Je'Von Evans vs. Oba Femi

[7.0] "Great match that i would rate an 8 if it wasn't for the ref nonsense which was completely unnecessary & sucked out a whole lot of momentum this match had. luckily they got it back for the finish with the Je'von announce table spot. Let these guys have another match down the line on the main roster, with no shenanigans & a clean match it can be an absolute classic. Great chemistry"

[10.0] "One of the best NXT matches of the year. The ending was a little polarizing, but everything they did before was just so damn good that anything below a 10 wouldn't work for me personally. Je'von and Oba are the future of pro wrestling. Wrestling soulmates indeed. The table spot at the end was INSANE."

[8.0] "A cool match-up between Je'Von's kids-friendly style and Oba's grown ass men style. The storytelling is great, I love Oba's presence, him ragdolling Je'Von, even trolling him, and blasting him with some serious bombs. If not for Je'Von coming back and doing his monkey flips as if he didn't just get brutalized, this would rule big time, but Je'Von's that type of spot monkey, so that's what you get. Anyway, I still love this match, and Oba tossing Je'Von over the top rope right onto the announce table is such a mind-blowing spot. The Ruler most definitely rules! ****"

[9.0] "Great match with a lot of fun sequences and spots. The false finish was crazy but Oba throwing Je'vin through the table was the highlight of the match and one of the craziest wwe spots I've seen in a while. Crowd was also super hot for this match. Main takeaway is that Je'von should win and stand and deliver and call up Oba because he is complete"

[9.0] "When you combine two diametrically opposed skillsets in wrestling, it can go one of many ways. It's safe to say the bruiser vs. high flyer combo we had here delivered and then some. The "insurmountable odds" shtick was enforced even more with Je'Von's injury from his match with Trick, and Oba was smart to exploit it. At no point did I feel the match was dragging or going too long, good length overall even when you factor in the finish. The final sequence was insane and the red hot crowd just added to it. Perhaps the false-est (no idea if that's a word) of false finishes gave Oba everything he needed to turn it all around after minutes of high flying offense. The table spot looked genuinely devastating right at the end. One of my favorites this year from NXT."

[6.0] "Sigh. I despise to have to be the odd one out here and seem like a debbie downer because I LOVE both of these guys. Every match I've seen Oba Femi in has been fantastic and I genuinely think JeVon is the best flyer in the world right now, and will be a pantheon american high flyer in the likes of RVD and Jeff Hardy. I was geniunly thinking this match was going to be the best match all year but it was just above average. Both guys had very little chemistry and their big man small man dynamic just didn't work and was never interesting until the last 2 minutes. I will say that table spot was so fucking good this went from a 2.5 to a 3.25. The match was 17 minutes, should've been 25, and had 6 minutes worth of wrestling. They can do better, and they will - and if ANY OF YOU are giving this a 9 or 10 chuck on Shawn and Diesel and you'll be shown the LIGHT"

[8.0] "A good match that is failed by a bad finish. If it had ended at the three count for Evans it would have been a great NXT match and big moment for him in his career. Instead we get a Dusty Finish near fall and he does the obligatory announce table crash spot to lose a minute later."

[8.0] "Honestly, NXT Heatwave 2025 was a bit of a disappointment, but this match was definitely the best of the show. It was a classic David vs. Goliath match, but Goliath came out on top. Despite the HUGE size difference, they worked well together. But they haven't shown their full potential yet. ****1/4"

[9.0] "WHAT A MATCH. The way Jevon counters Obas strength by running and flying faster than ever and Oba responded by simply being too strong to beat with speed was crazy. This is exactly what was needed. I wasn't a big fan of the ref going down but both being aware of the foot on the rope made up for it for me. I'll give it a 8.5 but since it's CM I'll give a 9."

[8.0] "Not only a very good main event, but one with far more poise and polish than you may anticipate. This is in no great rush early, trading in elaborate set-pieces for a conventional outline that simply embraces the dynamic at hand. Evans fights from underneath while Femi dominates, keeping things noticeably engaging in control. Admittedly, the final third is a notch below the rest in my view, falling victim to less distinct back and forth bursts. Most notably, Evans' retort is fuelled by more direct offence than you'd like, but his babyface charm keeps the people attached nonetheless. They land on an explosive final note or two regardless, making this an incredibly encouraging hit that perhaps most importantly, leaves them with more ground to cover in a rematch. ***3/4"

[9.0] "Oba and Jevon are the future, this match right here was amazing and gave me black and gold vibes. I know some ppl wanted jevon to win but it makes perfect sense playing the long game & ending the reign at stand and deliver"

[7.0] "It had some wild moments, but I came away higher on Oba than Je'Von. Evans feels like he's being pushed too hard, too fast, and while he's flashy, a lot of his offense doesn't look that impactful. Oba, on the other hand, feels main roster ready. The table toss spot from the ring to the outside was insane, easily the highlight. The piped-in chants and fake "this is awesome" reactions hurt the atmosphere, but Oba's dominance and the finish still delivered. Match was good, not great"

[8.0] "I think it is a very good match for Je'Von Evans' career. Thanks to this match all of us have a new chance for see Je'Von Evans' talent. He is a very good wrestler. By the way I forgot Oba Femi. Oba Femi is a very dominant champion and I think this is so good. His NXT Championship reign give me a vibe like Gunthers IC title reign. I think we can see Oba Femi as a World Champion in main roaster."

[10.0] "Extremely sick match. Great dynamic between the super powerful guy and the super fast guy. Some crazy bumps, obviously the commentary table spot was the highlight, incredible, but everything these two did together matched up super well."

[9.0] "Phenomenal david vs goliath match, Oba was great as the monster, Je'Von great as the underdog fight from underneath, they built to a great cllimax, and the finish ruled."

[9.0] "Seriously great match. Oba and Je'Von's chemistry is so good I could watch them wrestle forever. Shame about the slightly missed splash from Evans, but high-risk botches never take me out of the match much considering those moves are meant to be risky. I'm a fan of the false finish too - it just goes to show how deserving Evans is of that title. I really hope he's the one to dethrone Oba, maybe at next year's Stand & Deliver. The announce table spot was almost unnecessarily brilliant. So so so so good. These are two men to watch."

[8.0] "Absolute match of the night. Incredible chemistry between Oba Femi and Je'Von Evans, with the ultimate heel vs. face dynamic, David vs. Goliath. The crowd reactions were electric, especially on Je'Von's counters and that brutal spot where Oba threw him through the table. Nearly perfect, just missing that final touch to make it truly outstanding."

[9.0] "Stupid excellent match, Oba and Je'Von Evan have incredible chemistry, the moment were Je'Von pinned Oba was the only thing kinda weird about this match, but the ending with Oba Femi throwing Evans through the table was so good. This needs a trilogy or atleast a sequel with Je'Von winning the Title"

"Good match, enjoyed the ending, with the rules being implemented correctly for a change - FOOT UNDER ROPE = ROPE BREAK. Some insane spots like Oba entering Je'Von into the royal rumble (threw him over the top rope into the ring from the outside) and also putting him through the announce table while still in the ring. Don't want to be that guy but there wasn't enough selling/psychology. Better match than Mariah but I would rather rewatch Mariah. ****1/2"

[7.0] "Great match tarnished by too much no selling. Don't get me wrong, there was some cool stuff like Evan's being thrown from the ring to the announcer tables and the loud pops with every slap and kick in this match. However, there were too many sequences where damage just didn't exist. The one that sticks in my brain the most is mid match, Femi takes a cutter to which he gets up instantly, then he's hit with a suplex, to which he gets up instantly again. There were other spots of no selling. To an extent, no selling can work when you're trying to show off how strong a guy like Femi is, but you can't just make Evan's moves look useless in the heat of a match. 7/10. Would've been a 10/10 if they sold more."

[9.0] "Pretty awesome match, would've been a 10 had they given Evans the win. The match mostly flowed well. I loved the part where Evans knocked down Oba, there was a certain aura around that moment. The drama with the refs was a bit of a bummer though."

[6.0] "This was on its way to being a match worthy of recommendation until the finish. Aside from that and some bad acting at the start of Je'Von's first comeback, it was a good match, in the 3.5 - 3.75 star range"

[6.0] "I thought this was 3.5 stars on work alone (which would have meant a 7), but the horrendous, overbooked finish takes it down a notch to 3 stars, which converts to a 6 in the cagematch system. Best match on what was a typical overproduced, mostly bad NXT show."

[8.0] "****3/4 Great match, one of the best in WWE this year, excellent chemistry, their styles work perfectly and they are very talented, great limbwork by Oba behind Je'Von and a great selling by the latter, great sequences, and a great ending with Je'Von being close to winning, managing to connect a cutter in the air to Oba and then a springboard cutter that Oba barely survives luckily his foot was under the rope, the referees notice and Je'Von gets desperate, argues a bit with the referee then looks for an aerial move that Oba manages to dodge and without wasting time the champion showing even some desperation at having been so close to losing, takes Je'Von and throws him from the ring to the commentary table leaving Je'Von finished to return him to the ring and finish him off with a pop-up powerbomb to retain, Je'Von must be the one to dethrone Oba definitively, and I hope it is this year"

[3.0] "Match broke down near the end of the match. Was a complete mess by the end. Both guys are great prospects but need a lot of work before being put on the big stage"

[7.0] "Evans vs Femi was a fun match. J'Von had some great high-energy moments and Oba looked like a beast with his power spots. The middle dragged a little and the ending came quicker than I expected, but overall it was enjoyable. Not a must-see classic, but both guys showed a lot of potential. I'm particularly high on Oba Femi who could be something amazing if given the right development and booking."

[7.0] "This was shaping up to be a really solid match before being harmed greatly by the finish. You hate to see the effort of the workers being wasted by a poorly booked mess of a finish. Hard to recommend."

[10.0] "This was amazing. Easily a Match of the Year Canadaite, and this has to show you when Cody Rhodes is done, I know who the next red-hot babyface or ace of WWE should be in Je'Von Evans, he is one of the best young talents I've ever seen. Oba Femi is going to be a Multi-Style Time World Champion. He is the Ruler for a reason; he's amazing. This match was a David vs. Goliath-style match, and when watching this match, I couldn't stay in my seat. This match had it all, and the crowd was reacting accordingly. I thought Je'Von Evans had the match won, but because of the ropes, he didn't. Oba Femi got the upper hand and won. Ricky Saints came out afterwards and declared he's next in line for Oba Femi's WWE NXT World Title."

[7.0] "Very good match. Worth the watch. Oba Femi toys with Je'Von Evans. Je'Von gets a big comeback and a visual win, but they do a fakeout 3 count which gives Oba enough time to recover and throw Je'Von through a table outside of the ring and then pin him in ring. Ref bump and finish takes something out of it at the end for me, but if you wanna go 4 stars on this, I wouldn't fight you on it."

[8.0] "Oba Femi is one of the few truly great things going in WWE at the moment, I love watching him work. He's able to give his challenger a believable opening and then quash their comeback in an instant and look like an absolute machine while in control. Je'Von's offense looked pretty good on its own merits, but Oba's selling really made the crowd believe (I ADORED the way the glancing blow on that superkick from out of the corner knocked Oba on his ass and had him looking shocked). A shame that the ref bump and 3-count with the foot under the rope right in front of the replacement ref were a really stupid way to show that the underdog COULD have done it; the "bullshit" chants were justified there. That said the finish that came right after was incredible; insane toss into the table followed by a sick powerbomb to give Femi the win. Remove the ref bump sequence and have it be hot all the way to the table bump and this could've been something special but the match still ruled. ****+"

[8.0] "[4.0*] Wow, what a fucking match! Definitely my 2nd favorite from the whole weekend, these guys killed it. Something funny about Oba Femi is that when wwe did their NIL program, me and my friends did a game where we had to choose only one to root for in their NXT career. I chose Oba and he's definitely the best, so I always watch his matches to see how he's progressing since his debut against Dante Chen in a Level Up episode. Holy shit, this guy's evolving pretty fast. He's becoming one of the best wrestlers in WWE. Jevon is another one that is absolutely killing it and he was fantastic here. A near perfect David vs Goliath that only lost a couple of points because of the unnecessary ref bump. I understand this is a ""necessary"" attribute in matches involving heel stables like The Vision, The Blooodline and stuff like that, but doing this shit in a Oba vs Jevon singles match was just because now they think a World Title match HAS to have this kind of spot and I disagree 100% with this way of thinking."

[9.0] "A near perfect David vs Goliath match. The way Oba was just dominating and underestimating Je'Von in a way, until he gets stunned and knocked down, and then the way he reacted to getting knocked down was so damn good. The table spot was insane. This would be a 10/10 if je'von won, but the loss here will make his eventual win even better I'm sure."

[10.0] "Wow, this match was a banger. Je'Von sets himself up as the future. Oba has been very good this year as the champ, ever since he won it. The chemistry they both had was good. Nights like this just remind you why he's on top, and why Je'Von's the one up next."

[10.0] "Been saying this ever since Oba won the NXT title in January, but he just keeps delivering. Tonight's main event was another banger. There were a few near-falls that actually had me convinced we might see a new champ crowned. But in the end, Oba proved once again why he's the ruler of NXT."

[7.0] "Seeing it being done twice in one week, I really hope the table car crash spot doesn't become a staple of every important Je'Von Evans match. He has all the tools to be the next face of WWE, and Evans really needs to play his cards right with his body. The crowd seemed pretty divided on who to cheer and the highspot really reeled them in from going home sour. I thought this was good not great but these two definitely have a PPV classic in them. Really hope this isn't the last time we see this match for the title."

[6.0] "This started out slowly but I was getting it it by the end, with Evans doing everything he could to make you believe that the impossible could happen. The visual pinfall at the end was a nice touch, but that crash at the end was the really big spot of the match and OUCH. Hopefully Evans gets that he doesn't have to do that very often, or he's going to have a very short career."

[6.0] "Evans had some strong moments and the crowd was super into him, while Oba's power and presence kept control. The dusty finish actively took away from the flow of the match. Not a classic, but it sets up a rematch well. A solid (if flawed) main event."

[10.0] "The match that made Heatwave worth the watch on its own in my opinion. Je'von's babyface fire was unmatchable, the people wanted him badly and his the struggle was so compelling, Oba came off as a complete killer, he's world title material for sure, not in the future but right now, today, and for sure in this match, Je'von threw everything at him and he still came off as a believable winner, if not just for that insane toss through the announce table from the ring. Perfect execution, crowd went nuts, and Oba immediately picking him back up for the powerbomb was so perfect, incredibly brutal, perfect world title match finish. Ricky Saints' tease to close the broadcast was just icing on top"

[10.0] "Amazing match if you ask me. I think it's match of the weekend so far and I enjoyed every sequence.i think jevons crowning moment will be soon."

[9.0] "What a banger we saw on the main event. From the start they showed a great level and all match was fire. Actually that was typical David vs. Goliath fight, when Oba dominating most of time. but Evans made a good comeback. Maybe I expecting more from him, but he selling injury and thats why Je'von's performance just cut. Ending with referee bump was intresting and when Evans flying on table again, I was freaking out. Great win for Femi, but I can't see who can beat him for this title."

[10.0] "It's very rare that a match makes me audibly react in my own home but this was one of them. Some of the sequences were jaw dropping, and they played up the size difference so well with in ring psychology. Both of these guys are future wrestlemania main eventers with this match will be viewed as one of their classics. Je'von moves his body in ways I honestly didn't think was possible and he does it basically every time he's in the ring. Oba Femi's oppressive size and athleticism are alone enough to make him a main roster star, but his charisma makes his stock incredibly high. What a match!"

[9.0] "Damn. Je'Von is the future of WWE, and Oba is almost 3 years deep into overthrowing [Name Redacted] as the final boss of opponents. The ending felt like the perfect dusty finish to close this leg of their feud as well. As a character beat for Oba it makes perfect sense, he knows who will overthrow him, and now he must do everything to stop Je'Von from having a title shot. Je'Von is definitely winning the iron survivor match in a few months to make this what WWE wanted Sami v Gunther at mania to be. Even if it doesn't go along that fantasy booking route, it's established Je'Von so quickly. Ricky and Big ol' Briggs seem like perfect filler feud for the next couple months. I could go on for hours about how incredible this match was, or I could tell you the closing throw to outside made me physically cringe throughout in the best way (seriously how do you just recreate makind without the cell."

[9.0] "A very good match with some really good offence by both workers. The finish slightly hurt the match but the table spot where Oba just threw Je'Von was really awesome so I'm scoring it high despite the dusty finish and the build not being strong so i never really believed a title change"

[9.0] "As much as I want to give this a 10 I purely just can't due to the finish. Especially with Ricky confronting Oba and Josh Briggs (? ) in the audience staring them down, I really think they just need to run it back with Je'von and give him his reign finally since Oba is ready. Regardless though, these two had phenomenal chemistry and Oba worked being actually worried about losing very well. Jevon special as always, he's proving that he's not just all flips anymore and he's actually becoming a decent all-rounder. Hoping he becomes more careful though."

[9.0] "Great match, but i think it should have been a bit longer because of the importance of the match. I didn't really like the ref bump and all that but overall they both gave a really good performance. They have been showing that they have amazing chemistry for a long time, but i think they can still turn it up just a level higher"

[10.0] "This one is tied with Rhea vs IYO as my Favorite WWE match this Year. The story of Oba being an unstoppable monster, and Je'Von Evans needing to be the one to dethrone Oba was great. The biggest highlight to me was the near fall with, Oba's foot being under the rope and the original ref catches it therefore canceling out Je'Vons 3 count. Oba then picks up Je'Von and just throws him through the announcers tables followed by a power bomb for the win. Definitely will be re watching IYO vs Rhea and this again to see what's my favorite WWE match this year will be."

[9.0] "An excellent match between David and Goliath. Evans almost won, but there was a rope. After the match, the Saints appeared, and we'll probably have another good match."

[7.0] "A good match that could have been great if they left out the stupid ref bump which lead to a three count with Oba's foot under the bottom rope. Then we get replacement ref's "OH NOES WHAT DO? " Expression. This was apparently the weekend for world title matches to have nonsensical shit endings. Almost everything up to that point was a classic big vs small story."

[6.0] "The match is a bit too short for a main event, but at the same time the first part of the match is so slow that it feels like the match lasts longer than it does. The (very bad) lighting also doesn't contribute to a good view of the match. After a long, very sluggish and boring half, just as the match is getting going and starting to get good, a referee bump and then an overbooking come to ruin everything again. In the end, without the horrible overbooking at the end, with about ten minutes more (at the pace of the second part, not at the pace of the beginning) and with "normal" lighting, the match could have been very good... but it's not the case."

[7.0] "An excellent match but flawed. Took a long time to get good. I loved one of their sequences which had some great action. But this match also featured a ref bump and almost a Dusty finish and given that I can't give this a really high rating."