WWE NXT Deadline 2023 12/9/2023

WWE NXT Deadline 2023 12/9/2023

Shawn Michaels comes out to talk. He welcomes us to the show and asks if we are ready. CM Punk then comes out. Punk asks if he wants to tell everyone to come suck it. Shawn tells him his pink Bret Hart hoodie is nice and says it hurts. Punk said they made up and it's all about healing. Punk said people backstage come up to him, say they grew up watching him and take photos with him. Punk said he now gets to do that to him.

Punk said he missed his flight and then speculates whether he will be a Raw, SD or NXT star and the segment ends.

This was a weird and short segment that didn't work at all.

NXT North American Title - Dominik Mysterio (c) vs Dragon Lee

Rey Mysterio is on commentary. Lee flying headscissors him then tope con hilos him. Lee slingshot flips into a hurricanrana. Lee hits combinacion cabron then fujiwara armbars him. Lee hits punches, tries to go up and over in the corner, but ends up getting crotched. Dom ddt's him on the apron but Lee misses the apron and rolls to the floor.

Lee is thrown hard into the buckles then Dom chinlocks him. Dom throws his shirt down on him then stomps him. Dom does Eddie Guerrero taunts and slingshot swantons him. Dom hits three amigos. Lee puts him in tree of woe on the outside then top rope double stomps him down. Lee flying forearms him then superkicks him while he is upside down in the corner. Lee corner dropkicks him.

Lee does another top rope double stomp in the tree of woe position. Lee takes a nice bump off a dropkick. Dom takes a rebound german and a pumping knee. Dom rolls out of a powerbomb and hits his own for 2. Lee is catapulted into the 2nd rope and Dom misses a 619. Lee sitout powerbombs him for 2. Lee hits destino and wins it.

I didn't think it was that great. It was just your standard flippy match and wasn't particularly impressive. 

Women's Iron Survivor Challenge Match - Blair Davenport vs Fallon Henley vs Kelani Jordan vs Lash Legend vs Tiffany Stratton

Blair Davenport and Fallon Henley start us off. Bean takes her down then takes a side headlock takeover. They trade pin attempts and Fallon does a leg takedown. Blair running kicks her then sliding kicks her for 2. Fallon is thrown hard into the buckles then takes a back elbow. Blair pulls both of Fallon's arms back. Fallon rolls through and upkicks her. Fallon then kicks her in the back of the head and slides out for a punch.

Tiffany Stratton is next out. Fallon tells to bring it on. Tiff does too. Fallon goes out after her and is blindsided by Blair as Tiff calls her a loser. Fallon is then sent into the rails and has her head banged off the apron. Fallon is double teamed in the corner and pulls the heels into each other. Fallon goes over Blair but runs right into a lariat.

Fallon takes a double fujiwara armbar then takes corner moves. Blair goes to charge in on her and Tiff superkicks her. Tiff handspring backflip back elbows both opponents. Tiff snapmares her then cartwheels on her into an alabama slam. Blair throws Tiff out and picks up a pin on Fallon. Blair is in the lead with 1 point and Fallon goes to the penalty box for 90 seconds.

Kelani Jordan is next in. She has new red and black gear. She cartwheel double back elbows both opponents then double dropkicks them. KJ overdrives Tiff for 2. KJ slingshot dropkicks Blair then arabian moonsaults her. KJ and Tiff trade shots. KJ gets her crossbody caught then she is pushed through the ropes onto Blair outside. Fallon gets back in the match and gets offense on Tiff.

KJ runs up the buckles and blockbusters Tiff, then slingblade facebusters her. Fallon shining wizards Tiff and pins her. Fallon and Blair are tied at 1 point a piece and Tiff goes to the penalty box for 90 seconds. KJ rolls up Fallon and they bridge up together. Fallon slaps her then armdrags her. Fallon armdrags KJ then Tiff gets back in the match. All 4 girls fight in the corner area. Tiff lariats Fallon as Blair and KJ fight on the buckles. Lash Legend then enters the match. Lash powerbombs Fallon and Tiff off the buckles together. Lash then double suplexes Flair and KJ. Lash then kips up and chokeslams Tiff. Lash powerbombs Fallon and puts Fallon on Tiff. She then pins both and picks up 2 points. Lash Legend is in the lead with 2 points with Blair and Fallon at 1 point each. Tiff and Fallon head to the penalty box. Blair gets on Lash's back for a sleeper then KJ gets on Blair's back for sleeper.

Blair is thrown out by Lash. KJ diving hurricanrana's Lash off the top then asai moonsaults her outside, going into the table backwards. Blair then nails KJ from behind. Meta-Four comes down and block Tiff and Fallon from getting out of the box. Fallon bangs Tiff's head off the box. Tiff then pushes Fallon off the top of the box through a table. Tiff then swantons Blair, Oro and Dar off the top of the penalty box.

Lash hits pslashes on Tiff and Blair then KJ goes for a hurricanrana on Lash. Lash catches her and swings her into opponents. Tiff double stomps Lash as KJ tries to sunset flip her. Tiff then double stomps KJ. Fallon breaks up the count and they lariat each other. Blair then double stomps KJ's back off the buckles and pins her. Blair and Lash are at 2 points a piece and KJ goes to the penalty box for 90 seconds.

Lash carries Fallon and Blair at the same time and bangs their heads off the ropes. Tiff then dropkicks the three of them over. Lash elbow drops Tiff's back. We are 22 minutes and Kelani is back in the match. KJ spinning heel kicks Tiff. Fallon uses the ropes to casadora Lash, then is swung into a dropkick on two opponents.

Blair is lariated over the top and KJ dropkicks Fallon. KJ top rope crossbodies Lash for 2. Tiff does a Finlay roll on KJ then prettiest moonsault ever's Lash. Tiffany pins Lash and Lash has to go to the penalty box at around 23:20. This means she has no time left to grab a pin. The score is Lash and Blair at 2 points, Fallon and Tiff at 1 point and Kelani at 0 points.

KJ fireman's carry drops Blair then 450's Blair and Tiff together. Fallo single leg crabs Tiff then Blair sleepers her. Kelani then dragon sleepers Blair. Blair spider germans Kelani off the buckles. Blair knees Fallon in the face and pins her. Blair is now in the lead with 3 points. Lash chases her with just seconds left and Blair wins it with 3 points.

This was easily the best North American women's match of the year. There's no doubt about it either. Everyone looked good here and there were virtually no botches. We got some big spots and Lash had the best match of her career here. It went 25 minutes and they left you wanting another 25 minutes out of this. Kelani Jordan has come so far in just 6 months or so and Lash is noticeably starting to improve. The only thing I didn't like was Tiffany being the afterthought here.

Blair gets on the mic after. She said the clock is clicking for Lyra Valkyria. She said she will see her at New Year's Evil. Lyra then comes out and holds up her title. Cora Jade then hits Lyra from behind and holds up Lyra's title.

Melo and Trick work out in the back. Trick says he is locked in for tonight. Melo says the ICS is no joke and says Trick got this in the bag. Trick tells Melo to make sure he takes care of business tonight with Lexis King. Melo said he's not holding back on him and he will get his. 

Lexis King vs Carmelo Hayes

King could not look more fake and plastic right now facially. Melo headlock takeovers him. They collide with shoulders, King punches him then takes a big takedown. King is slingshotted in and Melo hits punches. Melo hurricanrana's him out of the corner, armdrags and dropkicks him. They fight outside and King misses a chop, hitting the post. Melo bangs King's hand off the apron then stomps it on the steps.

Melo flips over him and step up enzugiri's him. Melo jumps on the 2nd rope, is pushed over then takes a dropkick through the ropes. King kicks him in the back then Melo stomps his hand. Melo goes up to the 2nd rope is kicked then King does a springboard double stomp. King knees him in the gut then singe leg crabs him.

King backbreakers him then Melo twists in a backdrop for a pin attempt. King flips him with a lariat and offers him a handshake. He says to show everyone in the building the snake that he is. Melo shakes his hand and headbutts him in the gut. They fight up top and both roll down to the floor.

Melo rolls him up and hits lariats. Melo then springboard twisting lariats him. Melo hits a la mistica drop for 2. King jackhammers him for 2. King hits mounted shots and upkicks him. Melo hits a high kick, springboards and is hit. King backbreakers him, Melo no sells it and codebreakers him poorly. Melo hits nothing but net off the top and wins it.

It wasn't that good as expected. They had some sloppy moments near the end and King is just not a great worker yet. It felt like they had to rush things along a little here. This Melo/Trick/King storyline might work out in the end, but it's not helping Melo at all right now and is bringing him down. It didn't help King to lose in his first PLE match either.

King gets on the mic after. He says that was a hell of a match and said it wasn't him who attacked Trick. He said thanks for the PLE spotlight though.

We get a video package on Nikkita Lyons. She said patience isn't a virtue and patience sucks. She said she needs to be constantly moving. She said when she wants something, she goes and gets it. She said you better watch out for this lion's roar. She said she's a whole lotta woman who is ready to do a whole lotta whoopin'. She said they can bring the fight, but she's bringing the heat.

Tony D'Angelo gets a video package. He says being honest is a dangerous thing and he must be the most dangerous man in NXT. He said he backed up everything he said. He said we take business and family seriously. He said it's time NXT runs on his watch and says it's time for him and Stacks to take over.

Cora Jade is interviewed. She said she knows the girls are shocked to see her back. She said she gave them 4 months off and has returned. She said she is taking this place to a whole new level. She said if you want to know her next move, see her Tuesday.

Trick and Melo talk in the back. Trick says he owes him an apology. Melo says it's all good. Trick said he whopped his @ss tonight. Trick says it's his time and Melo says to whoop that trick tonight.

Iron Survivor Challenge Match - Tyler Bate vs Bron Breakker vs Josh Briggs vs Dijak vs Trick Williams 

Dijak and Briggs start us off. Briggs is in new gear and rolls him up. Dijak flips out of a hiptoss then Brigs does the same. They shoulder battle and Briggs flying headscissors him. Briggs running face kicks him then hits a nice running shoulder. Dijak suplexes him then throws him on a suplex. Dijak sitout chokeslams him for 2. Dijak spins into Briggs' boot for 2. Briggs takes a GTH and is pinned. Dijak is in the lead with 1 point as Briggs heads to the penalty box.

Tyler Bate gets in. Bate hits euros then 2nd rope euros him. Bate exploders Dijak into the buckles for 2. Briggs gets back in as Bate airplane spins Dijak. Briggs boots Dijak in the airplane spin and throws out Bate. Briggs flips Dijak with a lariat and pins him. Briggs and Dijak are tied with 1 point each in the lead. Dijak heads to the penalty box then Bate is sent into it. Bate jumps off the steps with a euro on Briggs.

Bate spingboard euros Briggs as he sits on the top rope. Bate flips out of a back body drop then Briggs splashes him. Dijak gets back in the match and Bate tiger drivers Briggs. Bate rolls up Dijak off the GTH attempt and pins him. Bate is now tied for the lead at 1 point a piece with Briggs and Dijak. Dijak then heads back to the penalty box.

Bate puts Briggs in a sleeper and the next person is about to get in. Trick Williams is the 4th entrant. Bate comes off the top onto him outside and is hit. Trick scissors kicks Briggs and Bate. Briggs ducks a flying clothesline and Bate gets it. Dijak catapults Briggs into Bate in the corner. Trick double back neckbreakers Briggs and Dijak. Trick pop up punches Bate. Dijak comes off the top and Tirck jumps off of Briggs' back to lariat him.

Bate airplane spins Trick then Trick airplane spins him. Bate torture rack airplane spins Trick then lets go and neckbreakers him off of it. Trick dropkicks Briggs out then Bate topes Briggs. Dijak takes an enzugiri and goes into the steps. Bate rebound lariats Trick then tiger drivers him. Bate pins Trick and is in the lead with 2 points. Trick goes to the penalty box.

Dijak and Bate trade shots. Bate is sent into the buckles. Bron Breakker is the final entrant in. Bron hits a big spear on Briggs and pins him. Briggs heads to the penalty box. Bron spears Bate and pins him to get to 2 points. Bate goes to the penalty box. Dijak comes off the top and gets speared. Bron pins Dijak and grabs his 3rd point, scoring 3 falls in 30 seconds. Dijak goes to the penalty box.

Trick and Bron square off and trade punches. Trick dropkicks Bron then Bron high speed lariats him. Bron puts Trick in the steiner recliner and the 3 guys in the penalty box fight. All 3 penalty box guys end up getting out. Trick uranage's Bron and Bron rolls out. Trick top rope crossbodies all opponents outside. Dijak spinning face kicks Trick and pins him. Dijak now has 2 points and Trick goes to the penalty box.

Bate is thrown into the buckles. Bron walks up the buckles and hurricanrana's Dijak into a Bate sitout powerbomb. Bate pins Dijak and is now tied for the lead with Bron at 3 points. Dijak heads to the penalty box again. Bron is mad at Bate for stealing the pin. Bron gorilla press gutbusters Bate. Trick gets out of the box and Bron moonsault slams Bate off the 2nd rope.

5 minutes to go in this. Bate takes a double chokeslam from Briggs and Dijak. Briggs throws Trick into Dijak's lariat, then Bron is thrown into Briggs' lariat. Briggs and Dijak do stereo moonsaults to Bron and Trick. They pin both. Briggs is now at 2 points and Dijak is at 3 points (tied for the lead with Bate and Bron).

Dijak and Briggs trade forearms. Bate rebound lariats both. Bate springboard 720 ddt's Dijak. Bate dives on Dijak then Briggs throws Dijak into the ropes outside and lariats him. Briggs comes off the top and is superkicked by Dijak. Dijak and Briggs face kick each other at the same time. Trick and Bron get out of the penalty box. Bron throws him into the post then spears him through the rail. Dijak chokeslams Bron through a table.

Trick rolls up Briggs to get his first point. Dijak hits a GTH on Trick and Eddy Thorpe comes down. He pulls the ref out to prevent Dijak from getting the pin and the 4th point. Eddy nails Dijak. Dijak's head is banged off the buckle and Trick rolls up Dijak. Trick pins Dijak for his 2nd point. Bate spiral taps Trick off the top. Trick rolls up Bate and pins him for his 3rd point. Trick is now tied for the lead - a 4 way tie. Trick flying pumping knees Bron and pins him. Trick wins the ICS with 4 points.

This was good. Very fast paced, lots of pins and the finish was exciting. They maybe had too many people take falls here but there were so many of them that it didn't matter as much. Bron's entrance where he grabbed 3 falls was cool and I liked the stereo moonsault spot. I thought they could have done another big spot or two here. This was a big success just like the women's match was and I really enjoyed it.

Rey Mysterio gives Dragon Lee the North American title in back. Jensen and Fallon console Briggs in the back. Briggs says it wasn't his night. Noam Dar goes up to them and mocks them with Meta-Four. They all end up fighting with Fallon hitting Oro. Refs then try to break it up.

We see Kiana James leaving WWE headquarters with a car waiting for her.

We get a video on the Roxanne Perez vs Kiana James feud. Perez says she's jealous of her since hse won the Breakout Tournament and she didn't. Kiana says she's tired of everyone giving Perez all the credit and praise all the time. Kiana said Perez has been the golden child since she first got here and said she never got credit for capturing the tag titles. Kiana said its time she gets respect put on her name. Perez said Kiana came after her due to jealousy many times and says she is done with her. Kiana said she built her rep on deadlines and will build her career on one. Perez says it's a bad choice to underestimate her. Kiana says we will see how edge Perez is and Perez says she will end her. This was a good package detailing their history together.

Cage Match - Kiana James vs Roxanne Perez

Kiana arrives in her SUV with a fur coat and purse. She takes off her fur coat before entering the arena it seems. Kiana brings her purse in and tries to hit Perez with it. KJ bangs RP's head off the buckles. RP's head is banged off the middle rope. RP catapults her into the cage, but KJ blocks it. KJ goes to climb the cage and RP slips when knocking her off.

RP jumps off the ropes onto her and is slammed into the cage. KJ stomps her hand into the cage. Kiana backflips then spears her into the cage. Kiana camel clutches her. RP hits shots then is spinebustered for 2. RP 2nd rope Thesz presses her and hits shots. RP then throws her into the cage.

RP russian legsweeps her then running euros the back of her neck. RP climbs the cage and goes up top. KJ fights her up there. RP knocks her off the top then is pushed into the cage. KJ bottom rope powerbombs her for 2. KJ rams her into the cage then takes a pop rocks out of the powerbomb position. KJ goes to escape the cage through the door (even though that's not the way to win). RP pulls her in and KJ grabs a chair. RP dodges a chair shot and spin kicks her in the gut.

RP goes to close the cage door then Izzi Dame pushes the door into her. KJ grabs the chair and hits her in the back with it. KJ then does a codebreaker with a chair to the face and wins it.

I wasn't a fan of it. The crowd was worn out from the ICS and didn't care. The match was short. It's a WWE match so they couldn't bleed. The finish was lousy. Izzi hasn't been featured much so most people don't know her and her affiliation with Kiana is a new thing that I think most people probably didn't notice. I was really disappointed by this as someone who was looking forward to the match.

We get the NXT Breakout Tournament video again. We then get a video on Corbin vs Ilja.

WWE NXT Title - Ilja Dragunov (c) vs Baron Corbin

Corbin enters in on a motorcycle. Corbin side headlock takeovers him. Ilja takes two more headlock takeovers then chops him. Corbin lariats him over the top. Ilja gets in and facekicks him, then lariats him over the top, going with him. They trade forearms on the floor and Ilja germans him on the floor.

Corbin bangs Ilja's head off the announcer's table then Corbin drops him body first onto the announcer's table. Corbin drops him over the middle rope chest first. Corbin hits a big knee to the body and they trade shots. Corbin drops him on the buckle face first. Ilja upkicks him.

Ilja is thrown into the buckles chest first. Ilja misses a top rope senton then Corbin 2nd rope lariats him. Corbin ddt's him then urange's him, saying "you want a hug? you got it". Corbin drops him on his knee. Ilja hits forearms then kicks him off a chokeslam attempt. Ilja running knees him. Ilja hits a top rope senton but Corbin gets his knees up. They trade slaps and forearms.

Ilja hits an overhand lariat in the corner then machine gun chops him. Ilja facewashes him then germans him for 2. They fight up top and Corbin top rope chokeslams him. Ilja death valley drivers him in the corner. Ilja runs at him and takes a deep six. Corbin death valley drivers him then brainbusters him for 2. They mess up a powerbomb spot and Ilja finally powerbombs him.

Ilja hits a coast to coast dropkick. Ilja ddt's him then pounds him into the mat with 3 falling forearms. Ilja hugs him and says something in his ear. Ilja hits a torpedo moscow and wins it.

Trick Williams comes out after and motions that he will be the champ. Carmelo Hayes follows him.

The crowd wasn't into the match and was likely burned out. It was always going to be hard for this one to compete with the various gimmick matches. The match also just wasn't that great. They just didn't make it feel like Corbin could win and Corbin's not the greatest worker ever. I thought it was long and borderlined on being boring.

Overall thoughts: The two ICS matches were all you needed to see here. They stole the show and burned out the crowd for the other matches. The women's match in particular was a major success. The women's cage match was short, disapppointing and had a lame finish. The main just wasn't that great. The N-A title match didn't impress and neither did Melo/King.