NXT Deadline (2024)

Background in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Deadline is an annual professional wrestling event held in December by the American promotion WWE for its developmental brand NXT since 2022. The event is based around the Iron Survivor Challenge for both the men and women, which is a five-person match in which a wrestler attempts to score the most falls before the 25-minute time limit (the "deadline") expires to earn a future match for the NXT Championship and NXT Women's Championship, respectively. On November 6, 2024, at NXT 2300, WWE announced that the third Deadline would be held on Saturday, December 7, 2024, at the Minneapolis Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This was the first WWE livestreaming event to be held in Minneapolis since TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in 2019. The event aired via WWE's livestreaming platforms, Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in most international markets. This was the final WWE livestreaming event to air on the standalone WWE Network in most of those areas as its content moved to Netflix in January 2025; a select few territories still maintain the standalone WWE Network into 2025 due to pre-existing contracts but will also merge under Netflix when those contracts expire. Storylines The event comprised five matches that resulted from scripted storylines. Results were predetermined by WWE's writers on the NXT brand, while storylines were produced on WWE's weekly television program, NXT, and the supplementary online streaming show, Level Up. On November 6 during the special NXT episode NXT 2300, NXT General Manager Ava announced the return of Deadline. Qualifiers for both the men's and women's Iron Survivor Challenges started on the November 12 episode. The first two men's spots were determined by two matches where Wes Lee and Je'Von Evans defeated Cedric Alexander and Lexis King, respectively, while the first women's spot was determined by a match where Sol Ruca defeated Cora Jade. The next spots were determined on the November 19 episode. For the men's match, Nathan Frazer defeated Eddy Thorpe, while the second and third women's spots were earned by Stephanie Vaquer and Zaria, defeating OTM's Jaida Parker and No Quarter Catch Crew's Wren Sinclair, respectively. The fourth spots for both the men's and women's matches were determined on the November 26 episode, with Ethan Page defeating Axiom and Giulia defeating Kelani Jordan. The last spots for both matches were determined on the December 3 episode in two Last Chance matches, with Thorpe defeating Alexander, King, and Axiom, and Sinclair defeating Jade, Parker, and Jordan. However, backstage later in the night, Thorpe was attacked by a mysterious person. At the day of the event, it was announced that Thorpe would not be medically cleared to compete in the match, with a replacement taking his place. On the August 13 episode of NXT, Chase University (Andre Chase and Ridge Holland) defeated Axiom and Nathan Frazer to win the NXT Tag Team Championship, only to lose the titles back to them 19 days later at No Mercy. After the match, Holland viciously attacked Chase, reverting back to a heel in the process. This led to an Ambulance match between Chase and Holland at Halloween Havoc, which Holland won. Later that night, Trick Williams successfully defended the NXT Championship against Ethan Page. After the match, Williams was viciously attacked by both Page and Holland until WWE Hall of Famer Bubba Ray Dudley, who had been confronted by Holland on the pre-show, came out to save Williams. At NXT 2300 on November 6, Page and Holland defeated Dudley and Williams, with Holland pinning Williams. After a backstage brawl, NXT General Manager Ava announced that Parker and Vice would face each other in a Hardcore match at NXT 2300, with former ECW manager Dawn Marie serving as the special guest referee. There, Parker defeated Vice after hitting her with a brick. On the November 19 episode, Parker lost her Iron Survivor qualifying match after interference from Vice. On the next episode, Vice challenged Parker to a NXT Underground match. On the December 3 episode, Parker competed in a Last Chance fatal four-way match for the final spot in the Iron Survivor Challenge, but failed to win after interference from Vice as a brawl ensued between the two. Parker subsequently accepted the challenge for the NXT Underground match, wanting the match to take place on that's night episode. However, Ava scheduled the match for NXT Deadline. ==Event==

Preliminary matches The event began with the men's Iron Survivor Challenge. Je'Von Evans and Wes Lee began the match. Lee pinned Evans with a roll-up while using the ropes for leverage to score the first point. Nathan Frazer entered third, and performed a Frog Splash on Lee for a nearfall. Ethan Page entered fourth. Frazer pinned Page with a small package to score his first point. Page then exited the penalty box and pinned Frazer with a schoolboy to score his first point. The final entrant was Oba Femi, who was filling in for the injured Eddy Thorpe. Femi pinned Evans with a European Uppercut when Evans leapt off the top rope and attempted another pin, but Page pulled the referee out of the ring. Femi slammed Page into the front of the penalty box before being Frazer shoved Femi into the ring post. Evans performed a Springboard Cutter on Lee to score his first point. After Lee exited the penalty box, Femi performed a powerbomb on Evans, but Page pinned Femi with a schoolboy to score his first point. Evans pinned Page with a crucifix to score his second point. Page entered the penalty box, where Femi attacked him until he exited. Femi performed chokeslams on Lee and Frazer and pinned both men to score three points. Evans performed a Springboard Cutter on Femi, but the time expired afterwards, meaning Femi won the match. In the second match, Lola Vice took on Jaida Parker in an NXT Underground match. During the match, Parker attacked Vice's belt to her wrist and sent Vice into the ring post. Parker then performed a Samoan Drop on Vice. Parker grabbed a brick, but Vice performed a kick on Parker and applied a rear-naked choke. Vice performed a suplex on Parker and went for the brick, but Parker performed a suplex on Vice. As Parker went for the brick, Vice performed a backfist and applied the Anaconda Vice on Parker, who passed out, thus Vice won the match. After that, Nathan Frazer and Axiom defended the NXT Tag Team Championship against Tavion Heights and Myles Borne. During the match, Bronco Nima and Lucien Price showed up at ringside. Heights performed a belly-to-belly suplex on Frazer onto Nima and Price, who were then ejected from ringside. Frazer performed a 450 splash on Heights for a nearfall. Axiom performed a Spanish Fly on Borne followed by a Phoenix Splash by Frazer, but Heights broke up the pin. In the end, Axiom performed a destroyer on Heights and pinned Borne with an inside cradle to retain the title. In the penultimate match, Trick Williams defended the NXT Championship against Ridge Holland. During the match, Holland attempted a top-rope splash, but Williams moved out of the way and performed a spin kick for a nearfall. Williams ended up getting his head stuck between the top and middle ropes until he was freed by referees. In the end, Holland performed a DDT on Williams for a nearfall. Holland attempted a destroyer, but Williams countered it into a roll-up for a nearfall. Williams then performed the Trick Kick and the Trick Shot to retain the title. Main event The main event was the women's Iron Survivor Challenge. Giulia and Wren Sinclair started the match. Sol Ruca entered third. Giulia performed a Northern Lights Bomb on Sinclair to score her first point. Zaria entered fourth. Ruca performed the Sol Snatcher on Zaria for a nearfall and on Sinclair to score her first point. Afterwards, Ruca and Giulia powerbombed Zaria through the announce table. The final entrant was Stephanie Vaquer. Zaria pinned Giulia with an F-6 to score her first point. Vaquer pinned Sinclair with a victory roll to score her first point. Upon leaving the penalty box, Sinclair pinned Ruca with a roll-up to score her first point. In the end, Giulia pinned Zaria following a knee strike to bring herself in the lead with two points. Vaquer attempted two pinning combinations on Giulia before the time expired, meaning Giulia won the match. ==Reception==

Jason Powell of Pro Wrestling Dot Net stated that Deadline "was more of a solid double than a home run. The tag team title match was a lot of fun, and the ISC matches were both entertaining". For the women's Iron Survivor Challenge, drama was created "by having everyone tied at one until the closing seconds of the match". For the men's Iron Survivor Challenge, Powell called it "a good match with a clever finish", and fans hoped "for Penta El Zero Miedo or maybe a TNA crossover, but Femi fit the description of a "suitable replacement" for Eddy Thorpe". ==Results==

Men's Iron Survivor Challenge statistics • Entry Order: Je'Von Evans, Wes Lee, Nathan Frazer, Ethan Page, and Oba Femi Women's Iron Survivor Challenge statistics • Entry Order: Giulia, Wren Sinclair, Sol Ruca, Zaria, and Stephanie Vaquer ==Notes==