411’s WWE NXT Deadline 2025 Preview

Hello folx and welcome to 411’s NXT Deadline 2025 Preview! We are at the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas, for the fourth annual Deadline!

The Iron Survivor Challenge is a weird mash-up of a Scramble match, a King of the Mountain match, and stealing the timed entrances from the Royal Rumble or the Elimination Chamber.

The match starts with two wrestlers in the ring, then every five minutes, another wrestler enters. Wrestlers gain a point every time they pin or submit another wrestler, or are the victim of a disqualification.

If you are pinned, submitted, or disqualified, you enter a penalty box for 90 seconds. The winner is the wrestler with the most points at the end of 25 minutes.

Tonight, we will have both the men’s and women’s Iron Survivor Challenges, with the winners getting a shot at the NXT and NXT Women’s Championships at New Year’s Evil. Mr. Iguana will try and beat Ethan Page for the NXT North American Championship. Tatum Paxley is out for revenge as she takes on her former friend, Izzi Dame. And Oba Femi has returned to try and get his NXT Championship back from Ricky Saints!

NXT North American Championship
Mr. Iguana vs Ethan Page

Image Credit: WWE

A last-minute addition to the card, Ava set this up because Page hadn’t defended the title since Halloween Havoc. Page and Chelsea Green recently beat La Hiedra and Mr. Iguana for the AAA Mixed Tag Team Championships. So, Iguana is out for some revenge.

I’m guessing we will see an appearance from El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. because Page will be challenging him for the AAA Latin American Championship at the end of the month.

I don’t think the winner is in any doubt here; Page isn’t about to drop the title, and I might be leaning toward him winning the Latin American Championship as well. Page as a triple champion, and the champion of both North and Latin America, would make for some amazing promos!

Regardless of the obvious winner, the match itself should be fun. Iguana will bring his normal comedy stylings, which Page should be able to play off of well. Page has also shown that he has the in-ring chops.

Winner and still NXT North American Champion: Ethan Page

Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge
Je’Von Evans vs Leon Slater vs Joe Hendry
vs Dion Lennox vs Myles Borne

Image Credit: WWE

I’m always torn on the penalty box gimmick. When it works, it can be fun, but I believe wrestling is more effective when it’s kept simple. The staggered entrances, the point system, and the penalty box can just be a lot.

That being said, with the talent in this match, it should still be a good match regardless of the stipulation. I’m a bit torn on the winner. Evans would normally be my pick, but since Hendry is in the match, that throws a wrench into things.

I can also see DarkState getting involved to try and help Lennox. Slater should get a good showing, but I doubt he is winning. I can say the same for Borne. I think he will have a good showing, but he isn’t quite at the place to be the one to win the match.

So, again, this comes down to Evans or Hendry. Evans has had a lot of chances over the last year and keeps coming up short. If he wins this, they need to finally pull the trigger on him being NXT Champion. Hendry is riding the wave of momentum from his TNA run, so I can see him winning this and losing at New Year’s Evil won’t hurt him that badly. So, I’m going with Hendry to be the Iron Survivor.

Winner and the 2025 Men’s Iron Survivor: Joe Hendry

Tatum Paxley vs Izzi Dame

Image Credit: WWE

While I don’t like them hotshotting the title from Jane to Paxley and back to Jane. It served the story of Dame showing her true colors. She was never Paxley’s friend and just manipulated her for her own purposes.

This feud will hopefully push Paxley further to the top of the women’s division in NXT. She is good in the ring, decent on the mic, and her character work has been amazing. The fans are behind her, and she just needs something to sink her teeth into.

Dame will probably pick up the win here, because it’s just the beginning of the feud. The Culling will most likely be involved in the ending, helping Dame pick up the win. I could also see a post-match beatdown on Paxley. Only for Lyra to show up for the save, setting up a future match.

Winner: Izzi Dame

Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge
Sol Ruca vs Lola Vice vs Kelani Jordan vs
Jordynne Grace vs Kendal Grey

Image Credit: WWE

Much like the men’s Iron Survivor, I see two most likely winners, a dark horse, and the other two to put on a good showing, but are a lot less likely to win.

First, the most likely winners. Sol Ruca had to vacate her Speed title and lost her North American Championship without even being in the match. A win here would put her in an even better place, getting a shot at the NXT Women’s Championship.

Honestly, Jordynne Grace may need the win more. Like Evans, she has constantly come up short. And unless they are going to finally call her up at the Rumble. A win here and finally getting a Women’s championship run would do her good.

Lola Vice would be the dark horse here. She has been getting featured regularly in AAA, and adding the NXT Women’s Championship would help her raise her stock. I’m curious if they are building Vice up to finally beat Flammer, though.

Jordan is coming off a short TNA Knockouts Championship run, but I think she will be better served playing spoiler to Grace. And that leaves us with the current Evolve Women’s Champion. Again, I think she will get a good showing here, but I don’t think it’s her time just yet.

With Jordan and Grace having issues, I think Jordan will find a way to keep Grace from winning. That will further their feud and help Grace by giving her an excuse for losing. I can also see Zaria turning on Ruca tonight, to pay off the tension that has been boiling between them.

Lola Vice is going to be my pick to win this. And like I said, this will help raise her stock in AAA, and if she beats Jayne, then even better.

Winner and the 2025 Women’s Iron Survivor: Lola Vice

NXT Championship
Oba Femi vs Ricky Saints

Image Credit: WWE

I think many of us were expecting Femi to be main roster-bound already. But he has come back for a rematch with Saints. Ricky has done a decent job as the NXT Champion so far. He has the charisma to carry any feud, and his in-ring work is pretty good as well. I think the outcome of this match depends on who is getting called up.

Femi is more than ready for the main roster. Have him debut in the middle of the Rumble, that way he can have the clearing out the ring spot. They can make him look even more like a beast by having it take three guys to finally eliminate him. And then he can easily slot into either the Intercontinental or United States Championship scenes.

Saints is doing great, and a call-up in 2026 is in the cards, but I’d keep him in NXT a bit longer. I can see him beating Hendry at New Year’s Evil, and then losing the belt to Evans in the Spring. That would put him in a prime spot to come up in the Summer.

Speaking of call-ups, with Williams, Saints, Femi, and Page all ready for call-ups, it’s good they’ve been building up more talent. Evans is ready to be champion, Hendry is already over, Page can always move back up the card, and guys like Lennox, Borne, and Sugars are getting there as well.

With all that said, I think it’s clear I’m choosing Ricky Saints for the win tonight. Femi can recover easily with a strong Rumble showing, and Saints needs a longer run to really establish himself.

Winner and still NXT Champion: Ricky Saints