NXT Deadline (stylized as DEADL1NE) is a professional wrestling livestreaming event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. Established in 2022, it is held annually in December for the promotion's developmental brand NXT. The event features the Iron Survivor Challenge, a multi-person match in which a wrestler attempts to score the most falls before the time expires, and there is one each for the men and women with the winners earning a future match for the NXT Championship and NXT Women's Championship, respectively. The match debuted at the inaugural event. Deadline also replaced NXT WarGames as the brand's December event.
History
On October 15, 2022, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE filed to trademark the name "NXT Deadline" for their developmental brand, NXT. It was then confirmed that NXT's livestreaming event on December 10 that year would be Deadline, and it aired on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network in international markets. The event debuted the Iron Survivor Challenge match-type in WWE, with one each for the men and women. Deadline replaced NXT WarGames as the brand's December event, after the WarGames concept was moved to the main roster for the 2022 Survivor Series for the Raw and SmackDown brands.
On September 28, 2023, WWE announced the return of Deadline, thus establishing Deadline as NXT's annual December event.
Iron Survivor Challenge
The Iron Survivor Challenge is a 25-minute match that features five wrestlers. Two wrestlers start the match, and every five minutes, another wrestler enters with the fifth and final participant entering at the 15-minute mark. The objective is to earn the most points before the time expires. Points are earned by scoring a pinfall, submission, or being the victim of a disqualification. A wrestler who is pinned, submitted, or is disqualified goes into a penalty box for 90 seconds. The wrestler with the most points when the time expires is deemed the winner, and in the result of a tie, those who are tied enter sudden death overtime. The winners of the men's and women's matches are dubbed the Iron Survivor and receive a future match for the NXT Championship and NXT Women's Championship, respectively.