WWE NXT Review - December 3, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Wren Sinclar def. Cora Jade, Jaida Parker and Kelani Jordan in a Last Chance Fatal 4-Way Match to Qualify for the NXT Women's Championship No. 1 Contender's Iron Survivor Challenge Match at Deadline

I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who thought Sinclair was the least likely of these four to qualify for the women’s Iron Survivor Challenge, so I was as shocked as the crowd was when she won. All of these women are super skilled and worked well together here in what was a fun, fast-paced match. Jade going to management later on in the night and blaming her loss on Jordan means that they’ll be feuding going forward.

Jaida Parker Attacked Lola Vice

Parker went to the back after Vice cost her in the win in the opener and reemerged here to call out Vice and accept her NXT Underground challenge from last week. She showed awesome intensity and Vice also played her role really well. Ava then made that match official for Deadline. Parker standing tall to close the segment left me thinking Vice is winning on Saturday.

No Quarter Catch Crew (Myles Borne and Tavion Heights) Won an NXT Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tag Team Battle Royal

I know they're from TNA's tag team division and not NXT's, but it would've been cool to see The Rascalz compete in this thing since they earned an NXT Tag Team Championship opportunity a few months ago and never ended up getting it due to Trey Miguel having to undergo emergency surgery if I remember correctly. It was a standard Battle Royal and I personally couldn't care less about a majority of these teams, but the crowd was certainly into this, especially down the stretch. No Quarter Catch Crew will get their shot at Deadline on Saturday.

Eric Bischoff Apepared; Ridge Holland Attacked NXT Champion Trick Williams

Bischoff was supposed to serve as the mediator between these two, yet he didn’t really end up doing much beyond praising the product. In short, his appearance was completely pointless and clearly an attempt to pop a rating. The rest of the segment played out pretty predictably with Williams and Holland trading verbal jabs before Holland attacked Williams at ringside. Williams required (kayfabe) medical attention and insisted on facing Holland at Deadline, so they want you to think Holland has more of a chance of winning than he actually does.

Karmen Petrovic def. Nikkita Lyons

I’ve mentioned before how I don’t think Lyons has looked all that great since returning to the ring, but to  her credit, she had a fine showing here. This was perfectly passable, but it only existed to progress the storyline with Petrovic and Ashante Adonis. Despite Adonis’ interference backfiring, Petrovic still managed to score the win, which was a pleasant surprise. For the record, I couldn’t care less about the romance crap with Petrovic and Adonis.

Gigi Dolin def. Izzi Dame

Dame hasn't really caught on as a singles star since splitting away from Kiana James, so she was a fine person for Dolin to beat in her first bout back. This was perfectly passable while it lasted, obviously with the correct outcome. Shawn Spears was shown standing at ringside because apparently he wants Dolin in his ranks, so we'll see where that leads if anywhere. I suppose Tatum Paxley could turn on Dolin and join Spears instead, but didn't we already see her betray Lyra Valkyria earlier this year?

Eddy Thorpe def. Lexis King, Cedric Alexander and NXT Tag Team Champion Axiom in a Last Chance Fatal 4-Way Match to Qualify for the NXT Women's Championship No. 1 Contender's Iron Survivor Challenge Match at Deadline

This was along the same lines as the women’s Fatal 4-Way in that the action was entertaining and the outcome was genuinely unpredictable. I know Thorpe has had a storyline going where he feels screwed out of opportunities by management, but it wasn’t guaranteed he would win here. All signs point to him turning heel, which will hopefully help him feel more interesting as a character. It’s worth noting that was shown laid out at the end of the show, so he might end up getting replaced.

NXT Women's Champion Roxanne Perez, Wren Sinclair, Giulia, Stephanie Vaquer, Zaria and Sol Ruca Brawled

For the third straight year, the NXT Women’s Championship will not be defended at Deadline, but I appreciate that Perez took the time to address each of the combatants to potentially plant the seeds for whoever wins the women’s Iron Survivor Challenge. The crowd sounded dead silent for her promo, but it was well delivered. All of the women had a basic brawl to close the show, and while I understand what they were going for, it was weird seeing Giulia and Vaquer go after each other considering they’ve been strictly allies so far.

Overall Show

This felt more important than your average go-home show thanks to the two Last Chance qualifiers for the Iron Survivor Challenge matches. I was curious to see what Bischoff would be brought in to do and ultimately that was a waste of time. We also got two new matches added to the Deadline card, so this was an effective edition of NXT on the whole. I fully expect the Iron Survivor Challenge matches to carry Deadline once again this year.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews