Cruz Montana has finally addressed the Zilla Fatu attack that has so far kept him out of a match at WWE NXT Heatwave.
On the August 11 episode of NXT, Montana was seconds away from finishing off Grayson Waller after hitting the Spin the Block when Fatu hit the ring out of nowhere. The newcomer attacked both wrestlers, delivered Samoan Splashes, and stared down NXT Champion Tony D’Angelo, who had been watching from the commentary desk. The match ended in a no contest.
As a result, D’Angelo’s challenger for the NXT Championship at Heatwave remains wide open. WWE currently has the champion booked against a to-be-determined opponent for the August 30 event in Edinburg, Texas.
In a recent appearance on Complex Graps, Montana broke his silence on the run-in and made it clear that Fatu made the situation personal.
“Like you said, I had it in the bag. That number one contendership was mine, and when I first stepped through the doors of NXT, I made a statement and I made my intentions loud and clear… Zilla (Fatu) just did the same thing, and I gotta give props where they’re due. The only unfortunate thing for him is now he made it personal, and now we gonna have to handle business. That’s just the way it is.”
Montana officially arrived in NXT on July 21, still known to fans as Mike Santana, confronting D’Angelo immediately after his NXT Championship defense against Naraku.
Fatu, meanwhile, made an immediate impact. The son of Umaga came off a standout run in House of Glory and dropped the HOG Crown Jewel Championship to Amazing Red just four days before his WWE debut, making it clear he’s here to stay.
His debut also surpassed 16 million views across WWE’s platforms, underscoring the massive buzz surrounding his arrival.