WWE NXT live results: Iron Survivor Challenge qualifiers begin
The build to Deadline kicks into gear with Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying matches beginning on NXT tonight.
On the men’s side, Je’Von Evans vs. Lexis King and Wes Lee vs. Cedric Alexander will take place. A women’s qualifier has been announced as well with Cora Jade facing off against Sol Ruca. The winners will become the first participants to advance to the Iron Survivor Challenge matches at NXT Deadline, which will determine new number one contenders to the NXT Championship and NXT Women’s Championship.
Deadline is being held in Minneapolis on December 7.
A title bout is scheduled for tonight with Kelani Jordan getting her NXT Women’s North American Championship rematch against Fallon Henley. We’ll also hear from NXT Champion Trick Williams as he addresses what’s next for him.
Plus, Giulia & Stephanie Vaquer team up against Lash Legend & Jakara Jackson, Nikkita Lyons meets Adriana Rizzo in singles action, and more.
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– Following the WWE “Then, Now, Forever” signature, we went straight to a live shot of the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL. Vic Joseph and Booker T welcomed us to the show and tossed to a recap of last week’s NXT from the 2300 Arena, the home of ECW.
Stephanie Vaquer & Giulia defeated Jakara Jackson & Lash Legend
Before the match, we got an inset promo from Jackson and Legend where they trashtalked Vaquer and Giulia ahead of this opening contest.
Giulia and Legend started off for their teams, with the latter taking down Giulia with a big boot. The tag to Jackson led to the Meta Four duo maintaining control of the action. Jackson struck Giulia down with a missile dropkick and continued control until Vaquer tagged herself in. Giulia and Vaquer got a fantastic tag team maneuver on Jackson.
Vaquer landed the legdrop on Jackson before she squeezed her head with the legs and slammed it down repeatedly on the mat. Legend re-entered the match and used her awesome strength to lift both Giulia and Vaquer at the same time to shake both all about. She then had Jackson go up on her shoulders for a dive to the outside onto Vaquer and Giulia, which sent us to our first break of the evening.
NXT returned with Legend having Vaquer held in a stalling suplex that she connected on. Jackson was tagged back in as she held Vaquer in a submission, which kept her at bay mometarily. Vaquer escaped and she got the tag to Giulia.
Giulia was a house of fire, as she hit Legend and Jackson with impressive moves, including a flip powerbomb on the massive Legend. Vaquer made her way back to the match and hit a double back suplex with Giulia on Jackson for the two count.
On the outside, Giulia took down Legend with a dropkick to the outside. With Giulia the legal woman in the match, Jackson was at the mercy of the international superstars, who hit a tandem knee strike for the victory.
– After the match, both Giulia and Vaquer were asked what would happen if both made it into Iron Survivor at NXT Deadline. Giulia said that she knew this day would come, while Vaquer simply told her friend, “see you at Deadline”.
– A video package that explained Iron Survivor’s rules was shown, handy for those who were just tuning in to NXT on The CW.
(Fun little opener where all competitors looked good. Legend and Jackson proved themselves worthy on the main roster during their short excursion, and they looked fantastic standing across the ring and keeping up with the international sensations Giulia and Stephanie Vaquer.)
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– A promo for The CW’s Trivial Pursuit, featuring several NXT stars as guests, was shown.
Women’s Iron Survivor Qualifier: Sol Ruca defeated Cora Jade
The match started off with Jade taunting Ruca while sat on the top turnbuckle. She then avoided a superkick attempt from Ruca, who then sat on the opposite turnbuckle before she slammed Jade face first. Ruca then pretended to use Jade as a surfboard before her foe regained the advantage with knees to the back.
Jade trapped Ruca against the middle rope and ran into her with a running forearm strike that only got a two-count. An exchange of strikes ended with Ruca regaining the momentum for a moment. Jade stopped the attack tried for her DDT, but Ruca fought out of it. Jade went for a running knee, but Ruca dodged at the last second and went up for her Sol Snatcher for the shocking victory.
(The match went by quickly, though we got a bit of an upset with Ruca pulling off the win. With how involved Cora Jade has been in the NXT Women’s Title picture, it seemed like her qualifying for Iron Survivor was a given, so this is a bit of a surprise.)
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– Backstage, Je’von Evans and Cedric Alexander were hyping each other up for their Iron Survivor Qualifier matches before the scene shifted to Karmen Petrovic and Dion Lennox chatting about how Ashante “Thee’ Adonis is seemingly flirting with Petrovic. Brinley Reece and Adonis himself then appeared as Lennox suggested Petrovic and Adonis team up next week in a mixed tag match.
Ava’s State of the NXT Tag Team Division
– Backstage, NXT GM Ava was with several NXT teams, including Gallus, OTM, Hank and Tank, among others. She challenged these teams to prove themselves worthy of facing Fraxiom for the NXT Tag Team Championships. As the teams argued with one another, Ava said this was the energy that she needed to see, and that she wanted to see these teams back it up in the ring.
Men’s Iron Survivor Qualifier: Wes Lee defeated Cedric Alexander
As the bell rang, Lee and Alexander locked horns in the ring briefly before the former backed off for a bit, much to Alexander’s frustration. Alexander trapped Lee in a headlock for a good while before his opponent forced him to the ropes to break the hold.
Lee countered out of another Alexander headlock as things began to pick up a bit with both men using their agility. On the apron, Lee got caught in the middle ropes and got kicked repeatedly by Alexander, which sent him outside. With a full head of speed, Alexander soared to the outside with a suicide dive onto Lee, which led us to break in the action.
We returned to the action with Alexander attempting a comeback, but to no avail. Lee attempted for a Kardiac Kick, but Alexander intercepted him with a dropkick to the head as both men struggled to get themselves to a vertical base. Alexander went on the attack with repeated chops to Lee’s chest, followed by a Kitchen Sink knee strike.
Alexander and Lee faced off on the apron, as Lee got slammed on the hardest part of the ring. Back inside, Alexander caught Lee with a rollthrough DDT for a near-fall. Lee recovered and struck Alexander in the gut before he connected with the Kardiac Kick. 1, 2…. KICKOUT~!
Alexander flattened Lee with a clothesline, which sent his opponent to the corner. Lee pulled out the middle turnbuckle pad and threw it at Alexander, which allowed him to use it as a distraction so he could hit Alexander with a cheap shot. Lee sent Alexander into the exposed middle turnbuckle before he put an end to things with the running Meteora.
(A good match that showcased Wes Lee’s willingness to play dirty as part of his heel character and Alexander as the cagey veteran wanting to put the cocky youngster in his place. I enjoyed it.)
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– Tony D’Angelo was enjoying dinner as Shawn Spears and Brooks Jensen paid the North American Champion a visit. Spears said that D’Angelo built a hell of a Family since he won the North American Championship, before he told D’Angelo that he wanted Jensen challenge him for the NA Championship. Spears said that the only thing that will satisfy his “appetite” is D’Angelo’s championship before he left.
Outside, Spears and Jensen went in their car and spoke with a bearded man (Niko Vance from NXT Level Up), saying that what they did with D’Angelo was apparently how to “deal with the Don”.
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– Backstage, Kelani Jordan was interviewed about her Women’s North American Championship rematch later tonight. She said that it’d be on sight with Fallon Henley as Jazmyn Nyx & Jacy Jayne appeared to taunt Jordan about her chances tonight.
Trick Williams speaks
The NXT Champion entered to a massive ovation from the Performance Center crowd. Williams talked about how he was an Iron Survivor success story, but that wasn’t what he wanted to focus on. He wanted to talk about Ridge Holland pinning him last week in Philadelphia, and how it won’t end like that. Williams tried to call out Holland, but was interrupted by Andre Chase.
Chase said that he wasn’t done with Holland, as Williams praised him for his ability to bounce back and for doing everything on NXT… other than be NXT Champion. Before Williams could issue a challenge, Holland cut him off and got a chorus of boos.
Holland asked why Williams dared to call himself a champion for “ducking” him in favor of a guy he beat already. He bragged about making the ECW Arena fall silent last week when he pinned Williams as Chase challenged Holland for one more match. Holland rejected it, even when Chase put up his university up for grabs.
Williams says that he could see where this was going as he told Chase and Holland that he was going to go see Ava to have a match made for next week: Andre Chase vs. Ridge Holland with a NXT Championship match at Deadline on the line. Holland interjected by saying that he wanted Mr. Chase’s relationships with Thea Hail, Riley Osborne, and Duke Hudson gone if he won last night. Chase accepted thus wager and promised to give Holland a “Chase University-sized ass kicking”. Holland struck Chase with a cheapshot as Williams responded with an attack of his own on Holland.
Chase and Williams stomped on Holland for a bit, which sent him for a retreat.
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– We got remarks from Jaida Parker, who congratulated Sol Ruca for qualifying for Women’s Iron Survivor. She promised that she’d be the winner of that match at Deadline.
– Backstage, Josh Briggs was with Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Yoshiki Inamura and GM Ava. Eddy Thorpe walked right in and was informed that Ava placed him in an Iron Survivor qualifier match against an unknown opponent.
Nikkita Lyons defeated Adriana Rizzo
As the bell rung, Rizzo and Lyons went right at one another with an exchange of strikes. Rizzo had Lyons staggered in the corner with a dropkick as she went up top for a dive attempt. Lyons avoided it and caught Rizzo in a Master Lock submission before she slammed her down ot the mat. She maintained control of the match with another Master Lock on Rizzo, who struggled to eventually escape the hold. Rizzo roared back with repeated running elbows before she tried a suplex to no avail. Rizzo eventually took down Lyons with a running press for the near-fall.
Rizzo went up the middle turnbuckle and went for a diving splash, but Lyons caught her and hit her karate kick before she finished Rizzo off with the body press from the top rope.
After the match, Rizzo struck Lyons with the tire iron to the back.
(While this match wasn’t necessarily anything to write home about, I do appreciate NXT having women’s feuds that aren’t centered on championships, something that it holds over Raw and SmackDown in that regard.)
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– Backstage, Andre Chase was confronted by his students, who didn’t like the wager that was made earlier. Chase responded by saying that his University was built on risks and that next week would be the highest of highs for Chase U. Riley Osborne, Duke Hudson, and Thea Hail didn’t seem too hopeful for Chase’s chances next week.
– The “NXT Focus” showed a vignette on Zaria, who talked about how she was a destructive force and how she thrived on inciting chaos. She said that at Deadline, there would be no more mystery as to who she was.
Men’s Iron Survivor Qualifier: Je’von Evans defeated Lexis King
Things started off fast with Evans and King going back and forth with arm drags and acrobatic dodges. Evans leapt over King with a dodge as he went for a roll-up pin that was unsuccessful. Lots of pinfall attempts traded between Evans and King in this early stage of the match.
Evans leapt on the top rope for a springboard hurricanrana on King, which forced him into a retreat. That was followed up by a dive over the top ropes to the outside. Back in the ring, Evans tried to leap over King, but got hit with an inadvertent low blow by King’s noggin, which took us to another break in the action.
Back on NXT with King locking in a single leg crab on Evans for an all-too brief moment. Evans eventually bounced back figuratively with a kip-up cutter on King, as he followed that with a springboard splash for the incredibly-close two-count.
High-risk move by Evans was missed, which opened him for a superkick from King. Both men now in the middle of the ring as they traded strikes. Evans caught King with an impressive kick before once again heading up top for the frog splash. King kicked out and responded with a Michinoku Driver for another two-count.
King ran into a superkick from Evans, which led to his springboard spinning splash and the one, two, three to qualify for Iron Survivor.
After the match, King shook Evans’ hand in a show of sportsmanship.
(I quite enjoyed this match and how fast-paced it was. Je’von Evans in Iron Survivor could be one hell of a showcase for him and he’s already thrived in the spotlight given to him so far.)
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– NXT Tag Team Champions’ Nathan Frazer and Axiom were chatting backstage. Frazer revealed to his partner that he signed for an Iron Survivor Qualifier match of his own, seemingly without Axiom’s approval. After Frazer walked off, OTM and The D’Angelo Family faced off with one another as Axiom was frustrated at his partner striking out on his own.
– Dion Lennox & Ashante “Thee” Adonis chatted amongst themselves as Lexis King entered the locker room, frustrated about losing another match. Hank & Tank and Dante Chen gave King encouragement for his sportsmanship as Gallus rolled up and began bickering with Hank & Tank.
Women’s North American Championship: Fallon Henley (w/ Fatal Influence’s Jacy Jayne & Jazmyn Nyx) defeated Kelani Jordan
The match kicked off with Jordan and Henley caught in an extended lockup sequence that the referee eventually broke up. Jordan took down Henley with a springboard armdrag, but she missed with the dropkick, wich allowed Henley to take control of the match.
Jordan bounced back with a dropkick that sent Henley scurrying to the ringside area. The fight spilled in front of the commentary table as Jordan leapt on top of the commentary table and hit a standing moonsault on Henley, which led to the final commercial break of the evening with about 8 minutes of show left.
We returned to the main event as both Jordan and Henley took each other down with stereo armdrags to one another. A picture-in-picture popup briefly showed a couple of NXT tag teams brawling backstage with referees scurrying to break things up.
Jordan tried for her split-legged moonsault, but Henley blocked it and got a flip DDT on the challenger instead. Jordan trapped Henley on the top rope and ascended for an avalanche Spanish Fly. 1, 2…. NO~! Henley avoided a Phoenix Splash from Jordan and rolelder up for the close two-count.
Jordan caught Henley with a standing backdrop, as she then hit her split-legged moonsault. Jacy Jayne put Henley’s foot on the bottom rope as Jazmym Nyx attempted to run interference. The chaos broke out as Jayne caught Jordan with a cheapshot, which led to the Fame-asser from Henley and a successful Women’s North American Championship defence.
OTM rolled up to talk trash which led to the Family attacking them, with Gallus and Hank & Tank joining in for the wild brawl at ringside. Referees and security poured in to try and break up the fighting, but we end the night on the fight as the producer credits for Triple H, Lee Fitting, and Shawn Michaels close out the show.
(A fine enough main event that seemed to be hampered a bit by time constraints, but I still found it enjoyable. In fact, this show was a breeze to watch from start to finish and the build towards Deadline is looking quite fine.)