NXT Deadline Review: Former Champion Returns, Iron Survivor Challenge Matches

but I just need to get to bed soon. But I didn't want to go to bed without giving you my click quick thoughts on Deadline, which featured two Iron Survivor Challenge matches, a men's and a women's Iron Survivor Challenge match. And let me tell you this was it was interesting. There was a lot of interesting things going on with this. Number one, I did it in They did this ple in the Armory, a place called the

Armory in Minneapolis, so excuse me. So if you remember on smack Down the other night, they were from the Target Center in Minneapolis, and they did the nxt PL from the Armory, which when I originally thought about, I thought of one of the TNA events they have where it's kind of small, but this Armory was actually really big. I mean it was the size of having to me, it looked the size of a small arena, So yeah, it was. It was really good PL. A couple of

things I just want to mention off the top. Number one was I found the lineup fascinating. And if you if you know, I know, I've been saying that they've been they've been highlighting women way more than they've been highlighting the men lately, and this PL was a perfect example of that because they started this with the Men's Iron Survivor Challenge and ended it with the Women's Iron

Survivor Challenge. And the reason why that's very significant is because they did the men's world title match between Trick Williams and Ridge Holland second to last, and they had the Women's Iron Survivor Challenge last they may event it main evented the night. To me, that is extremely significant and we're gonna talk more about that in the future. But but again, the like they they really are highlighting

the women of NXT right now really much so. So Yeah, so before the before deadline started, Ava announced that because of the injury to Eddie Thorpe after the show was over on Tuesday, that he would not be competing in the Iron Survivor Challenge, but she didn't say who was

going to be taking his spot. I think most people think heard that it was going to be one of the other three competitors in the Fatal four Way, but it wasn't so and I have to say, so let's get it, let's get into So the men's Irons if I ever challenged, was the first thing that the first thing that happened. The first two people to start were were Javon Yeah, Javon Evans and Wes Lee And can I just say, Javan Evans, if he's not now, will

be a star someday. Javan Evans, the way he does the moves around the ring is just spectacular and I don't I definitely think you know that the kid's young, the kids like like eighteen nineteen years old. I apologize for the coughing, but unfortunately, like I said, I'm not feeling well. But he uh, he was in this and he deserved to be in this this year. But he definitely is going to win this or something big in

the future. Javon Evans is he needs a boke up a little bit maybe, but generally speaking, he is or will be a star. That being said, so the next person to come down, So those two, those two fought for a while, and then the next person that comes down was, oh, I apologize to give me one second. So Wesley had the first fall and gained the first point. The third person to come down was Nathan Fraser, who I've said last week and if you watched it at all,

you know he pulled double duty. He was in the Ironsavira Challenge as well as defending the NXT Tag Team titles, which we'll talk about later. But Nathan Fraser was a third person to come in, and um, so Wesley went for the frogs. It was yeah, Fraser had hit a spinning kick on Evans. There was just so much going on and eventually the clock counted down again. So just just to kind of I didn't say this before, just to kind of give a highlight, there's twenty five minutes total.

Each person that starts with two people each. Another person comes down every five minutes. If you get a pinfull, you get a point or submission, and if you're the one to submit or get pinned, you have to go ninety seconds into a penalty box. So okay, After that, the next person to come in was Ethan Paige and Fraser ended up Nathan Fraser. Nathan Fraser ended up getting an insight cradle on Page eventually for a three count,

and so Nathan Frasier now has a point. So now, and then Ethan Page went to the penalty box for ninety seconds and he just complained to complain about going, but eventually went in. Wesley tried to roll up on Fraser and got a two count. Eventually, Paige got out of the penalty box and hit a spinning splash on Lee. Paige went into the ring and hooked Frasier for the pinfall. So now Ethan Page has a point as well, and Fraser starts to get a bloody nose, and now as

he's in the penalty box for ninety seconds. Match continued and went back and forth for a while with all four men and then the last fifth person came out. Now, the other day, I chose Ethan Page to win this to win the Iron Survivor Challenge, and probably would have been right. But I would have picked the surprise entrance of the Iron Survivor Challenge had he been announced beforehand.

So the surprise entrance is Oba Femi. Olba Femi makes his return for the first time since Tony D'Angelo beat him for the second time, and he just he tore the house down. He absolutely tore the house down. Eventually gets a quick he had he had a quick pinfall. Uh so like so so Evans hit a form off top rope but it barely phased Evans. This is and then then Femi hit an upper cut to Evans for the pinfall. So like the uppercut that Oba Femi hit on Javon Evans was crazy, crazy, crazy crazy. So now

Oba Femi has a point. So now everybody except Javon Evans has one point. Evans has zero. So again we go back. So Javan Evans goes in the penalty box. He comes out of the penalty box and Evans hit. When he came out of the penalty box, he hit a summer assault dive over the corner like he got some air like this one again, Javon Evans. If he's not today, he someday will be a star, a star. So Evans jumped off the top of at the cutter on on Wes Lee for a pin and so Javan

Evans now is the point. So now all five guys have one point. Javan Evans battled Femi in the ring with some strikes. Fraser dropkicks Femi, leading too Evans and Fraser attacking Femi against turnbuckle. There were five minutes left in the match. Femi punched Fraser while he was on

the top rope. Lee was out of the penalty box and then super kicked Femi and a trio of Evans, Fraser and Lee took turns kicking Femi, but Femi came back with clothes lines to knock him down and Femi hit a pop up powder bomb on Evan and Page snuck up from behind with a roll up of death to pin Femi and it worked. Now Ethan Page now has two points and now Femi Obafemi is in the penalty box. But Fraser then kicked, so so Obafemi goes

in the penalty box. So then Fraser kicks Page and and then pins him and now Evans uh and now Ethan Page. So now Javon Evans has two points. Ethan Page, I'm sorry, hold on a second Fraser superkick Page on the to pin on Evans, and then Evans did a crucifix pin on Page and it worked. So now Javon Evans now has two points because he crucifix pinned Ethan Page. And now Ethan Page has to go into the penalty

box with Obafemi. This was hysterical. So Ethan Page is reluctant of course to go into the penalty box with Oba Femi and then goes and he let me tell you, I know I've said this before, I'll say it again. Ethan Page is such a good heel like I hope he like there was there was a vignette later on about how he felt bad about losing. I hope they do not turn him baby face because I have to tell you, von Or, Ethan Page is such a perfect heal the way he is so like he just I

don't want to go in there. I don't want to go in there. Please don't make me go in there. And then he proceeds to get his ass kicked by Obafemi. It was just it was so good. He and Oba Femi just beat the kick crap out of him for like twenty seconds. Okay, so Oba Femi now has one point, and two guys have two points, and uh, two guys have one, so three guys have two one point. Two guys have two points. At the end of the match, everybody's back in the ring and eventually the the way

the match ended was Obafemi who had one point. There's a double choke slam pins two guys at the same time, so there's two points and now has three and then the time ran out. So Oba Femi now won the Iron Survivor Challenge. And I have to tell you, Oba Femi versus Trick Williams is going to be freaking amazing. It's going to be freaking amazing. It was a really good Iron Survivor Challenge. No Shenanigans, it wasn't it wasn't there,

there wasn't weapons involved. It was just good quality wrestling. And I always I always say My father's kind of like the barameter barometer, barometer for events, because he like, he doesn't like the over the top like war games with all the with all the he likes war games, but with all the weapons and things like the tables and everything, he just drives them nuts. But this was pure wrestling, like just pins and it was it was it was really good, like the Men Survivor Challenge was

high quality. It was a good way to start to show. Then we had Lexus King outside walking the street. It's a freezing cold Minneapolis. He said that the city has a place in his heart because it's the city that he was left out the side of the road in the freezing cold and no role model to speak of. King said he was trying to prove he's not the same and he's different and he'll exceed beyond everything he did.

Referring to his late father Brian Pilman, King said, he still struggles, but it's a fight worth fighting for and it's worth it to be out there and feeling the cold on his skin. King says, nothing feels better than the warm air of satisfaction. And that was it. So here's the thing, here's my issue with this whole thing. Um, for those of you that don't know, Lexus King is Brian Pilman junior, right, And when he was in AEW he was Brian Pilman Junior. Daba was his ring name.

He came over to NXT, they changed his name to distance him from his father. Okay, but understandable, Like he wants to be out of the shadow of Brian Pillman, like I understand, And then they proceed to create a storyline all about him getting out of the shadow of his father, like or just don't talk about it, like I don't. I don't understand this whole concept, Like it doesn't make any sense to me. So anyway, that's just that's just the thought that I had. I don't really

understand why they're proceeding to this. I mean, I guess because they're trying to make him more of a babyface and less of a heel. But he's a great heel. Number one, number two, like, let's like to totally completed, completely reverse the concept of what they were trying to do in the first place. After that, you have no quarter catch crew getting ready. Zaria was was shown getting ready also by lifting a guard rail one of the

metal guardrails as a warm up routine. And then there was a video package that aired about Jada Parker and Lolavice or the rivalry that was going on for a couple months. So then we have the Underground match next Underground between Jada Parker and Lol Device. I'm not gonna get into the particulars of this match. The only thing I'll say is I don't understand. I don't understand the Underground match. I mean I do, I get it, but

I don't. And you have people around the ring, which is weird because I mean, I understand why they have, well, you have three sides except the front side of the ring because you want people to be able to see what's going on. But it's so annoying the banging of the ring. And if you watched it, you know exactly

what I'm talking about. You got people around the ring because it's the underground they're trying to emulate some like warehouse match, but the whole time the people around the ring are just banging over and over again the ring.

It's it's so annoying, like and and it wasn't even like they were doing straight up MMA, like there was soupplexes, there was body slams, like it was a wrestling match that like kind of focused a little bit or an MMA style, but generally it was a wrestling match without ropes. At the end of the day, as I predicted, which I'm not surprised, Lola Ice won the match and she made her I think she made her fall aslike with a what the heck was it? Oh my god, I

forgot what it was. It was a oh and a Conda mandic kind device, that's what it was, hand coind device. It was. I mean, overall, it was a good match, but it was just the concept of the match, regardless of the participants, but just it's just annoying, just annoying. After that match, and after the match, you also have a picture of a deject, dejected Jada Parker outside the ring and then Lola of Ice with her hand raised

inside the ring. So that was really interesting. Which and again I think I've said this before, I love both of them. They're both gonna do great things. I hope eventually both of them will make it to the to the main roster. They'll they'll bring it. They'll both bring a lot to the main roster. Women's divisions, especially especially raw.

Then there was another video about the end of Chase University and Stephanie vcor then get shown getting ready for the main event, and then the NXT Championship champions Axiom and Nathan Fraser were backstage talking about how they'll be fine,

even though so Nathan Fraser, he was bloody. He got banged up a lot during this match during the Iron Survivor Challenge and now he has to go out and they didn't even separate the match a lot like like it was like it was like men's Iron Survivor Challenge and then the Underground and then he had to go back out again. So then we had so then the next thing we have is the tag team Champions Nathan Fraser and Axiom against the No Quarter Catch Grew of Miles Bourne and tv On Hikes. And this was a

This was a decent match. This was a really good match. The end the ending drove me nuts though, so so Tavion and Miles. You'll get to their finishing move and

super Axiom and I'm using that with quotes. Super Axiom kicks out of the finisher, which I know Matt has said this during his podcast during his episodes about how like when you when you and everybody kicks out of a finisher, it's just it just diminishes the finisher and like I don't And and then the worst part about it is so number one, you know, I I want I want Phraxium to fracture, like I don't. I want That's that was that was really cool. I want Phraxium

to fracture. I want them, I want them to stop being champions. They need to put into on the real tag team. And Miles Born and Tavian Heights are a tag team like they're from a g they're from a group, they're from a faction, the No Quarter Catch Crew, and they would be good to item champions. And then we've got other people that were establishing now with the whole

Battle Royal last week. But then Axiom kicks out of the finisher for Miles Bourn and Tavan Heights, and then the worst part about it is not more than a minute later, Axiom rolls up what is it uh? He rolls up Born with an inside cradle, Milesbourne with an inside cradle and gets the win at fifteen minutes and thirty seconds. It was a great match and the way the match ended, it just was I actually verbally oullowed

to say, are you kidding me? I actually out loud said that while I was watching this with my father, and he started laughing because he knows too, like I just those two were singles wrestlers that happened to be good, good as a tag team, but they need to like focus, they need to focus. All right, it was a good

match though overall was good, really good. Then we had uh John Evans interviewed by Sarah Schreiber saying that he needed he needed two more seconds to win the Iron Survivor Challenge, and Wesley interrupted by saying by saying Evans as acting like a fool after his loss to Oma Femy. Evans said that Lee was salty, and Lee said that one day he'll be just like him. Evan said you think so and punched, and so Lee punched Evans and

security showed up to break it up. So they're gonna there's gonna be eventually a Evans Javan Evans Wesley match, which will be will be fabulous. I'm not like so. The next the next special event for NXT is New Year's Evil, and that's where the champions will go against the Iron Survivor Winners, which I guess is from It's from a special Look Los Angeles from Los Angeles, and it's gonna be it's gonna be good good. I think

it's gonna be a really good event. So next we have so now the fourth, second last match, we have the NXT Championship. The NXT Championship was not the main event of this PLA. That is huge, and I hope to find out more information about that for you between now and probably not Tuesday, you know, from probably not Wednesday's podcast, but I'll probably be like the week after because they're really focusing a lot on the women. Again, I know I keep saying it, but it's true. So

so we've got them their match. So their match was really good. I mean, Trick Williams is palling all all the old Booker T moves and actually I think Booker T one time said he actually did a bookend. Of course, the side leg kicker that he does, that's a lah Booker T as well. I mean it's just it's all book Booker T's old stuff. But he does it well. He does it like Booker T did back in w c W and he's you know, he's he's over with

the crowd. The crowd loves him. You know. I hope, I hope that there's a possibility that he's in the Royald Rumble, like like last year Roxanne Perez was in the Royal Rumble and Tiffany Stratton. I mean, I'm not saying that he should stay in the man main roster right now, but I think that I think I'd love to hear the pop. I'd love to hear all of Uh. I was about to say the who's your dome? Oh my god, all of Lucas Oil Stadium starts saying, whoop

that trick? That'll be great. So anyway, this was a this was a really good match and went back and forth. It was. It was pretty long too. It was fifteen minutes or fifty one seconds. So it was a fairly decent match. Uh And at the end, uh trick Williams hit the spinning kick and then the trick shot knee knee, you know, the trick shot the knee I needa he does to get the pinfall wins trick. Williams is still your n XT champion, as I appreciate it. So I'm

doing pretty good. So far even though, like again, if Obafemi was announced ahead of time, I would have picked him, like I absolutely would have picked Obafemi. But I did. I did get Lola right, I did get well, you know what, I actually, I actually get the Tag Team Champions wrong? I won? Who admitted when I get it wrong? Yeah? I got the Tag Team Champions wrong. I guess. I guess it was more more of a hope than a prediction, I guess, but I did. I did think Trick wa.

I don't think they're going They're not taking the time off of Trick Williams anytime soon. He right now is is the face of the of the CW n XT for now. Eventually that will change, but I think for now, overall, it was a solid match, something special, but it was. It was a it was a decent match, I think. I mean, I think Rich Holland's is just Rich Holland is just clunky, you know, I don't know, that's just me.

So then we've got Ethan Page in the back saying it took him four matches to become NXT champion, and they turn nxten NX me and you like he does the pointing to his face Paige recapped what happened and was frustrated, saying that he dropped the ball again, and Page said it took him eighteen years to get here to win the championship. Excuse me, and Paige said it also took him eighteen years to figure out that that he has no clue how to get back there, and

he walked away frustrated again. Please don't turn him, babyface. He is, to me, the quintessential heel of n XT, quintessential heel of the next They announced some matches for Tuesday. They announced gig Doan Tatum Pasi versus j C Jane and Jasmine nix Oh, but Femi will address the NXT universe as the Iron Survivor Champion. And then they also announced that Wesley and Javon Evans will go one on one. So there's a video page for the Women's Iron Survivor Challenge.

This then we had the actual Women's Irons Favor Challenge. This started out with This started out with Julia and Ren Sinclair. Now Ren Sinclair, I said the other day when I made my prediction, I picked Stephanie Vacora, And I said the other day that Ren Sinclair, you could throw her out. As far as predictions goes, there's no way she's winning this. And I was right. Ren Sinclair was the getting pinned machine. She out of She was pinned at least three or four times. I think maybe

four times. I think once by each person. Actually I started out with Julia ren Sinclair. Eventually after five minutes, so Ruca comes out as number three. And so Ruka was on fire, hitting board attacks and power slams and she was she was just on fire. When she got in. Ren Sinclair did a lot of running around and trying to avoid things and then jumping in. You know something that Ren Sinclair should do. That's that's that's her stick, and that's okay. So eventually Ren rolled up Julia for

a two count. Julie hit a Northern Lights power bomb on ren for the pinfall. So Julia has one point and Ren Sinclair is now in the pamphty box. Zaria was the next person to come down, and she doubles suplex Julie and sol Ruka. Julia head but in Zaria and then did a she Silberka did a double soul snatcher on Julia and Zaria and both women rolled out of the ring. And then when Ren when came back into the ring, So hit her with a soul snatcher

for the pin. So basically Rent Sinclair came in after a couple of seconds, she got hit with the snaw snatcher and she had to go right back into the penalty box. So now Julia and soul Ruka both have a point. It was poor Renson clear. I kept I kept looking at my father, just going poor Rensing clear. Again. One of these things is not like the other, like it's it's really like she's just she was out of her element, like she was great. She's like a She's

like a Chelsea green Light. I call that like a Chelsea green light as far as the way she you know, the way her character is. But there was no way she was winning this thing anyway. The last person to come out is Stephanie Vecaier, and she did. She went on an attack right away. Eventually we get to Zaria hitting a spinning slam off the shoulders of Julia for her first fall. So Julia now has so Zaria has one point. Action's fast paced with soul so Ruka, Vikur

and Wrend exchanging moves. Uh so Hi Ruka hit double knees on Vicaire. Zoria was on the top rope and hit a moon sawt onto, both opponents standing up, and then Julia was out. The got Julia got out of the penalty box because she was in there because Zaria pinned her hit a running cake on Zaria. It just kept going back and forth, strikes, back and forth. So eventually so rucas Uh splashed on a Julia and then hit a German suplex. Wren went after Vicaire, who then

encountered a move leading to a pen pinfall. So now Ren Sinclair is pinned again by Stephanie, and now Stephanie has a point and Ren is back in the penalty box. So now all four women have one point and Ren Sinclair has zero. So gott to row up on the care Vicaire went for a kick by the rope. Sol broke free and hit a springboard somersault clothesline for a two count. There was only one minute left when Ren got a son so a flip on so for a pinfall with forty seconds left. So now Wren has a point.

So now all five have one point. About thirty seconds left, everybody has one point and Wren did a cradle on Vicor for a two count. The car was back in the ring with a double spear on Wren In Seclaire and Zari hit a spinning slam off the shoulders like the F five that brock Lesner does. Julia was back in the ring and Zaria with a running bear on.

Zaria called Arivederci and Julia got the pinfall win. So now Julia has two points and Kier rows up Julia for two but Cara tries another move, but time ran out and then ended the match at twenty five minutes with Julia getting the win. So Julia is your woman's Iron Survivor winner. Who I mentioned I'm sick, I'm doing pretty good considering. Yeah, this is a great match. The women deserve to be last. It was definitely the match

of the night, back and forth, just just innovative wrestling. Uh, Like you know, it was great to have Ren there to become the foil Julia, Stephanie and like to me, it was Julius, Stephanie and Zara, which was like the A the A leaguers. You got Soroka who's like B and then you've got Ren Sinclair which is like C. And it worked out that way like sol Ruka showed her stuff. I almost I almost said it, so Ruco really showed her stuff. She and again she will be she gota woke up a bit. She will she will

be a star as well. Stephanie Julian Zaria are already stars. And basically the question was which of those three women it would would win the Irons Favor Challenge. And to me, any three of them would have won, could have won, and they did. It was Julia again, I showed Stephanie I was wrong. So what one of the one of the right people won the match. And then there's Ren Saint Clair who was great in the role that she did. And to be honest, I Rent Saint Clair came out

of this match with my admiration. I like her more now than I did prior to the match for what it's worth, and I'll and I'll pay more and I'm actually gonna pay more attention to Ren Saint Clair as a result of this. So you know what, it did its job. Yeah, So that was it. Overall. Like I said, I give give the show an absolute thumbs up. I think of all the matches, I would say the match that bugged me the most was the underground match, only because again the slamming of the ring the entire time,

like it was hard to pay attention. It drove me nuts when Nathan Frazier and Axiom won again, especially on an inside creatle small package. I mean, come on, please, let's move on. Please, Like they've had the titles now three times in the last year, and they made this whole big deal about the all the tag teams beating the crap out of each other and having the Battle Royal just for them to lose. I don't get it. I'm sorry. Matches absolute thumbs up. Both of them were great,

and the the NXT title match was really good. And it looks like now Trick Williams will go against Obafemi, which I think a lot of us really wanted to see, and to be honest, I honestly think that Obafemi will be the next NXT champion. That's that's my prediction early.

I may think differently in a few weeks when New Year's Evil comes around, but for now, I will be shocked if I wouldn't be shocked if oh if Emi won the NXT title on New Year's Evil, which we'll talk about when that comes out, and in the meantime, thanks for joining me on a special edition of the NXT review for Deadline. Thank you for joining us on a ww podcast, and we look forward to talking to you soon.