WWE NXT Deadline 2022 Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights

WWE NXT had been building to this moment Saturday. NXT Deadline was going to be a show unlike anyone has ever seen in WWE, particularly thanks to a brand-new match: the Iron Survivor Challenge.

Carmelo Hayes, JD McDonagh, Grayson Waller, Joe Gacy and Axiom faced off in the men's match, while Cora Jade, Zoey Stark, Roxanne Perez, Indi Hartwell dueled in the women's.

Only one man and woman came out with a title shot and an opportunity to challenge for either the NXT Championship or NXT Women's Championship.

While NXT women's champion Mandy Rose took the night off to watch her next challenge crowned, NXT champion Bron Breakker defended his gold against his toughest challenge, Apollo Crews.

The NXT Tag Team Championship was on the line as New Day came to NXT to challenge Pretty Deadly. Alba Fyre hoped to put Isla Dawn behind her in a grudge match.

This NXT premium live event needed to be a statement night, one that made everyone pay attention to the gold brand once again.

After a fast-moving 25 minutes, Roxanne Perez was the only woman left with two falls. Cora Jade, Zoey Stark and Indi Hartwell all had one, while Kiana James could not pick up a fall.

This was better than expected but not the outstanding match WWE probably wanted it to be. It was 25 minutes and felt like 10, which is a solid compliment. However, it lacked memorable moments.

The mad dash for pinfalls did not allow any moments to truly breathe. This format also does not help in making for a strong finish as it just ends with everyone trying to pick up a win late.

Perez winning was the best call. She has been the foundation of the NXT women's division, even without gold. She should dethrone Mandy Rose, likely at NXT New Year's Evil or Vengeance Day.

Result

Perez won the women's Iron Survivor Challenge with two pinfalls to become the No. 1 contender to the NXT Women's Championship.

Grade

B

Notable Moments

• Perez and Stark started and went back-and-forth with neither getting close to a fall.
• James took the third spot and nearly got a pin on Perez, but Stark broke it up.
• Stark got the first pinfall on Perez with her GTS variant finisher.
• Jade mocked Perez in the penalty box on her way to the ring as the fourth. The moment she got out of the penalty box, Perez attacked Jade and Stark.
• Jade rolled up James for a surprise pinfall to get her first point.
• Hartwell ran in with immediate fire and pinned Perez off a big boot.
• Perez finally got a fall off a roll-up on Stark.
• Perez pulled ahead with Pop Rox on Jade.
  

Alba Fyre hit Isla Dawn with a diving senton bomb, but the referee suddenly began choking on some kind of black ooze. In the chaos, Dawn sent Fyre into an exposed turnbuckle and then planted her with a standing elbow drop for the win.

Dawn looked solid in her first NXT premium live-event match, but this did not end up coming as truly worthy of the spot. In particular, the finish was deflating, taking away from the action without putting over either woman.

This will likely be the end of Fyre's run in NXT, or at least her time is winding down. If there is another match left between these two, Dawn will also win that one, so she may be best served escaping now and going to Raw and SmackDown with more momentum.

Result

Dawn def. Fyre by pinfall.

Grade

D+

Notable Moments

• Dawn caught Fyre with a diving double knee strike for near-fall. Fyre responded with a diving somersault plancha outside.
• Fyre planted Dawn with a Gory Bomb on the floor but could not get the pinfall.
• Dawn grabbed the leg of the first referee in the match and seemingly cursed him.
• Ivy Nile and Tatum Paxley talked about the unfortunate situation with The Creed Brothers until Kayden Carter and Katana Chance arrived to show their support. Later, Toxic Attraction confronted the tag champions until brawling with Nile and Paxley.
• Drew Gulak advised that he was in NXT to start fresh and find the success he craves. Damon Kemp told him to watch his match Tuesday night closely.
  

Pretty Deadly tried to use every trick in the book to survive New Day. However, Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods were one step ahead of them at every turn. With Kit Wilson knocked out at ringside, New Day hit Midnight Hour for the pinfall on Elton Prince.

Matches like this are completely unexpected in NXT. It helps when one of the teams is New Day, but Pretty Deadly meshed with Kofi and Woods perfectly. The fun flurry of spots may been enough to make the entire night worth watching.

It will be interesting to see what happens next. New Day vs. Pretty Deadly should happen again, but it deserves a major spotlight. In the meantime, New Day can have a run in NXT that keeps building NXT's best division.

If Pretty Deadly do not win the titles back soon, Wilson and Prince have proved they are ready for the main roster.

Result

New Day def. Pretty Deadly by pinfall to become the new NXT tag team champions (and WWE Triple Crown champions).

Grade

A+

Notable Moments

• Woods did the side-plate check to Wilson. Prince and Kofi got into a twerk-off during the match, and the former WWE champion absolutely won.
  
• Pretty Deadly finally took over the action by throwing Kofi into the corner steel post.
• Woods got the hot tag and took out both members of Pretty Deadly, ending it with a senton on Prince through the ropes that led right into a baseball slide to Wilson.
• Everyone did a mid-ring Eddie Guerrero with the NXT Tag Team Championship.
• Wilson caught Woods with an NXT Tag Team Championship belt for a nearfall. Kofi blocked Spilt Milk then took out Wilson outside with Trouble in Paradise.
  

Grayson Waller stole the pinfall from Carmelo Hayes off a diving axe kick on Axiom for a third pinfall. This put him ahead of Joe Gacy, Melo and Axiom, who had two each. JD McDonagh ended with no falls.

This was fantastic and the proof of concept WWE needed with the Iron Survivor Challenge. What made it work was the bevy of memorable moments. No one got lost in the shuffle, and the pacing was so fast that no one truly felt like they failed.

While The A Champion came in the favorite, Waller winning here made sense. He has always been the craftiest heel in NXT. He always finds a way, and he manipulated everyone to his advantage in order to steal a third fall right at the end.

If WWE wants to keep this as a yearly tradition, it will be important to have creative talent and a road agent that can help guide them to big spots. This could be a major win for WWE long term.

Result

Waller won the men's Iron Survivor Challenge with three pinfalls to become the new No. 1 contender to the NXT Championship.

Grade

A

Notable Moments

• McDonagh planted Axiom with a rolling clothesline and powerbomb for a near-fall in the first five minutes.
• After coming in third, Meko scored the first fall with a rebound cutter.
  
• Waller ran in with a double-cutter and got pins on both McDonagh and Axiom.
• After the time expired, Axiom closed the penalty box door and beat down McDonagh. Later, The Necessary Evil got his revenge by doing the same with Waller's help.
  
• Axiom caught a gloating Waller with a roll-up and then hit the Golden Ratio on McDonagh for a second pinfall in quick succession.
• Gacy got the final spot and locked Axiom in a LeBell Lock for a fall. Once Melo recovered, he laid him out with a handspring clothesline for a second fall.
• In desperation, The A Champion rolled Waller into a crossface to force a submission.
• McDonagh took out everyone with snap Olympic Slams, but everyone came back around to break up the pinfall. He found himself surrounded and was met with kicks.

Apollo Crews used everything in his arsenal to defeat Bron Breakker, but nothing worked. Finally, Breakker ended it with a spear to retain his title. Afterward, Waller took out Breakker with a running return cutter and kneeled over the champion with his NXT Championship.

This was honestly a letdown on a good night of NXT programming. Breakker vs. Crews never really got going. It was a flat main event that never sold that the NXT champion could lose.

Beyond a corny moment when Crews tapped into something deep within him, there was nothing to this. It came off a filler title defense for NXT television.

If Waller had been allowed to cash in his title shot that night, the show would have all came together, but having him simply lay out the champion made it all the clearer that the men's Iron Survivor Challenge should have main-evented.

Result

Breakker def. Crews by pinfall to retain the NXT Championship.

Grade

C

Notable Moments

• Breakker took out Crews outside with a somersault plancha but then dived into a knee from his challenger.
• The camera zoomed in on Crews' eyes as he tapped into something internal and began running over Breakker with three powerbombs and a frog splash.
• Breakker hit Crews with his own finisher for a near-fall and then the challenger did the same to the champion.