NXT Deadline 2023 was a professional wrestling event produced by WWE for their NXT brand. The event took place on December 9, 2023 at the Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The event was broadcast on Peacock in the United States and on the WWE Network internationally.
Production
Background
On December 10, 2022, NXT held the inaugural Deadline event, which replaced WarGames. Deadline featured the debut of the Iron Survivor Challenge, which saw five competitors attempt to score the most falls in 25 minutes. An Iron Survivor Challenge was held for both the men and women's divisions, with the winners earning an NXT Championship match or an NXT Women's Championship match.
On September 28, 2023, Shawn Michaels announced that the NXT Deadline event would return, taking place on December 9 at the Total Mortgage Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Storylines
On the December 5 episode of NXT, a match between Axiom and Nathan Frazer was cut short after it was interrupted by a brawl between the women involved in the Iron Survivor Challenge. It was announced that Axiom and Frazer would face off again on the Deadline pre-show.
Qualification matches for the women's Iron Survivor Challenge began on the November 7 episode of NXT, with Tiffany Stratton defeating Fallon Henley. Blair Davenport was the next woman to qualify after beating Thea Hail the following week. The next week, Lash Legend defeated Roxanne Perez before Kelani Jordan qualified after a victory over Kiana James on the November 28 episode of NXT. Henley took the fifth and final spot after winning a Last Chance Fatal Four Way Match against Hail, Perez, and James on the December 5 episode of NXT.
On the November 7 episode of NXT, qualification matches for the men's Iron Survivor Challenge began, with Dijak defeating Tyler Bate to become the first entrant. The following week, Trick Williams qualified next following a victory over Joe Coffey. The next week, Josh Briggs defeated Carmelo Hayes to qualify. Bron Breakker became the fourth man to qualify after defeating Eddy Thorpe on the November 28 episode of NXT. The following week, Bate defeated Coffey, Hayes, and Thorpe in a Last Chance Fatal Four Way Match to secure the final spot at Deadline.
On the July 18 episode of NXT, Wes Lee lost the North American Championship to The Judgment Day's Dominik Mysterio due to interference from Mysterio's stablemates. At the The Great American Bash, Lee failed to regain the title. On the September 12 episode of NXT, having failed to earn an NXT Championship opportunity, Lee was shown packing his bags before later explaining that he was going home. At Halloween Havoc Night 2, Lee made his return, attacking Mysterio after a title defence. On the November 28 episode of NXT, Lee defeated former North American champions Bronson Reed, Johnny Gargano, and Cameron Grimes in a Fatal Four Way Match to earn a title opportunity against Mysterio at Deadline. However, it was revealed the following week that Lee was not medically cleared to compete at Deadline. Instead, Dragon Lee would take his place, with Rey Mysterio in his corner.
On the October 17 episode of NXT, Trick Williams was added to a scheduled Triple Threat Match to determine who would challenge for the NXT Championship, making it a Fatal Four Way Match. This would create tension between Williams and his friend Carmelo Hayes. However, Williams would not compete in the match after he was attacked backstage and subsequently taken to a hospital. Hayes would go on to win the match, earning an opportunity against NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov at Halloween Havoc Night 2. At the event, Williams made his return, distracting Hayes and costing him his match against Dragunov. On the November 7 episode of NXT, Williams would question whether Hayes had attacked him, only to be interrupted by Lexis King. Williams would then inadvertently hit Hayes after King dodged him. On the November 21 episode of NXT, King prevented Hayes from winning his Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying match. Two weeks later, Hayes would challenge King to a match at Deadline, which was confirmed.
At Halloween Havoc Night 1, Roxanne Perez emerged victorious over Kiana James in a Devil's Playground Match. On the November 7 episode of NXT, James and Tiffany Stratton both agreed that Perez should not compete in the Iron Survivor Challenge. As a result, James prevented Perez from winning her qualification match against Lash Legend on the following episode of NXT. However, on the November 28 episode of NXT, Perez returned the favour by costing James her qualification match. The following week, after a confrontation between Perez and James, it was announced that they would face off in a Steel Cage Match at Deadline.
At Halloween Havoc Night 2, following his successful defence against Carmelo Hayes, NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov was attacked by Baron Corbin. On the November 14 episode of NXT, Corbin defeated Wes Lee. After, Dragunov would seek revenge, attacking Corbin. Dragunov subsequently declared that he would defend his championship against Corbin at Deadline.
Match Preview
| Nathan Frazer vs. Axiom | Preview |
| Women's Iron Survivor Challenge | Preview |
| Men's Iron Survivor Challenge | Preview |
| Lexis King vs. Carmelo Hayes | Preview |
| Roxanne Perez vs. Kiana James | Preview |
| Dominik Mysterio vs. Dragon Lee | Preview |
| Ilja Dragunov vs. Baron Corbin | Preview |
Results
- Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.
- (c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.
- Pre-Show: Axiom defeated Nathan Frazer (10:49)
- Dragon Lee defeated Dominik Mysterio (c) to win the NXT North American Championship (10:34)
- Blair Davenport [3] defeated Tiffany Stratton [1] and Lash Legend [2] and Kelani Jordan [0] and Fallon Henley [1] in an Iron Survivor Challenge Match (25:00)
- Carmelo Hayes defeated Lexis King (11:13)
- Trick Williams [4] defeated Dijak [3] and Josh Briggs [2] and Bron Breakker [3] and Tyler Bate [3] in an Iron Survivor Challenge Match (25:00)
- Kiana James defeated Roxanne Perez in a Steel Cage match (11:27)
- Ilja Dragunov (c) defeated Baron Corbin to retain the NXT Championship (20:53)
Other on-screen talent
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See also
External links
NXT Deadline 2023 Official Website
NXT Deadline 2023 Kickoff at CAGEMATCH.net- NXT Deadline 2023 at CAGEMATCH.net
| 2023 NXT Premium Live Events |
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Vengeance Day • Stand & Deliver • NXT Battleground • The Great American Bash • NXT No Mercy • NXT Deadline |