On Saturday, December 7th, NXT returned to Minneapolis, MN for its annual event, “Deadline.” This show featured the return of the Men’s & Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge. In each match, five of the top competitors in each division will be going at it to earn the right to call themselves the #1 Contender for their division’s respective title.
The show also saw Trick Williams put his NXT Championship on the line against a more dangerous than ever, Ridge Holland. Also, Nathan Frazer and Axiom put their NXT Tag Team Championships on the line against No Quarter Catch Crew’s Myles Borne and Tavion Heights, and so much more. So, what were the top three moments of the night?
3. Trick Williams reigns supreme
About halfway through the show, we saw Trick Williams put his NXT Championship on the line against a new and improved, Ridge Holland. Williams and Holland’s rivalry is one that got very personal, very fast. This past Tuesday on NXT, Holland sent Williams to the hospital after spiking his head on the announce table.
However, Williams was persistent that this match still go on, so it did. This has arguably been Holland’s best run in the WWE and win or lose in this match, this whole run has been a blast to see what Holland can do if given the opportunity. This match was a hard-hitting downright fight between both men.
Ultimately, Williams hits Holland with the trick shot to put the match away and retain the NXT Championship. It looks like he has a date soon with Oba Femi in what could be a changing of the guards type of match. Femi looks unstoppable and this match will be sure to not disappoint.
2. Oba Femi returns and wins the Men’s Iron Survivor match
In the opening match of the night, we saw the Men’s Iron Survivor match take place. This was a match with a lot of questions, especially with Eddy Thorpe being taken out of the match this past Tuesday. The match started with Je’Von Evans and Wes Lee kicking things off for the first five minutes.
One by one the other competitors joined the fray. Nathan Frazer and Ethan Page were the next ones to join the match. However, it still remained to be seen who was the fifth and final competitor in the match. The final competitor in the match turned out to be a returning Oba Femi who went crazy on everyone in the match.
Ultimately, after a very hard-hitting and tough match by everyone involved, Oba Femi landed a chokeslam on both Wes Lee and Nathan Frazer and pinned them both at the very end to win the match with three falls going his way. This was a fantastic opening start and it’s great seeing Oba Femi finally get the push in the main event scene that he deserves.
1. Giulia is the Women’s Iron Survivor
In the main event of the show, we saw five of the top women go at it in the Women’s Iron Survivor match. Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, Zaria, Wren Sinclair, and Sol Ruca each could very well be next in line for Perez’s NXT Women’s Championship, and this match was going to make it clear who deserved that spot the most.
Prior to the match, it was announced by Ava that the winner of the Women’s Iron Survivor match will face Roxanne Perez at the next NXT big event, “New Year’s Evil” in January. Giulia and Wren Sinclair started out the match. One by one the three other competitors entered the fray and went to war.
With under a minute remaining, we had a five-way tie at one fall a piece. However, ultimately, Giulia broke the tie and pinned Zaria to score her second fall and win the match. It will be Giulia vs. Roxanne Perez for the NXT Women’s Championship at New Year’s Evil.
Overall, this was a fantastic show with some great wrestling. We saw a massive return in Oba Femi, new challengers made clear for the two top championships in NXT, and so much more. It looks like the landscape of NXT could be drastically changing with their two top titles changing hands in the near future.
