WWE will once again be going head-to-head with AEW on a major pay-per-view day next month. During today’s Great American Bash premium live event, it was announced that NXT Heatwave will take place on Sunday, August 24, the same day as the AEW & NJPW Forbidden Door event.
A Busy Day for Wrestling Fans
NXT Heatwave is scheduled to emanate live from the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts. While the show shares the date with AEW’s Forbidden Door, which is taking place in London, England, it does not appear the two events will air at the exact same time. The graphic for Heatwave listed a 6:30 p.m. Eastern start time for ticket holders, while Forbidden Door is expected to be an afternoon event for North American viewers due to the time difference.
WWE’s Counterprogramming Strategy
This marks the second consecutive month that WWE has scheduled a major event on the same day as a tentpole AEW pay-per-view. This weekend, WWE is running its Saturday Night’s Main Event and NXT The Great American Bash as the same day AEW’s All In Texas, with the WWE show scheduled to have, per reports, the “last word of the night” by airing in the evening after AEW’s afternoon event. This scheduling appears to be part of a deliberate strategy by WWE and its parent company, TKO Group Holdings, to directly compete with AEW on its biggest weekends.
How to Watch
For fans looking to attend NXT Heatwave in person, tickets are scheduled to go on sale to the general public this coming Wednesday, July 16. For those watching at home, the event will stream live on Peacock in the United States and on the WWE Network or Netflix in international markets.
Heatwave has been an annual event for the NXT brand since 2022, first as a television special before being elevated to a full premium live event. The name itself is a classic one, as it was originally used for one of Extreme Championship Wrestling’s (ECW) most iconic pay-per-view events in the late 1990s.
On the road again.
See in you in Houston on July 22nd, and see you in Lowell, MA on August 24th for WWE Heatwave! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/oLkK4vouzN
— WWE (@WWE) July 12, 2025
