening.
As she settles in the ring, we switch gears and head into a pre-match commercial break. When we return, Rhea Ripley and Dominik Mysterio are shown talking backstage when Mustafa Ali comes in.
Ali wants them to leave so NXT can have a North American Champion that they deserve. Dom says he doesn’t care about NXT. Rhea Ripley tells him he’s got 10 seconds to leave. Ali says 10 seconds is probably something they’re used to. Naughty-naughty, WWE NXT!
Back inside the CWC, The Schism theme hits and out comes Ava accompanied by members of The Schism. She settles in the ring and the bell sounds.
Ava immediately goes to work on Nile, connecting with a big slam and dominating her from the word “go.” She hits a big splash in the corner and taunts her before blasting her with big forearm shots.
Nile fights back and gets a match-ending choke for the win. Ava had an impressive performance up until then. After the match, Nile is confronted by The Schism guys in yellow masks and hoodies. She starts taking them out one-by-one.
Winner: Ivy Nile
NXT Heritage Cup Championship
Nathan Frazer (C) vs. Noam Dar
We shoot backstage and we see Wes Lee approached by Ilja Dragunov. Lee talks to him defiantly, the same way he has been interacting with Carmelo Hayes in recent weeks.
He says he can tell by the looks and attitude of Dragunov, that he’s gonna be meeting him in the ring soon. He says after tonight, that match will be with him as the NXT World Champion.
Now we head back inside the CWC where out comes Noam Dar accompanied by The Meta-Four group. He settles in the ring for our first championship contest of the evening, as the NXT Heritage Cup will be on-the-line in this one.
The theme for Nathan Frazer hits and out comes the reigning and defending NXT Heritage Cup Champion. He makes his way to the ring accompanied by Tyler Bate. “The Hard-Hitting Truths” host settles in the ring as Heritage Cup Match Rules are shown on the screen.
From there, the bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with round one of this one. Dar takes Frazer down and controls his arm. Frazer works his way back up and the two go back-and-forth for the first few moments.
After some more back-and-forth action, we see round one end with no one getting on the scoreboard. We head to a mid-match commercial break after the end of the first round.
During the break, we learn that Dabba Kato came out and attacked Tyler Bate at ringside. The distraction caused Frazer to lose focus momentarily and Dar scores the first fall to go up 1-0. We see trainers checking on Bate at ringside.
Frazer takes over from there, locking in an STF on Dar, who eventually makes it to the ropes. Frazer continues to dominate and nearly ties things up, but Dar hangs on until the bell, so we go into round four with Dar still up 1-0.
Nathan Frazer hits a superplex and a jumping Cross-Rhodes for the next fall. We go into another mid-match commercial break with this one tied up at 1-1 going into the fifth round.
When we return from the break, we are told that The Meta-Four has been interfering regularly. This leads to Frazer hitting a big top-rope splash onto the group on the floor. Back in the ring, with seconds ticking away, Lash Legend holds onto Frazer’s leg so he can’t get the pin before the buzzer sounds.
We head into the sixth and final round with things still tied up 1-1. The bell sounds and these two start duking it out. With the counter winding down in the final round, we see Dar pick up the win 2-1 after more interference from The Meta-Four.
Winner and NEW NXT Heritage Cup Champion: Noam Dar
Tiffany Stratton Confronted By Gigi Dolin, Kiana James, Blair Davenport & Roxanne Perez
We shoot to Ava with The Dyad in a dark location, which appears to hold significance to Ivy Nile, as she points the camera around to show where she’s at and tells Nile “you know where I am” and to come get her if she wants to finish their issue from earlier tonight.
After that, we shoot backstage inside the CWC where we see NXT Women’s World Champion Tiffany Stratton walking the halls. Apparently we’re not far off from “Tiffy Time!” We head to a commercial break on that note.
When we return from the break, Tiffany Stratton makes her way to the ring. She talks about how perfect she is as the NXT Women’s Champion right now. She claims she’ll be a better champion than Bayley, Asuka, Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair.
As she continues talking, Gigi Dolin’s theme hits and out she comes asking Tiffany to do everyone a favor and shut the hell up. Dolin tells Tiffany not to look any further for her next challenger. Stratton turns her down.
Kiana James comes out next and this trainwreck continues. James tells Gigi she doesn’t deserve a title shot because her win/loss record against her sucks. James tells Tiffany that she can bet her Barbie wannabe ass that she does deserve a shot.
Things get even more fun, if that’s what you want to call it, when Blair Davenport comes out next and mocks all of them and then makes it clear that she feels she deserves the next shot at the NXT Women’s Championship.
But wait, there’s more!
Roxanne Perez comes out and addresses everyone and then makes a case for her deserving the next shot. She enters the ring and a big brawl breaks out. We fade away on that note.
The Creed Brothers Return, Capture Ava
When we return, we see Ava talking trash with the yellow masked Dyad members behind her again. She talks trash about Ivy Nile, who shows up. She tells The Dyad guys to get her. They unmask and reveal themselves to be The Creed Brothers.
Ivy attacks Ava and The Creed Brothers send a message to The Dyad in the camera. The Creed Brothers want a match with The Dyad in a Steel Cage next week and if they win, they get back in NXT.
Noam Dar Gets Special Memo About NXT No Mercy
After that, we shoot backstage and see The Meta-Four celebrating Noam Dar’s win. Eight-man tourney is announced for next week with the winner earning a shot at Noam Dar’s NXT Heritage Cup Championship at NXT No Mercy. He’s happy because he doesn’t have to defend the trophy for the next five weeks.
Dominik Mysterio & Rhea Ripley vs. Dragon Lee & Lyra Valkyria
Now we shoot into a gym where we see Drew Gulak and Charlie Dempsey putting on a class with Damon Kemp and someone else. They boss that person around and then Dempsey slaps a choke on him while Gulak yells words of “encouragement” to him.
After that wraps up, we return inside the CWC where we hear the familiar sounds of The Judgment Day’s theme music. On that note, out comes NXT North American Champion Dominik Mysterio and WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley.
The Judgment Day duo settle in the ring for our next bout of the evening here at NXT Heatwave, which will be mixed tag-team action. As they settle inside the squared circle, we shift gears and head into a pre-match commercial break.
When we return from the break, we shoot to the ring where we see The Judgment Day duo. Out comes Dragon Lee and Lyra Valkyrie as Vic Joseph and Booker T promote the next NXT premium live event, NXT No Mercy 2023.
The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with our next match of the evening. Dom-Dom and Dragon Lee kick things off for their respective teams. After some back-and-forth action, we see Dragon Lee hit some high spots from the ring to the floor.
On that note, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as the action in this mixed tag-team contest continues here at NXT Heatwave 2023.
As we settle back in from the commercial time out, we see Ripley taking it to Lyra. Lyra fights back, planting Rhea with a DDT and then Dom-Dom tags himself in. Dragon Lee also tags in and he goes on an offensive rampage, beating Dom-Dom from one side of the ring to the other as the fans cheer him on.
Dom-Dom goes for 6-1-9, but Dragon Lee avoids it and hits a crazy power bomb for a close near fall, which Ripley breaks up. Moments later, Ripley Donkey Kong’s Lyra on the floor at ringside. She hops on the ring apron but out comes Raquel Rodriguez. She starts beating Ripley all the way to the back, while Dragon Lee finishes off Dom in the ring for the win.
Winners: Dragon Lee & Lyra Valkyria
Trick Williams Confronts Carmelo Hayes Backstage
We shoot backstage and we see Carmelo Hayes in his ring gear getting mentally ready for his NXT Championship defense against Wes Lee later tonight.
In comes Trick Williams, who tells ‘Melo to tear it up tonight. Hayes tells Trick that he’s sorry he came up short tonight. Trick says it’s okay, he’s ready to put in the work.
‘Melo brings up the astericks next to the last defense of his title against Ilja Dragunov, and says he can’t have that with Wes Lee tonight. Trick asks if he’s blaming him now. ‘Melo says he isn’t. Trick grabs Hayes’ title but then hands it to him and wishes him luck.
Tiffany Stratton Reveals Title Eliminator For Next Week
Roxanne Perez vs. Gigi Dolin vs. Kiana James vs. Blair Davenport is announced in a fatal-four-way for next week. The winner will advance to challenge Tiffany Stratton for the NXT Women’s Championship at NXT No Mercy 2023.
The match was announced during a Tiffany Stratton backstage interview after the Melo/Trick segment. After it wraps up, we head to another commercial break.
Bron Breakker Lays Out Von Wagner
When we return from the break, we see Thea Hail backstage last week after her match. She is freaking out about Andre Chase costing her once again when in comes Jacy Jane. She tells her people like them always survive.
Now we shoot back inside the arena where out comes Von Wagner with Robert Stone for our next match of the evening. As he heads to the ring, he is attacked from behind by Baron Corbin.
The two brawl down to the ring and duke it out at ringside. Wagner ends up getting the better of things, and begins clearing off the commentary table for a big table spot. Out of nowhere, however, Bron Breakker emerges and nearly be-heads him with an insane spear.
Breakker looks down at Corbin and Corbin smiles. Breakker stands tall as the scene, which never turned into an actual match, wraps up on that note.
NXT Championship
Carmelo Hayes (C) vs. Wes Lee
It’s main event time!
After this, we shoot backstage and we see The Dyad responding to The Creed Brothers challenge for a Steel Cage match on next week’s show. After this, we see Carmelo Hayes walking the hallways as we head to a pre-match commercial break.
When we return, we see a video message from Dijak addressing Eddy Thorpe as highlights are shown of Thorpe costing him his title eliminator with Wes Lee on last week’s show. He vows to break his body and spirit the next time they meet.
From there, Vic Jospeh reads a tweet from Becky Lynch, which flashes on the screen, with her reacting to Tiffany Stratton claiming she’ll be a better NXT Women’s Champion than her. Lynch pointed out in the tweet that she’s never been a NXT Women’s Champion before. Nice. Even nicer that they dogged their own champ on their own show by turning the spotlight to this fact.
Vic Joseph and Booker T run down the lineup for next week’s show and then we return inside the CWC where Wes Lee’s theme hits. Out comes the former longtime NXT North American Champion as fans chat “Wes! Wes! Wes!”
Wes Lee settles inside the squared circle for our final match of the evening, which the commentators point out he has stated is the biggest in his career thus far.
Now some cool music for Carmelo Hayes plays as a Wes Lee basketball style jersey is shown hanging over the entrance before going up in Heatwave flames. It transitions into his “I’m the greatest, I’m the bestest!” theme and the NXT World Champion makes his way to the ring with special “H” and “M” letters hanging off each arm, with himself being the “I” in the middle. You know, because “I am him.”
He settles in the ring, his music dies down and the ring announcer begins the formal pre-match ring introductions for the champion and the challenger as they stare each other down. Vic points out it’s the first African-American champion and African-American challenger to fight for the title in the main event of NXT and he asks Booker T why it’s a big deal. Booker talks about Ron Simmons being the first WCW World Champion and other big moments.
The bell sounds and we’re officially off-and-running with ths one, which sees things get off to a quick start. Lee and Hayes keep one-upping each other and then styling on the other. They eventually start shoving each other and getting serious, with their physical output matching that theme as they start turning the heat up here at Heatwave.
With both guys laid out, we shift gears and head into a mid-match commercial break as our NXT Championship main event continues.
When we return, we see Hayes fight back into the offensive lead. He hits his trademark fade-away spot out of the corner and the fans break out in a “Melo! Melo!” chant. As Lee starts fighting back, fans chant “Let’s go Wes! Let’s go Wes!” The two viciously exchange punches and forearms and chops in the middle of the ring.
Lee hits a big Meteora for a close near fall attempt, which shifts the offensive momentum into his favor. He goes on to hit a few more big spots, including a package suplex into a pin attempt. He heads to the top-rope and comes spinning off with a big splash for another close near fall attempt.
As he continues to work over the champ, he tries timing a Cardiac Kick, but ‘Melo sees it coming and counters. He nails Lee with the first 48 for a close near fall attempt.
The two fight their way out to the floor. Hayes beats Lee down and lays him on the comentary desk. He leaps off with an insane springboard moonsault into some kind of wild DDT landing on Lee that sees them explode through the table, which turns into 100,000 tooth picks in seconds. The fans loudly, loudly chant “Holy sh*t!” and it is bleeped off the broadcast.
Back in the ring, Hayes heads to the top-rope but misses his finisher. Lee tries following up with a Cardiac Kick and he hits it, but can’t follow up with the pin because Hayes rolled out to the floor. Lee has a psycho look in his eyes, which Vic points out on commentary, before he dives through the ropes for a splash, but finds no one as Hayes moves. Lee crashes and burns on the floor bad. Real bad. Like the entire building and commentary team gets dead silent for a minute bad.
Somehow Lee makes it back into the ring to avoid the count out. As he staggers back to his feet, Hayes leaps off the top-rope with his finisher. He connects and immediately goes for the cover. He gets the pin fall victory to retain his NXT Championship in an excellent match. The only criticism is that this got maybe 10 minutes on TV instead of 30-45 on a PLE. It was that good. As soon as the match ends, the show immediately goes off the air. Thanks for joining us!
Winner and STILL NXT Champion: Carmelo Hayes
