WWE NXT Review - December 5, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Fallon Henley def. Thea Hail, Roxanne Perez and Kiana James in a Last Chance Fatal 4-Way Match to Qualify for the Women's Iron Survivor Challenge Match at Deadline

This was quite the frantic four-way and a lot of fun to follow. You had to know Perez and James would cancel each other out (they did a great job of adding even more intensity to their rivalry), but I wasn't sure who would advance between Henley and Hail because neither of them have been prominently featured in a while. Ultimately, I'm glad Henley got the nod because Hail is busy with the Chase U drama, anyway. I was confirmed later on that Perez and James will have a Steel Cage match at Deadline.

Dragon Lee Was Announced as Wes Lee's Replacement Opponent Against NXT North American Champion "Dirty" Dominik Mysterio at Deadline

Man, Wes Lee announcing he has to undergo back surgery and will be out indefinitely is so damn disappointing. The promo he cut here was heartbreaking, especially once he got emotional. He's been one of the brand's best this year and I was looking forward to him most likely getting the belt back from Mysterio. That said, Dragon Lee is a fitting replacement seeing as how he has unfinished business with Mysterio from a few months ago. Rey Mysterio being in Dragon's corner at Deadline is a cool touch.

Lola Vice def. Tatum Paxley

I'm glad Paxley is finally getting consistent television time for the first time since she was booted from Diamond Mine earlier this year. She's not super polished in the ring or anything, but she's got a great look and has potential. The same can be said for Vice, so this wasn't the smoothest encounter, but it was fine for what it was. Is Paxley supposed to be a babyface? It felt like the crowd didn't know who to cheer for here.

Alpha Academy (Chad Gable, Otis and Maxxine Dupri) def. The Meta-Four (NXT Heritage Cup Champion Noam Dar, Oro Mensah and Lash Legend)

This feud hasn't done much for me personally, but it's kept Meta-Four busy and Alpha Academy are fan favorites, so this was harmless for what it was. Obviously, Legend picking up Otis out of nowhere and slamming him was the highlight. That was incredibly impressive. It will be interesting to see if Gable forcing Dar to submit will lead to another championship match between them.

The Women's Iron Survivor Challenge Summit Descended Into Chaos

I appreciate the attempt to give all of the women mic time before the Iron Survivor Challenge, but this was pretty weak. They tried, and some promos were better than others, but these "summits" rarely deliver. The predictable brawl wasn't enough to make it worthwhile, either. Tiffany Stratton feels like the only logical winner for the women's Iron Survivor Challenge, but they're probably going with one of the other women instead.

Axiom vs. Nathan Frazer Ended in a No Contest

Neither guy has had a lot of luck lately when it comes to racking up wins, so I was excited to see them go out there and rip it up. However, it wasn't long before the women from the previous segment showed up and brawled into the ring, causing the contest to be thrown out. That was disappointing, but at least they'll get to run it back on the Deadline Kickoff show. It was at that point that Nikkita Lyons returned to target Blair Davenport, who injured her in storyline at the beginning of the year.

Tyler Bate def. Joe Coffey, Carmelo Hayes and Eddy Thorpe  in a Last Chance Fatal 4-Way Match to Qualify for the Women's Iron Survivor Challenge Match at Deadline

We got a fantastic Fatal 4-Way match last week and this was very entertaining as well. It was all action and everyone had their time to shine. I assumed Hayes would be facing Lexis King at Deadline (and he will be), but any of the other three could have realistically won and Bate was the best choice. His post-match promo was necessary in making it feel like he has a chance to win at Deadline (even though he won't), but I could've done without everyone else coming out to interrupt each other.

NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov and Baron Corbin Went Face-to-Face

These two weren't given a ton of time, so they were already sitting down in the ring to start the segment. I love that they've taken the personal route with Corbin constantly bringing up Dragunov's family and saying that he wants to take away the one reason why Dragunov is away from his family: the NXT Championship. Dragunov was a bit over-the-top with his facial expressions (more than usual), but this was a solid piece of business otherwise. The brawl with the Iron Survivor Challenge combatants to close the show was unnecessary, though.

Overall Show

I'm sure the fact that I'll be there in attendance has me biased, but I'm really looking forward to Deadline on Saturday. The Iron Survivor Challenge matches were a blast last year and the rest of the card is strong on paper. This was an effective go-home show that hyped up the event and was newsworthy in that we found out who will be filling out the Iron Survivor Challenge matches and that Lee is unfortunately injured. The two hours were enjoyable and the overall build for Deadline has been well done.

SEE MORE: NXT Reviews