Follow along as the Starman recaps tonight’s NXT Deadline PLE, live from the Boeing Center at Tech Port in an Antonio, Texas.
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Footage of San Antonio and the arena is shown and a video package that focuses on the concept of time is aired to hype tonight’s Deadline card and the Iron Survivor matches. We head into the Boeing Center for the final NXT PLE of the year and will start off with the match for the NXT Championship.
Match 1: Oba Femi vs. Ricky Saints (NXT Championship)
The bell rings and Oba Femi uses his strength advantage to methodically pick apart Ricky Saints to gain the early advantage in the match. Saints is able to counter the attack and begins working over Femi’s left arm and Saints picks up a near fall after hitting a missile dropkick from the middle rope. Femi is able to catch Saints’ attempt at a cross body block and drops Saints down to the mat with a high press slam. Femi then tosses Saints across the ring and picks up a near fall of his own.
Femi continues on the attack as he takes Saints down with a series of strikes and foes for a few quick pin attempts, but Saints is able to kick out. Saints finally takes Femi out at the leg and then walks the ropes and takes Femi down with a hurricanrana. Saints follows up with a spear and picks up a two count over the challenger. Saints and Femi go back and forth with a few strikes until Saints is able to hit a Stunner for another near fall.
Saints then locks in a guillotine submission and Femi is able to get up to his feet and begins walking towards the ropes, but Femi falls back down to his knees. Femi rises once again and is able to drop Saints onto the top rope to break the hold. Femi then charges at Saints, but Saints drops the ropes and sends Femi crashing out to the floor. Saints then dives through the ropes to send Femi into the announce table and the referee begins to count, and Femi is able to get back into the ring at a count of nine.
The two again start trading blows in the ring and Femi gets the better of the exchange after connecting with a couple of clotheslines. Femi is able to pick up a near fall but ends up hitting the ring post after Saints dodged an attempt at a spear. On the floor, Saints is able to send Femi into the steel steps and follows with a tornado DDT onto the steps. Saints rolls Femi back into the ring and hits another tornado DDT, but Femi is able to kick out of the pin attempt.
Femi is able to counter an attempt at Roshambo from Saints and counters with the Fall from Grace, but Saints is able to kick out just before the count of three. Femi then hits a second Fall from Grace and picks up the pin fall to become the NXT Champion for the second time. Oba Femi will now face Cody Rhodes at next week’s Saturday Night’s Main Event. After the match, Ricky Saints gets up and shakes Oba Femi’s hand in a sign of sportsmanship.
Winner: Oba Femi defeated Ricky Saints by pin fall to become the NXT Champion.
The announce team hypes next week’s Saturday Night’s Main Event. We then see Sol Ruca talking with Zaria on the phone and apologizes for not letting her know about her upcoming match at Saturday Night’s Main Event. Zaria says the two of them need to talk when they meet up next. Footage of Hank Walker and Tank Ledger’s trip to Tokyo, Japan, to take part of a Pro Wrestling Noah event is aired. The two won and then lost the GHC Tag Team Championship and will return to NXT on Tuesday.
A video package highlighting the Iron Survivor Challenge matches is aired, which gives a rundown of the competitors and the rules of the match.
Match 2: Sol Ruca vs. Lola Vice vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Kendal Grey (Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge Match)
Kelani Jordan and Kendal Grey start out the Women’s Iron Survivor match for the first five minutes. The match starts and Jordan and Grey go at it trying to earn quick pin fall points in the opening moments. The two roll counter each other a few times with a small package, but neither are able to pick up a pin fall. Just as the five minute time is about to go off, Grey is able to give Jordan and snap slam to pick up the pin fall to earn one point.
Kendal Grey: 1 point.
Jordan is sent to the penalty box for 90 seconds as Jordynne Grace comes out to the ring. Grace comes in and quickly goes on the attack and tries to pick up a couple of quick pin falls, but Grey is able to kick out. Grace locks Grey into a submission, but Jordan is able to get out of the penalty box and break it up. Jordan is then able to roll up Grey and picks up a pin fall of her own and sends Grey into the penalty box.
Kelani Jordan: 1 point.
Jordan and Grace go at it for the 90 second period and Grace levels Grey on the floor as she runs out of the penalty box. The three then begin to go back and forth in the ring until Grace is able to take them both down with a suplex from the corner as the 10 minute timer expires and Lola Vice comes into the ring. In less than 30 seconds, Vice is able to pick up a pin fall over Grey to send her back into the penalty box.
Lola Vice: 1 point.
Vice continues on the attack and picks up near falls over the other two. Grey is able to leave the penalty box once again and quickly locks in an armbar on Grace and picks up a pin fall over her to send Grace to the penalty box.
Kendal Grey: 2 points.
Grey then takes Jordan down with a German suplex and Vice connects with a knee to the face. Vice goes for the cover on Jordan, but Grey breaks it up. Jordan comes back into the match and knocks down Jordan by kicking the penalty door open. Grace then slams Vice down and gets a near fall over Vice. Jordan then dives onto Grace, but Grace counters into a pin attempt and picks up the point as the 15 minute time expires.
Jordynne Grace: 1 point.
Sol Ruca comes out and Jordan attacks her in the ringside area instead of going into the penalty box. Ruca is seen being helped to the back by referees as the Jordan goes into the penalty box. The action continues fast and furious once Jordan is able to get back into the match. Jordan sends Grace down to the floor as Ruca comes running back out and takes out Jordan and Vice. Ruca picks up quick pins over both of them to send them both to the penalty box.
Sol Ruca: 2 points.
Sol is able to take down both Vice and Grace and tries to pick up a pin fall on Grace, but Vice breaks it up. A double submission is applied to Grey as the penalty box is opened and Vice breaks it up. Grey then takes Grace down and goes for a pin attempt, but it is broken up with a frog splash from Jordan. Jordan then picks up the pin fall over Grace to make it a three way tie with less than five minutes left in the match.
Kelani Jordan: 2 points.
Grace is able to leave the box and Grace picks up a pin fall over Jordan to make it a four way tie. Vice then quickly pins Grey to make it a five way time with two minutes to go.
Jordynne Grace: 2 points. Lola Vice: 2 points.
Jordan is able to get out of the box and takes Vice out but Grace breaks up the pin attempt. Grey then escapes the box and hits Vice with a DDT from the top rope with 10 seconds to go and picks up the final pin fall to win the match with three points and become the #1 contender to the Women’s NXT Championship.
Kendal Grey: 3 points.
Winner: Kendal Grey won the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge with 3 points.
Ava is backstage with Blake Monroe, who says she wants to start an open challenge for the North American Championship. Ava asks if Blake is sure that she wants to go ahead with it as she is not a Ilja Dragunov or Sami Zayn, but would love to see her try to defend it.
Sarah Schreiber is backstage with Myles Borne and says he would have loved facing off Ricky Saints, but he will take an opportunity to take down Oba Femi. Borne then weighs the options of when to enter the match and he thinks it would be best to go right in the middle at number three. The interview is broken up by Kelani Jordan and Jordynne Grace, who continue fighting until they are broken apart by referees.
Match 3: Mr. Iguana vs. Ethan Page (NXT North American Championship)
The match starts and Ethan Page quickly takes Mr. Iguana down, who goes into his dead pose. Page spins him around and tries to set him up, but Iguana doesn’t break the pose. Iguana finally counters and takes down Page and grabs La Yesca, but Page takes Iguana down with a DDT. Page then sets up for a superplex, but Iguana hits Page with La Yesca a few times to break it up. Page tries to get the referee’s attention for the use of La Yesca, and Iguana hits a cross body block for a near fall.
The match heads out to the floor where Page sends Iguana into the steel steps before rolling him back into the ring. Iguana goes back on the attack and takes Page down with a couple of quick moves. Iguana grabs La Yesca and grabs Page’s hand and walks the ropes, but Page pulls him down and slams him down to the mat. Page then grabs La Yesca off of Iguana’s hand and spits on it before throwing it onto the entrance ramp.
A mad Iguana gets up and takes Page down with a DDT and heads to the top rope. Page knocks Iguana down and tries for an Ego’s Edge, but Iguana counters with a hurricanrana that sends Page out to the floor. Iguana dives out to the floor to take out Page and rolls him back into the ring for a near fall. Page then pulls Iguana off the top rope and hits the Twisted Grin to pick up the pin fall and retain the NXT North American Championship.
Winner: Ethan Page defeated Mr. Iguana by pin fall to retain the NXT North American Championship.
Sarah Schreiber is backstage with Kendal Grey who talks about winning the Iron Survivor Challenge as Sol Ruca walks in and says if she was there the whole time, she would have won the match. Wren Sinclair steps in and says Zaria speared Kendal last Tuesday and Kendal was able to survive the entire match. Ruca says Zaria is still her best friend and she will fight for her.
DarkState is backstage and Oba Femi walks in. Femi says he did his job tonight as Dion Lennox says Femi won’t be safe at New Year’s Evil. Femi wishes Lennox good luck and walks away. A video package highlighting the friendship and break up between Tatum Paxley and Izzi Dame is aired, which brings us to the next match of the night.
Match 4: Izzi Dame (w/ The Culling) vs. Tatum Paxley
Tatum Paxley is seen crying while she makes her way to the ring. Shawn Spears and Niko Vance slide into the ring before the match, but Tatum does not fall for the distraction as the bell rings. Paxley is able to take Dame down and sends her out to the floor. Dame then pleads for her to stop and the two hug before Dame sends Paxley into the steel steps. Back in the ring, Dame continues on the attack and hits her with a flurry of offense and picks up a near fall after connecting with a backbreaker.
Dame continues on the attack and sends Paxley into the ringpost from the apron and kicks her head into it. Dame then locks Paxley in a Boston Crab, but Paxley crawls across the ring and nearly makes the ropes, but Dame drags her back to the middle and converts it into a Liontamer. Paxley is able to break the hold by rolling Dame up for a near fall. Dame then yells at Paxley and slaps her across the face as we see a big smile come across Paxley’s face.
Paxley connects with a series of strikes and picks up a near fall after an elbow drop. Paxley heads to the middle rope and jumps down only to be hit with a dropkick by Dame for a near fall. Paxley is able to come back and hits Dame with a cross body block that sends them both out to the floor. Paxley then clears the announce table and puts Dame on it. Dame again pleads for Paxley to stop but she takes her out with the Psycho Trap on the table.
Paxley rolls Dame back into the ring, but Shawn Spears distracts Paxley and gives her two dolls. Spears the rips the head off of one of the dolls and smiles in her face. Paxley slaps Spears and rolls back into the ring, only to eat a boot from Dame, who then takes her down with a sit out slam to pick up the pin fall.
Winner: Izzi Dame defeated Tatum Paxley by pin fall.
Ricky Saints is in the locker room with Je’Von Evans, who is disappointed in losing the NXT Championship. Je’Von Evans tries to lift up his spirits and says Saints will get the championship again and says that he will win tonight.
We see another Shiloh Hill video where he talks about communicating with squirrels and chasing one down. A football coach saw him and talked to him about joining football. Hill then talks about getting into a fight with a guy in school where he headbutt a guy that caused his canine tooth to be lodged into his skull, which is still there to this day. A computer voice says to him that he is ready for his first match next Tuesday on NXT. The announce team hype next week’s show, which will feature Kelani Jordan against Jordynne Grace, Blake Monroe issuing an open challenge, and the debut of Shiloh Hill.
The Iron Survivor Challenge video package runs once again that runs down the rules and hypes the match. This leads us into the main event of the night.
Match 5: Je’Von Evans vs. Leon Slater vs. Joe Hendry vs. Dion Lennox vs. Myles Borne (Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge Match)
Leon Slater and Je’Von Evans as the two friends start out the Men’s Iron Survivor match for the first five minutes. The match starts and the two go at it with a series of counters and kicks as a small “TNA!” chant starts within the San Antonio crowd. Evans picks up a near fall after taking Slater down with a hurricanrana and a drop kick as there is two minutes left before Borne enters the match. The two start counter each other with a series of roll ups until Evans is able to pick up a pin fall with 15 seconds left before Borne enters the match.
Je’Von Evans: 1 point.
Myles Borne comes in and slams Evans down for a near fall. Borne continues and is able to pick up another near fall after hitting a high angle slam. Slater returns to the match and hits Evans with a cross body block from the top rope for another near fall. Evans and Slater counter each others suplexes until they both fall over the top rope and Borne flies over the top rope to take them both out. Borne rolls Evans back into the ring and picks up a near fall and then rolls Slater into the ring for yet another near fall. The three then go back and forth with nobody getting the upper hand as the 10 minute timer hits.
Dion Lennox is the fourth man in the match and he goes right after all three others that have already been worn down in the ring. Lennox picks up a near fall on Borne with a fisherman’s suplex, but Evans and Slater are quick to team up on Lennox as they stomp a mudhole on him in the corner. Borne then comes in to even the odds as Borne and Lennox hit a Doomsday Device on Slater and Lennox slams Evans down to the mat to pick up a pin fall to send Evans to the penalty box.
Dion Lennox: 1 point.
The three continue the match until Evans is able to return, who takes out everyone and hits a frog splash onto Borne for a near fall. Evans again tries for a high risk move, but Lennox cuts him off as the 15 minute timer goes off and Joe Hendry enters the match. Hendry comes in and takes everyone out as the fans start a “We believe!” chant. Hendry does his trademark spin and he has a serious look on his face instead of a smile. Hendry then sends Slater, Evans and Lennox out to the floor and dives over the top rope and onto all of them to take them out. Back in the ring, Hendry counter an attempt at the Borne Again and slams Borne down to the mat to pick up the pin fall.
Joe Hendry: 1 point.
Hendry then mixes it up with Slater and Evans until Lennox comes in and all four are taken out. Borne is about to leave the penalty box, but Lennox kicks the door into his face. In the ring, Evans climbs to the top rope and does and coast to coast Swanton Bomb on Hendry. Slater then kicks Evans out to the floor and does a Swanton 450 on Hendry to pick up the pin fall,
Leon Slater: 1 point.
Borne then hits the Borne Again on Slater, but the pin attempt is broken up by Lennox. Borne then counters Lennox offense and hits the Borne Again on Lennox to pick up the pin fall to tie it all up at one each.
Myles Borne: 1 point.
Dion Lennox enters the penalty box and he immediately begins to attack Hendry, who has about 20 seconds left. The match continues in the ring as Hendry gets up and takes out Lennox as he makes his way back into the match. We get back to full strength with two minutes left as Lennox locks Evans into the box. Lennox tries to pick up another pin on Borne, but it is broken up by Hendry as Lennox rolls out to the floor. Evans climbs out of the box and takes Lennox out on the floor as Slater dives over the ring post and takes out Evans on the floor.
With 60 seconds remaining, Evans is able to hit Slater with a springboard cutter, but the pin attempt is broken up by Borne. Borne then hits a Borne Again off the middle ropes on Evans, but Lennox pulls Borne off of the pin attempt. Slater then hits a Swanton 450 onto Evans, but Hendry pulls him off and they both go out to the floor. With 10 seconds left, Borne tosses Lennox into the announce table and goes for a pin attempt on Evans, but Evans counters and rolls up Borne for the three count with three seconds left and Evans earns the final point.
Je’Von Evans: 2 points.
Winner: Je’Von Evans won the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge with 2 points.
Evans wins the match as he celebrates his victory while the rest look on in disbelief. Evans tries to shake hands with Lennox, but he just rolls out of the ring. Replays are shown as the ring is cleared as Evans celebrates his victory. Oba Femi’s music hits as the new NXT Champion walks out to the entrance ramp.
The lights then go out as a blurry figure is shown on the screen. Both Femi and Evans look confused as Tony D’Angelo appears in the ring and takes Evans out with a chokeslam. D’Angelo stares down Femi as Deadline comes to a close.
Quick Results
– Oba Femi defeated Ricky Saints by pin fall to become the NXT Champion.
– Kendal Grey won the Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge with 3 points.
– Ethan Page defeated Mr. Iguana by pin fall to retain the NXT North American Championship.
– Izzi Dame defeated Tatum Paxley by pin fall.
– Je’Von Evans won the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge with 2 points