Oba Femi defeated Je’Von Evans to finish his ninth defense of the NXT Championship within the most important event of Heatwave.
Femi has reigned with the title for 230 days after dethroning Trick Williams in a triple threat also including Eddy Thorpe at Recent Yr’s Evil. Since then, he defended the title in one other triple threat also including Evans and Trick Williams at Stand & Deliver, and Evans making it clear within the months since that he felt he could beat the champion one-on-one. He secured that chance on Tuesday against Williams, despite being sent through the announcer’s desk from the ring, though that spot had done evident damage to him ahead of the eventual title bout.
Femi dominated over Evans within the match, looking for to make the most of the damage done to Evans’ torso, however the challenger proved to be impervious throughout. The challenger would fight back in spurts, and while Femi had his number for essentially the most part there have been moments towards the tip where the champion notably slipped. That allowed Evans to deliver several cutters and his finisher, going for the quilt and getting the complete three-count.
Nevertheless, it was identified that the Femi had his foot beneath the ropes when the count was made, and thus the match continued. Evans sought to press for the win, but Femi saw him coming and avoided the highest rope maneuver, launching him into the announcer’s desk in an identical manner as before. Femi then brought him into the ring to deliver his finisher and secure the winning pinfall.
Because the champion celebrated his defense, Ricky Saints emerged to confront him because the show went off air. The pair may very well be heard jibing at each other, with Saints saying he shall be the one to beat him and he needs the title, while Femi said he would discover that he’s “just one other guy.”