[10.0] "I think for a special edition of nxt I think it delivers it starts with a great match between ilja and trick williams we then have a fun heritage cup match which is pretty good we then have a pretty good mixed tag match and the main event match was great I thought some of these matches could have been on a ppv just a great show."

[5.0] "Take away the few mildly okay matches and this would've been a truly awful show. Every single backstage/pre-recorded segment was horrific, featuring hokey, sub-Disney-Channel-level acting and embarrassing dialogue. The commentary was headache-inducing, too, since Booker and Joseph are one of the worst non-indie commentary pairings ever, complimenting each other in the worst ways possibles. Dragunov vs Trick was a strong carry-job by Dragunov. He wasn't even that great here, but he at least had flashes of good striking, selling, and bumping, whereas Trick constantly had bad placement, positioning, and timing, with literally maybe only 3 attacks maximum being hit properly/impressively. Dragunov's dominance was still somewhat fun, but this was otherwise limited by incredibly weak chemistry. **3/4. Ivy vs Ava was a worthless squash, with Ava looking very green and Ivy looking very mediocre. It didn't even make sense that Ivy only needed a handful of mild attacks to quickly get the win despite being dominated right from the start. Too short; no rating. The post-match segment with Ivy facing off with those masked dorks was embarrassing nonsense. Frazer vs Dar had some standard WWE annoyances but was still quite enjoyable. Both guys impressed with their strong technical work and their flashy stunts. They were also nicely creative as they ensured that each spot/sequence was different from the last. The constant outside interference and abrupt pauses when the rounds ended were definitely very deflating and undercut the match's otherwise engaging pace. ***1/4. The women's promo segment was very generic in content and extremely robotic in delivery, featuring some laughably bad lines and attempts at 'acting'. None of the 4 women came off as remotely likeable or interesting from this. Lee & Lyra vs Dominik & Rhea was fine. Lee carried the match whenever he forced Dominik into the 'punching bag' role to absorb his many flashy and athletic attacks, but the match always declined whenever Dominik tried to make their interactions more evenly matched (since we all know he's clearly far below Lee's level) Rhea and Lyra's interactions were far worse, since their chemistry was consistently weak and Lyra was booked to be absurdly strong alongside Rhea for far too long despite not actually resembling a credible threat. **1/2. Corbin and Wagner had generic non-match brawl with a bunch of interference. Forgive me for not caring. Carmelo vs Wes was perfectly alright but nothing memorable. They definitely showed some impressive athletic feats in terms of moves and bumps, but they were also guilty of some clear over-choreographing and cheesy 50/50 mirror trades. The match was only ever truly interesting whenever they were going for their mindless stunts, since they otherwise always lost a lot of steam whenever they tried to slow things down or highlight their character work. ***"

[8.0] "Really good event with no bad matches , Ivy vs Ava was worst match of the night because of Ava's limitations , Ivy was good in the match though. The Stratton promo with the women was a really nice segment , with incredible mic work from everyone. The best match was Ilja vs Trick , Trick really tried hard and had his bear match to date. Dragunov always makes his opponents look good and this match was no exception , Dragunov has a bright future and the matches be brings out of his opponents are classics. Match ratings Ilja vs Trick 8/10 , Ivy vs Ava 6/10, Noam vs Nathan 6/10, Dragon and Lyra vs Rhea and Dom 8/10, Melo vs Wes 8/10."

[6.0] "NXT Heatwave was pretty average. Given that it was a branded show, I expected much more. On the bright side, the Dragunov vs. Williams match and the mixed tag team were pretty good. The Heritage Cup match was okay, nothing more, nothing less. The Women's promo wasn't great. I can't relate to some of the characters. On the other hand, the match between Ivy & Ava was way too short. The storyline between Schism & Diamon Mine has become a joke. Finish it already! The feud between Von Wagner & Baron Corbin feels off. I can't understand what either of them gets out of it. The one between Dijak & Eddy Thorpe also doesn't interest me much. Finally, the main event was slightly disappointing. I hope they run it back at No Mercy and get more time to show what they got."

[5.0] "Three good matches with a lot of NXT stink spread throughout the rest of the show. We had so much Schism. Terrible Schism. And the women's promo segment was one of the worst angles I've ever seen televised. I really liked the Dragunov match and would recommend it."

[8.0] "I think this show is being overrated and I'll give my reasons even though I think it was great overall. For starters, the Main Event was the fight that lasted the least amount of time (other than Nile vs. Ava) and while it didn't disappoint, it fell short in terms of length. The best fight of the night was Dragunov vs. Williams, it was a very good contest that at certain points looked close and I loved it. On the other hand, the participation of Judgment Day in this show gives it something "special" but really for me it wasn't, because the fight they had to some extent was good but in turn they repeat the same mistakes of continuing to take the same path the story of Dom, that yes, we already know that without Mommy he can't do anything. Corbin and Von Wagner's fight seems to be postponed, but they didn't make anything clear with what happened. Ah, Ava's story is inconsequential and doesn't hold my attention at all."

[7.0] "Dragunov vs Trick in the opener was really good, a hard hitting brawl from start to finish and was easily the best match of the show (8/10). Ivy vs Ava was a quick match that was used to set up a kidnapping angle. The Heritage Cup match between Frazer and Dar was fine, though I don't care for these kind of matches as they've become far too predictable and the rules need to be changed (6/10). The women's confrontation for the title was a nice segment, set up a four way for a later show. Dragon Lee and Lyra vs Dom and Rhea was a solid match with the right winners (6.5/10). The main event of Carmelo vs Wes for the NXT Title was pretty good, but disappointing. It just didn't feel like anything special and needed more time (6.5/10). Heatwave was a good special episode of NXT. The only thing that held it back was the disappointing main event. 7/10"

[7.0] "This show was okay but I'm seeing an incredible overrating, the opener was a good match but definitely nothing we won't forget in a few weeks, the best match of the night was the Mixed Tag Team, the main event was disappointing too, not bad but they gave to Wes and Melo too little time, I hope there will be an heel turn from Wes which will bring back a rematch at No Mercy."

[6.0] "Almost every one used here for a match were the best wrestlers NXT has to offer so this was top to bottom one of the most consistent NXT episodes in terms of in-ring. I don't like how NXT looks or how the shows are structured so that always put a limit to how much I will enjoy this show. The women had a rough night with Ava/Ivy being terrible and the promo segment with Tiffany and the others being even more brutal. Solid show"

[6.0] "The current NXT product is pretty terrible but this was definitely one of their better top-to-bottom shows this year. The aggressively annoying tropes and acts were kept to a minimum and there was actually quite a bit of decent wrestling. Ava versus Ivy Nile was absolutely horrible though and neither woman belongs on TV yet."

[10.0] "The best episode of NXT this year, amazing stuff every match was a banger and this is how NXT should be every week. This is up there for being one of the all-time great shows from NXT, great stuff from everyone and HBK keep on cooking because he's doing one hell of a job in Orlando."

[7.0] "A really good show of NXT. I dont usually watch NXT but tonight I decided to give it a watch. Im a really huge fan of Ilja Dragunov and he had a nice match with Trick Williams. Just a hard hitting affair (***1/4). Noam Dar and Nathan Frazer started with a lot of good grappling, showcasing Noam Dads great technical skills, but Nathan Frazier also had athleticism showcased as well (***). Dragon Lee & Lyra Valkyria vs Rhea Ripley & Dominik Mysterio. A solid contest, but the ending where the ref ignored the DQ was noticeable (***). The main event was really good between Hayes and Wes Lee, including some good spots, especially that ddt into the announcement desk (***1/2)"

[7.0] "a very up and down show..the dragunov vs trick was was fairly good and showed that trick can hang with the best they have but it also showed he's still progressing and not there yet so a solid 7.75..ivy vs ava was not good and not enough time although ivy shows a ton of potential in the short time she does get ava needs a ton of work in every aspect and the schism has yet to be booked anywhere in the vicinity of good so 2/10 Heritage Cup Title Match was quite good and got the time to showcase just how talented dar and frazer are and the unique format of the matches gives the show a fresh feel and something different 8...the Mixed Tag Team Match was also quite good with rhea a lyria carrying most of that load and dragon lee is a top tier lucha dor long before he stepped in a wwe ring and dom still needs work as a wrestler so 8..hayes vs wes lee was a bit off and didn't get the time it needed so it didn't quite live up to the hype but these guys have imense talent so i wouldn't worry 7.5..bron vs von was a non event, they had a chance to showcase wagner in this one and they took a pass so if that the plan then don't advertise it 2 and the womens in ring promo summit..this was bad very very bad and every part of everything they said felt very forced very unnatural and very scripted 1"

[6.0] "This episode peaked with the opening match. Everything after was just forgettable to pretty good. The wrestling itself on the show was solid, but not great enough to make up for the amount of filler that was in between. There was hardly a single engaging or entertaining promo or segment to be found. Even on some of the worst or most boring NXT episodes, there is at least a few things that are genuinely or ironically funny that you could take away from a viewing. That was not the case here. Not a terrible episode, but also nothing that I'm gonna be gushing over; especially since the main event was pretty underwhelming"

[9.0] "Best NXT episode in a little while and at least of the TV specials so far this year, I would say it was the best of those too compared to the pretty poor New Years Evil & the pretty good Roadblock and Spring Breakin (although both Gold Rush shows were also good.) Aside from Ivy/Ava which was at least short and not the worst, every match was at least pretty good with Ilja/Trick being my match of the night. Wes/Carmelo had a good match as did Rhea & Lyra particularly in the tag. Frazier/Dar had a good match but Im not a big fan of the decision to put the Heritage Cup back on Dar when that is practically all he has done in NXT dating back to NXT UK as well. Consistent and entertaining. Considering they brought back the Heatwave name from ECW, it is nice that the two they have done in NXT have both been consistent and enjoyable shows. 8.5"