The 2024 Deadline (stylized as DEADL1NE) was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

livestreaming Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature of livestreaming differentiates it from other non- liv ...

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

produced by

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

. It was the third annual

NXT Deadline Deadline (stylized as DEADL1NE) is a professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Established in 2022, it is held annually in December for the promotion's developmental brand, ...

held for wrestlers from the promotion's

developmental brand In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

NXT. The event took place on Saturday, December 7, 2024, at the

Minneapolis Armory The Minneapolis Armory is a historic event center and former National Guard armory located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. Built by the Public Works Administration in 1936, the building was occupied by several Army and Naval Mi ...

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. The event is based around the Iron Survivor Challenge for men and women, a 25-minute five-person match in which a wrestler attempts to score the most falls in order to win and earn a match for the

NXT Championship The NXT Championship is a men's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE, defended as the top men's championship of NXT (WWE brand), NXT, the promotion's Farm team, de ...

and

NXT Women's Championship The NXT Women's Championship is a women's professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champion is Jacy Jayne, who is in her fi ...

, respectively, at ''NXT'': New Year's Evil. This was WWE's first livestreaming event in Minneapolis since TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in 2019. This was also WWE's last livestreaming event to air on the standalone

WWE Network WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television network owned by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, a division of TKO Group Holdings. The service relied on technology develo ...

in the vast majority of international markets, as its content moved over to

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

in January 2025. Five matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Giulia won the women's Iron Survivor Challenge, while

Oba Femi Isaac Odugbesan (born April 22, 1998) is a Nigerian professional wrestler and former shot putter. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Oba Femi and is the current NXT C ...

won the men's Iron Survivor Challenge in the opening bout. In other prominent matches,

Lola Vice Valerie Loureda (born July 19, 1998) is an American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. She is signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Lola Vice. As a mixed martial artist, she competed in the wo ...

defeated Jaida Parker in a NXT Underground match, and

Trick Williams Matrick Mondre Belton (born May 26, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on its NXT brand, under the ring name Trick Williams. He also makes appearances in WWE's partner promotion Total Nonstop Acti ...

defeated Ridge Holland to retain the

Production

Background

Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...

is an annual

event held in December by the American

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

for its

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

and

, respectively. On November 6, 2024, at ''NXT'' 2300, WWE announced that the third Deadline would be held on Saturday, December 7, 2024, at the

. This was the first WWE

event to be held in Minneapolis since TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in 2019. The event aired via WWE's livestreaming platforms,

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

in the United States and the

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

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 Deveon Everhart Aikens (born November 2, 1988) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT and Evolve brands under the ring name Wes Lee and is the leader of The High Ryze stable. He is a former one-t ...

and

Je'Von Evans Malachi Jeffers (born April 28, 2004) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Je'Von Evans on the NXT brand. He was previously known under the ring name Jay Malachi on the independent cir ...

defeated

Cedric Alexander Cedric Alexander Johnson (born August 16, 1989) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is performing on the independent circuit. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH). Alexander worked for ROH ...

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 Benjamin Timms (born 23 July 1998) is a British professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Nathan Frazer. He is a former one-time NXT Heritage Cup Champion and a two-time NXT Tag Te ...

defeated

Eddy Thorpe Karl Fredericks (born July 15, 1990) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in the WWE, where he performed under the ring name Eddy Thorpe. Fredericks is also known for his stint in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) ...

, while the second and third women's spots were earned by Stephanie Vaquer and

Zaria Zaria is a List of Nigerian cities by population, metropolitan city in Nigeria, located at present time within four local government areas in Kaduna State. It serves as the capital of the Zazzau Emirate Council and is one of the original sev ...

, defeating OTM's Jaida Parker and

No Quarter Catch Crew No Quarter Catch Crew (NQCC) is an American professional wrestling stable that performs in WWE on the NXT brand. The group currently consists of Charlie Dempsey, Tavion Heights, and Wren Sinclair. Dempsey is a former two-time NXT Heritage Cup ...

'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 Julian Micevski (born September 20, 1989), better known by his ring name Ethan Page, is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand, and is ...

defeating

Axiom An axiom, postulate, or assumption is a statement that is taken to be true, to serve as a premise or starting point for further reasoning and arguments. The word comes from the Ancient Greek word (), meaning 'that which is thought worthy or ...

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 The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

in the process. This led to an Ambulance match between Chase and Holland at

Halloween Havoc Halloween Havoc is a professional wrestling List of NWA/WCW closed-circuit events and pay-per-view events, event currently produced by WWE. Since 2020, it has been held annually for the company's WWE brand extension, developmental brand, NXT (WWE ...

, which Holland won. Later that night,

successfully defended the

against Ethan Page. After the match, Williams was viciously attacked by both Page and Holland until

WWE Hall of Famer The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously ...

Bubba Ray Dudley Mark LoMonaco (born July 14, 1971), known by his ring name Bubba Ray Dudley (also spelled Buh-Buh Ray Dudley), is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is best known for being ...

, 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. The following week, Williams called out Holland, but was interrupted by Chase, stating that he had unfinished business with Holland. After Holland came to the ring, Chase challenged Holland to a match, where if Chase loses, Chase University would be forced to disband. After initially refusing, Holland changed his mind and accepted after Williams added the stipulation that the winner would challenge him for the NXT Championship at Deadline. The match was then made official for the following week, which Holland won, forcing Chase University to disband and making the title match official for NXT Deadline. On the November 12 episode of ''NXT'', NXT General Manager Ava met with several NXT tag teams, stating that she wanted a team to challenge Nathan Frazer and Axiom for the

NXT Tag Team Championship The NXT Tag Team Championship is a men's Professional wrestling championship, professional wrestling tag team championship created and promoted by the United States, American professional wrestling promotion, promotion WWE. It is defended on NXT ...

. During subsequent episodes, various NXT tag teams brawled with each other, coming to a head on the November 26 episode, where Ava announced that on the following episode, a

battle royal Battle royal (, also battle royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules, where the winner is the one who registers the most wins. In recent times, the term has been ...

would be held, with the winning team earning a match for the NXT Tag Team Championship at NXT Deadline. The match was won by No Quarter Catch Crew (

Myles Borne David Bostian III (born May 25, 1999) is an American professional wrestler signed to WWE, where he performs under the ring name Myles Borne on the NXT brand. He is the only partially deaf wrestler to be employed by WWE. Early life Bostian ...

and Tavion Heights). Through September 2024, Jaida Parker and

had feuded with Fatal Influence (

Jacy Jayne Taylor Grado (born June 2, 1996) is an American professional wrestler. , she is signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand under the ring name Jacy Jayne, and is the current NXT Women's Champion in he ...

, Fallon Henley, and Jazmyn Nyx) while simultaneously feuding with each other. The two agreed to put their differences aside to team up against Jayne and Henley for ''NXT''s October 1 premiere on The CW, which they lost after Parker walked out on Vice. After a backstage brawl, NXT General Manager Ava announced that Parker and Vice would face each other in a

Hardcore match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a storyline. ...

at ''NXT'' 2300, with former ECW manager

Dawn Marie Dawn Marie Psaltis (born November 3, 1970) is an American nurse and retired professional wrestler, professional wrestling valet, and actress. She is perhaps best known for her appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and the SmackD ...

serving as the

special guest referee Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces M ...

. 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

, 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 Zaria 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 TNA may refer to: Organisations * Tamil National Alliance, a political coalition in Sri Lanka * The National Alliance, a political party in Kenya * The National Archives (United Kingdom), a UK public body * Tonga Nurses' Association, a trade union ...

crossover, but Femi fit the description of a "suitable replacement" for Eddy Thorpe". Kelly Wells of ''Pro Wrestling Torch'' called the men's Iron Survivor Challenge "very strong work", and the NXT Tag Team Championship match "a smartly-constructed match, as there were more than enough spots to make it seem like this is where it finally ends, all leading to another successful defense". The women's Iron Survivor Challenge made up for the men's "with impact and a lot of very strong technical wrestling, and the work was clean all the way through the significant runtime". Wells assumed that WWE "did a pretty decent job of holding off on Giulia's inevitable championship win as long as they could, building anticipation for the title win at ''NXT'': New Year's Evil and likely a showdown with Vaquer at Stand & Deliver a few months later". Wells concluded that Deadline "was a strong, enjoyable show with no fat that needed to be cut, and pieces are in place for the near future on weekly TV and beyond", and gave it "an easy thumbs up".

Results

Men's Iron Survivor Challenge statistics

*Entry Order: Je'Von Evans, Wes Lee, Nathan Frazer, Ethan Page, Oba Femi

Women's Iron Survivor Challenge statistics

*Entry Order: Giulia, Wren Sinclair, Sol Ruca, Zaria, Stephanie Vaquer

Notes

References

External links

* {{WWEPPV, NXT Deadline 2024 in professional wrestling 2024 WWE Network events WWE NXT Events in Minneapolis Professional wrestling in Minneapolis 2024 in Minnesota December 2024 in the United States