WWE NXT Deadline live results: Iron Survivor Challenge matches

The final WWE/NXT premium live event of 2023 takes place Saturday in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The second annual Deadline will have a men’s and women’s Iron Survivor Challenge match that will determine the next challengers for the NXT Championship and the NXT Women’s Championship. The men’s Iron Survivor Challenge match will have Dijak, Trick Williams, Josh Briggs, Bron Breakker, and Tyler Bate square off. Meanwhile, the women’s match will have Tiffany Stratton, Lash Legend, Blair Davenport, Kelani Jordan, and Fallon Henley compete.

Two title matches will also take place Saturday. Ilja Dragunov will defend the NXT Championship against Baron Corbin. Dominik Mysterio will face Dragon Lee, who is a last minute replacement for Wes Lee who is out of action with a back injury. Rey Mysterio will be in the corner of Dragon Lee.

Roxanne Perez will also face Kiana James in a steel cage match, while Carmelo Hayes will take on Lexis King. A kickoff match between Axiom and Nathan Frazer will take place on the Deadline pre-show. The pre-show starts at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

Kickoff match: Axiom defeated Nathan Frazer

Really good opening match, as expected between these two. A WWE version of a big moves match. Commentary kind of hinted during the match that Frazer could be turning soon and I wouldn’t be surprised if they are going in that direction.

Very good exchange between these two early in the match. Frazer gained control after laying out Axiom with a fist but Axiom came back with a counter and went for a nearfall. Frazer chopped Axiom in the corner but let Axiom walk it off. Frazer fired back with more chops then hit a snap suplex for two.

Axiom locked on an octopus stretch but Frazer escaped and locked in a cobra clutch, taking it to the floor. Axiom shifted his weight to pin Frazer but kicked out, then springboarded off the ropes and connected with a reverse DDT for a nearfall. Axiom hit a half nelson suplex then a penalty kick for another nearfall.

Frazer went for a small package but Axiom kicked out. Axiom put Frazer on the ropes, went to the top rope himself then hit a forearm, sending Frazer to the floor. Axiom then hit a giant moonsault off the turnbuckle, connecting with Frazer on the outside. Axiom went to climb on the turnbuckle, but Frazer met him and connected with a big superplex for another two count.

Frazer went for a phoenix splash but Axiom dodged it, only to get pelted with a superkick. Frazer jumped off the top rope but Axiom hit a superkick. Frazer then hit his own superkick. Frazer went to the top rope but Axiom met him there and hit a big spanish fly, following it with a superkick to score the win.

Shawn Michaels opened Deadline, coming to the ring. He welcomed us to the show, saying it was the final WWE premium live event of the year. 

CM Punk’s music then hit and he came to the ring wearing a Calgary Hitmen jersey. HBK brought it up and Punk said hey, you and Bret Hart made up and me and Triple H made up. They posed for a selfie. Punk brought up the question of where he may sign, whether it be Raw, SmackDown, or NXT. He had people chant his name as he hugged HBK, ending the segment.

Dragon Lee defeated Dominik Mysterio to win the NXT North American Championship

This ended up being a good match, though I have to say it was weird that for all the interference the Judgment Day do, they simply were not here for this match. Might have something to do with the last minute changes, but this was still a good back and forth match that people were into.

Announcers noted that the Judgment Day weren’t with Dominik for this match. Rey Mysterio seconded Dragon Lee to the ring, but was on commentary during the match.

Dragon Lee gained control early with a big tope con hilo to the floor, taking Mysterio out. He took down Mysterio with an armbar. Mysterio dropped him on the apron with a DDT to cut off Lee. Mysterio whipped him hard into the turnbuckle and posed as his father watched on commentary. Mysterio then hit a springboard senton for a near fall.

Mysterio sat down and locked on a sleeper, keeping Lee on the ground. He then went for the three amigos trilogy of suplexes.. Lee attempted to cut him off, but Mysterio went ahead and hit the third for a nearfall. Mysterio went to the top rope and tried to take Lee with him, but Lee cut him off and hit a stomp off the turnbuckle, sending Mysterio to the apron and the floor.

Lee came back with a running dropkick to the corner and put Mysterio on the turnbuckle, hitting another stomp, with Mysterio grabbing the bottom rope to stop the count. Mysterio cut off Lee with a running dropkick but Lee fired back with a German suplex and went for a powerbomb but Mysterio came back with a powerbomb of his own for a two count.

Mysterio missed a 619, walking into a liger bomb by Lee for a nearfall. Lee then connected with a standing sliced bread and pinned Mysterio.

Iron Survivor Challenge: Blair Davenport defeated Fallon Henley, Tiffany Stratton, Lash Legend, and Kelani Jordan

This was way better than I thought it would be, a really good match towards the end. Kelani Jordan definitely has something and I thought this was the best both Henley or Legend have looked in the ring thus far. 

Fallon Henley and Blair Davenport were the first two in the ring. The two traded pinfall attempts early. Davenport sent Henley into the turnbuckle as she gained control then worked on Henley’s back until Henley broke free, hitting a running dropkick to the back of Davenport’s head. At the five minute mark, Tiffany Stratton headed to the ring.

Stratton and Davenport worked together, gaining control over Henley and working on her arms. Stratton eventually laid out Davenport with a superkick, ending their alliance. Stratton hit a running springboard splash in the corner on both women. Stratton hit a springboard cartwheel into an Alabama Slam, but Davenport threw her out of the ring and covered Henley to score the first point of the match as Kelani Jordan came to the ring and ran wild.

Henley was put into the penalty box as Jordan controlled the match. She hit a springboard splash but Stratton pulled Jordan off of Davenport. Stratton threw Jordan through the middle rope to the floor where Davenport was standing. Henley was then freed as she ran wild on Stratton, hitting a shining wizard to score a point.

Henley attempted to pin Jordan as Stratton was put in the penalty box. Jordan bridged out of a fall and rolled up Henley for two. Stratton re-entered the match and attacked Henley as Davenport attacked Jordan.

Lash Legend entered the match at the fifteen minute mark, with Davenport and Henley earning one point each thus far. They did the tower of doom spot that is required in every WWE multiperson match ever. Legend chokeslammed Stratton then powerbombed Henley, covering both women. In the WWE universe, this means Legend scored two points, putting her in the lead. Both Fallon and Stratton were sent into the penalty box.

Jordan hit Legend with a hurricanrana then connected with a springboard moonsault to the floor. Davenport pushed Jordan to the floor as she started to set up the announcer’s table. Meta-Four came out and blocked the penalty box, trapping Henley and Stratton. Both tried to climb out of the box but Stratton pushed Henley off, sending her through the announcer’s table. Stratton then wiped out the rest of the women with a tope con hilo off the penalty box.

Legend recovered and started to cover people. Jordan went off the top, but Legend grabbed her and started using Jordan as a weapon. At one point, everyone went down as Davenport managed to pin Jordan, tying her with Legend for first place.

Jordan was put in the penalty box as Legend grabbed Henley and Davenport. Stratton attacked Legend as Jordan was freed. Jordan connected with a crossbody on Legend, but Stratton attacked Jordan and pinned Legend with the PME to score a point. Jordan hit a 450 on both Legend and Stratton but it was broken up by Davenport with sixty seconds to go. Davenport hit a running knee on Henley to score another point, putting her in the lead. Avoiding the rest of the women, she ran the clock to win the match.

Blair Davenport addressed Lyra Valkyria after the match, saying she was coming for her at New Year’s Evil. Valkyria came out and posed with the title, but was jumped from behind by the returning Cora Jade. Jade held the title then threw it at Valkyria as she made her exit.

Carmelo Hayes defeated Lexis King

This was fine. I think King, who took a big part of this match on offense, looked alright but there’s a high bar even for this era of NXT PLEs and this felt like a TV match more than anything. King still has a ways to go but he’s getting his persona down, so at least there’s that.

King has changed his look so much, he kind of looks like a combination of Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega. It’s kinda uncanny.

Hayes gained control early, taking King to the ground. Hayes worked over King’s right hand. King cut him off, sending Hayes to the floor and hitting a running dropkick to the outside. King dodged an enziguri attempt by Hayes and worked him over with a half crab. King then laid out Hayes with a backbreaker, then a second.

Hayes floated over with a crossbody for a nearfall, but King immediately laid him out for a lariat and told him to shake his hand. Hayes did, but then gave him the finger and started to chop King. King and Hayes ended up on the top rope as King hit a clothesline that sent both men to the floor.

Hayes started to make his comeback but King came back with a jackhammer for a nearfall. Hayes went for a springboard but King cut him off and hit a backbreaker. Hayes cut off King again then hit the nothing but net legdrop for the win.

After the match, King told Hayes that it wasn’t him who attacked Trick Williams, but thanked Hayes for the PLE spot. Hayes didn’t appear happy by that and teased returning to the ring before eventually walking away.

Cora Jade in a promo said the other women weren’t’ ready to welcome her back. Now that she’s back, she’s going to take this place to a whole new level. She told Kelly Kincaid she’d see her Tuesday.

They announced the Vengeance Day PLE for February 4 in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Trick Williams apologized to Hayes backstage. Hayes asked if they were good, and Williams said they were. Hayes told him to whoop that trick.

Iron Survivor Challenge: Trick Williams defeated Bron Breakker, Dijak, Josh Briggs, and Tyler Bate

This was another fast-paced, great back and forth match. These kind of matches feel so unlike the standard WWE match as everyone’s just hitting move after move. This was the better match but both Iron Survivor matches tonight were great.

Dijak and Josh Briggs were the first two in the ring. They did a big guy match, trading big guy spots until Dijak started to gain control. Dijack hit a chokeslam for a nearfall. Briggs attempted a chokeslam of his own but Dijak escaped. Dijak hit the feast your eyes on Briggs for the first point of the match as Tyler Bate entered as the third man.

Briggs was put into the penalty Box as Bate traded blows with Dijak. Bate hit an exploder into the turnbuckle and went for a airplane spin only for Briggs to break it up. Briggs hit a lariat on Dijak and covered him to earn a point. Briggs threw Bate into the penalty box but Bate cut him off and sent him back to the ring, where he connected with an uppercut off the middle rope. Briggs connected with a splash for another nearfall as Dijak is freed. Bate hit the Tyler Driver 97 but Dijak broke it up and went for the feast your eyes. Bate countered with a rollup however and scored a point for himself.

Bate went for a sleeper on Briggs as Trick Williams entered the match and ran wild. Dijak went to the middle rope but Williams used Briggs to launch himself and clothesline Dijak for a cool nearfall. Bate and Williams traded airplane spins, with Bate winning out and hitting his. Bate hit the Tyler Driver 97 on Williams and scored another pinfall, putting him in the lead with two points.

At the fifteen minute mark, Bron Breakker entered the ring and immediately hit a spear Briggs, Bate, and Dijak in that order to immediately put him in the lead with three points. Breakker and Williams went at it in the ring and Breakker managed to apply the Steiner Recliner. However, Williams escaped. As the other three men exited the penalty box fighting one another, Williams hit a big crossbody to the floor. Dijak and Williams entered the ring, with Dijak hitting a big boot to pin Williams. Dijak is now at two points.

Breakker hit a frankensteiner off the top rope, but Bate grabbed Dijak in midair and hit the Tyler Driver 97 to tie Breaker with three points.

With six minutes to go, Bate and Breakker are tied. Breakker hit a top rope crossbody but Briggs broke it up. Briggs and Dijak hit a double chokeslam on Bate and took out Williams and Breakker as they both went to the top rope and hit stereo moonsault. That makes it Briggs with 2 points, Williams with 0 points, and Bate, Breakker, and Dijak all tied at 3 points.

Both Dijak and Briggs tried to big boot Bate, but Bate ducked and Dijak and Briggs ended up hitting one another. Breakker speared Williams through the barricade on the outside, but Dijak chokeslammed Breakker through the announcers table with 90 seconds to go.

Williams somehow made it back, pinning Briggs for his first point. Dijak hit feast your eyes on Williams but Eddy Thorpe pulled the referee out of the ring. Williams used the distractions to earn his second point by pinning Dijak, then pinned Bate to earn three points. Williams then hit a running knee on Breakker to score a fourth point just in the nick of time, winning the Iron Survivor Challenge.

Briggs was upset about his loss backstage with Henley and Jensen when Noam Dar told him he should be hanging his head in shame. Henley pointed out that Legend lost the Iron Survivor Challenge too. They and the rest of Meta-Four ended up getting into a brawl.

Kiana James was seen leaving WWE’s new headquarters.

Steel Cage match: Kiana James defeated Roxanne Perez

This wasn’t anything particularly special, just a standard cage match. Both looked alright but there were far better matches on the show tonight than this. It also didn’t get a lot of time. The real story is probably Perez losing thanks to Izzi Dame, which likely continues their feud.

Perez and James traded blows before the bell even rang. James attempted to slingshot Perez into the cage but James escaped and attempted to climb out of the ring to no avail. James cut off Perez and stomped on her hand, which was wrapped inside the cage, then wore Perez down with a camel clutch, then took down Perez again with a spinebuster.

Roxanne made a comeback, throwing James head first into the cage then hitting a side russian leg sweep. Perez started to climb the cage but James cut her off and gave her a powerbomb off the middle rope. Perez came back by countering with pop rocks and getting a nearfall. James countered another pop rocks as she demanded the referee to open the cage. James grabbed a steel chair as Perez cut her off and grabbed the chair. She walked over to the door with the intention of climbing the cage, but Izzi Dame slammed the door on her face, allowing James to hit the dealbreaker with a steel chair for the win.

Dame raised James’ hand, clearly signaling an alliance between the two.

Ilja Dragunov defeated Baron Corbin to retain the NXT Championship

This ended up being a pretty good match. Dragunov always brings a level of intensity into his matches that usually make them very good. I think I’ve seen better matches from him this year, but this was still good stuff.

Corbin took Dragunov down early with a headlock, but Dragunov escaped. Corbin took him down with another. The two brawled around the ring, capping off when Corbin suplexed Dragunov stomach-first into the announcer’s table. The two made their way back to the ring where they traded offense until Corbin gave Dragunov the snake eyes into the turnbuckle.

Dragunov attempted to suplex Corbin but Corbin reversed into a DDT. He planted Dragunov with a uranage and applied a dragon sleeper. Corbin lifted up Dragunov and drove his knee into Dragunov’s stomach. Dragunov fired back with a running knee to Corbin and hit a senton. Both men traded blows until Dragunov slapped Corbin, sending both to the floor.

Dragunov scrapped his boot across Corbin’s face then planted him with a German suplex for a nearfall. Dragunov attempted a powerbomb but Corbin escaped. They met at the top rope, where Corbin chokeslammed Dragunov off the top rope. Corbin applied the dragon sleeper but Dragunov got out of it, taking down Corbin with a running drop into the turnbuckle. Corbin countered with the deep six and connected with a brainbuster for a nearfall. Cortibn went for the end of days. Dragunov countered and hit a jacknife powerbomb.

After hitting the coast to coast dropkick, Dragunov started to sell his ribs. He charged after Corbin, countered the end of days, and hit three h bombs. Corbin got up as Dragunov told him something, then connected with the torpedo Moscow for the win.

Trick Williams came out after the match and motioned for the title. Carmelo Hayes walked behind him as the show went off the air.