WWE may have put NXT Heatwave in the closing spot, but the crowd in Mexico apparently had already made up its mind about which show mattered more.
Dave Meltzer said on Wrestling Observer Radio that people from inside NXT privately acknowledged the setup became a problem after AAA Ola de Calor went on first. By the time Heatwave rolled around, the audience had already sat through hours of wrestling and had seen the AAA stars they came to watch. Meltzer said WWE positioned Heatwave as the bigger show, with Ola de Calor essentially serving as the warm-up. In his view, that plan blew up once the crowd started thinning out.
“They were the big show and AAA was just a warm up show and it backfired on them.”
Meltzer then claimed people from NXT privately admitted just how rough the situation felt once Heatwave finally got underway. That doesn’t mean Meltzer thought Heatwave was a bad show. He actually gave NXT credit for the wrestling, but still said it came off as the weakest of the three shows that day.
“As many people from NXT, you know, privately have said that it’s like, you know, we had to go out there five hours in a show with all Mexican fans that wanted to see the other guys, not us and relieving, you know, as the show’s going on.”
“The NXT part of the show was a good show. I mean, of the three shows on that day, it was the weakest of the three, but it still was good.”
The bigger issue for Meltzer is how WWE appears to be handling AAA now that it owns the promotion. He believes Ola de Calor and the reaction around it showed that AAA may have a much bigger ceiling than WWE is giving it credit for.
“It’s got way more growth potential than NXT.”
Meltzer went even further, arguing that AAA shouldn’t be treated like something below NXT or the WWE main roster.
“It should be an adjacent company, it shouldn’t be a minor league version of it.”
If Meltzer’s account of the private NXT reaction is accurate, Heatwave got stuck following a show the crowd was much more invested in. WWE may have booked NXT as the main attraction, but Ola de Calor apparently had the audience in its pocket first — and by the time Heatwave hit, that battle may have already been lost.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
Do you think WWE made a mistake putting NXT Heatwave after AAA Ola de Calor? Please share your thoughts and feedback in the comment section below.
