BRM Reviews NXT Deadl1ne

[Big Red Machine]

NXT Deadl1ne (12/10/2022)- Orlando, FL

I don’t know why there is a 1 in place of the “I” in stylized logo for this show, but I do know that the person who suggested it and everyone who approved it should be flogged.

#1 CONTENDRSHIP IRON SURVIVOR CHALLENGE: Roxanne Perez vs. Zoey Stark vs. Indi Hartwell vs. Cora Jade vs. Kiana James- 7/10
This match starts with two wrestlers and has staggered entries every five minutes. You score a point by getting a fall by either pinfall, submission, or DQ. If you lose a fall, you get sent to a penalty box for ninety seconds. The person with the most points after twenty-five minutes wins.
Okay…
This was a fun sprint, and they used the stipulation to create an exciting and rather unique finishing sequence. Roxanne wound up getting the win, but in a way that will surely leave Cora Jade complaining.

About three minutes into this match, I remembered just how much I hated Booker T’s commentary. It’s not just the dumb sh*t he says, it’s the fact that he seems to keep talking, and at a pointlessly loud volume. I should not be debating whether my experience would be more pleasant if I keep listening to you or if I mute the show and subject my self to the full bore of the screaming children in the apartment next door.

MCKENZIE MITCHELL INTERVIEWS IVY NILE AND TATUM PAXLEY- painful
McKenzie appears to be wearing a dress that was originally the base of “sexy angel” Halloween costume she bought.
Ivy says that the Creed Brothers match against Indus Sher won’t happen because one of them isn’t cleared. She says that she knows she isn’t their favorite person right now, but she is just looking out for them. I must be missing something here. Did he cheat on a physical and she tattled on him? Because otherwise, how would said Creed not being cleared to compete be her fault?
Anyway, Tatum cut a nice promo little promo about what a nice person Ivy is under her tough exterior. This seems like a nice little love-story NXT has going on.
They were interrupted by Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. Oh my G-d that name is so bad. The only way that name is acceptable is if her gimmick is that she’s a B-movie action here, like Johnny Mundo in Lucha Underground. What followed was possibly the single most painfully scripted interaction I have seen on a wrestling show, and think of the ground that covers.

Also… oh my G-d these names. Was the trade-off that we get Triple H back running NXT, but in exchange we get the return of the brain trust that was naming people in the late 2000’s?

ISLA DAWN vs. ALBA FYRE- 6. 5/10
These two were having a very fun brawl until Fyre had things won but the referee couldn’t count because he started drooling ink due to magical poison or some such bullsh*t. Other referees came to check on him, which allowed Ilsa to run Fyre into an exposed turnbuckle for the win. Why must we continue with this sh*t?

MCKENZIE MITCHELL INTERVIEWS NEW DAY- meh
They build up what winning the NXT Tag Team Titles would mean to them… and I just don’t buy it. It feels like someone made up a term to create a reason for why New Day want belts that are beneath them.

NXT TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Pretty Deadly(c) vs. New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods)- 7/10
This was a great match, but I really don’t like the booking here. What does having NXT’s tag belts do for New Day? A win for Pretty Deadly could have elevated them, but instead WWE chose to make them- and, by extension, everyone in the division look like lesser stars because the best team in the division couldn’t even beat New Day via cheating.

TEAM KC RUN INTO PEOPLE BACKSTAGE- terrible
They first ran into Edris Enofe, Malik Blade, and Odessey Jones. Odessey Jones built up his match for Tuesday. Then they ran into Toxic Attraction, and we got more terrible dialogue. Toxic Attraction claimed Team KC were ducking them. They also made fun of Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley… who just happened to be in the area, and assaulted them from behind like cowards. Enofe, Blade, and Jones ran back to break it up. Team KC just stood there like asshole, not trying to help at all.

#1 CONTENDRSHIP IRON SURVIVOR CHALLENGE: Joe Gacy vs. JD McDonagh vs. Carmela Hayes vs. Axiom vs. Grayson Waller- 8.75/10
Axiom and McDonagh started off having a good little grudge match segment. Hayes came in next and they had a great three-way segment for about two and a half minutes before Hayes pinned Axiom.
Everyone was down when Grayson Waller came in. McDonagh and Axiom got up and ate a double-cutter, and Waller pinned them both, one after the other. When it was time for them to get out of the penalty box McDonagh (who had a few seconds left) grabbed Axiom to try to keep him in, so Axiom turned around and slugged him… and then closed the door and just kept pounding on McDonagh. He eventually jumped on McDonagh’s back and ran his face into the plexiglass, then slammed the door in his face… and the Waller ran over ad shoved Axiom into the plexiglass.
They continued on for a bit with several different stories. In addition to the Axiom’s hatred of McDonagh getting in his way, we had Waller being an opportunist, Waller’s showboating costing him, and Gacy being a wrecking ball that the others had to team up to defeat. They took all of that and combined it with a wonderfully frenetic pace that enhanced the scramble of a four-way tie as we headed to the home stretch and some little spots that made wonderful use of the gimmick, culminating in Waller’s mad dash to preserve a lead in the final seconds, running away from Hayes, pulling a fallen McDonagh out of the ring so he couldn’t be pinned, etc.

MCKENZIE MITCHELL INTERVIEWS DREW GULAK- very good
He is back in NXT because he doesn’t feel that he was living up to his full potential on the main roster. He is looking for people who can help him, and who he can help in return. Damon Kemp came up to him and suggested that Gulak watch him defeat Duke Hudson on Tuesday.

NXT TITLE MATCH: Bron Breakker(c) vs. Apollo Crews- 7.25/10
This was a passable TV main. Breakker is good, but doesn’t stand out to me in any way. The real highlight of the match to me was Crews’ leaping knee.

POST-MATCH SEGMENT- fine
Grayson Waller attacked Breakker after the match.


This was a fun little show from NXT, with the men’s Iron Survivor Challenge being a real highlight. That being said, being the terrible backstage segments, the goofy names, and odd booking, I don’t think I’ll be tuning in again unless I hear a show was really great. Still, I must give them credit: I was skeptical about the Iron Survivor Challenge gimmick, but NXT proved that my skepticism was unjustified in both matches.