Oba Femi and The Beautiful Madness conquers the Iron Survivor Challenge

In WWE’s last PLE of the year they saved it for one of their most gimmicky heavy cards. Known as NXT Deadline. Deadline features two twenty-five-minute matches which are a cross between the Royal Rumble and an Iron Man Match known as the “Iron Survivor Match.” The winner of this match gets awarded a NXT title match. Both the men and women’s Iron Survivor Match came down to the wire as Oba Femi and Guila reigned victorious. Also, on tap for this PLE was Ridge Holland challenging Trick Williams for the NXT Title. 

Je’Von Evans vs. Wes Lee vs. Nathan Frazer vs. Ethan Page vs. Oba Femi in the men’s Iron Survivor Challenge- The narrative going into this match was who would be the 5th man going into the match. The original guy was Eddy Thorpe but at the end of NXT Tuesday he was knocked out as the show went off air. The score was tied at 1 all when the 5th man Oba Femi came in and as the legendary Jim Ross used to say “Business just picked up” Femi hits a toss powerbomb on Lee with Frazer having to make a save. That earns him a sitout Last Ride, but Page breaks up the cover. Page insists that he needs to win so Femi grabs him by the throat and rams him against the box, meaning Evans can’t get out. Femi wrecks Lee but gets posted by Frazer, with Evans diving off the box onto Lee and Femi. The top rope cutter gives Evans the pin on Lee at 18:39. At around the 23-minute mark of the match Femi lands a double chokeslam pinning two competitors at once. His involvement in the match was a real game changer.

Lola Vice vs Jaida Parker NXT Underground Match- NXT Underground, meaning no ropes, people around the ring, and you win by knockout, TKO or submission. The concept of this match is about physicality. Parker pulls out Vice’s black belt and uses it to pull Vice. Vice uses the belt to hit some clotheslines until a headbutt cuts her off. Parker puts her onto the steps and hits the Tear Drop. Over the past few weeks Parker has used a brick as a weapon to knock Vice out. Parker loads up the brick but gets kicked in the head. Vice pulls her into a quick choke and Parker is in trouble. That’s broken up so Vice hits the spinning backfist and chokes her out. Match over. 

Tag Team Titles: Axiom/Nathan Frazer vs. No Quarter Catch Crew- Frazier came into the match all jacked up due to his involvement in the Iron Survivor Match. One of the themes was Parker trying to show his toughness by being in the match. Frazer starts with Borne and the ribs are banged up enough that it’s quickly off to Axiom.Axiom accidentally dropkicks Frazer, who gets planted with an AA onto the apron. Something like a TKO/DDT combination gets two on Axiom and the fans are rather surprised on the kickout. Axiom is back with a quick Canadian Destroyer to Heights and a small package to Borne retains the title. It was a match where it seemed like the tag champs should have lost. They overcame a lot of miscommunications to get the three counts.

NXT Title: Trick Williams vs Ridge Holland- The narrative of this match is the champion was fighting an uphill battle. Holland’s character has been built off destruction and injuring his opponents' necks. Holland landed a few neck breakers and ddts to control the match. Williams was able to counter by landing a kick to the face, followed by stereo kicks to the face for back-to-back near falls. They go outside and Holland loads up the announcers’ table, only to be backdropped to the floor. Back in and Williams misses a charge, getting his head caught in the ropes for the hangman spot. The referee gets him out and the Redeemer connects for two. Holland misses a charge into the post (having to push himself into it), setting up a Trick Kick and the Trick Shot.

Iron Survivor Challenge: Giulia vs. Sinclair vs. Ruca vs. Zaria vs. Stephanie Vaquer- The best spot of the match was at the 22-minute part of the match where all the competitors were tied at 1 fall. Zaria stays on Ruca before going up for a moonsault to both Ruca and Sinclair. Giulia gets out of the penalty box and cleans house, including a double missile dropkick/top rope backsplash combination to drop everyone but Vaquer. This was an excellent match. Everyone had a significant spot. Giulia got the win, and she feels like the biggest star. Her winning the title on the first show of the year could be the direction that WWE goes to. She seems like what Asuka was for NXT during her run.