Oba Femi Wins Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge Match at WWE NXT Deadline 2024

WWE’s NXT Deadline event went down at the Minneapolis Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota on December 7. The night featured two Iron Survivor Challenge matches, and they certainly delivered with the men’s match.

This year’s Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge match was set with Wes Lee vs. Je’Von Evans vs. Nathan Frazer vs. Ethan Page vs. Eddy Thorpe. Sadly, Eddy Thorpe didn’t make it to Deadline after a backstage attack, that was cut off for a lot of fans, during the closing moments of the December 3 episode of NXT. Ava later promised that she would find a suitable replacement for Thorpe.

As Deadline started, we still didn’t know who would replace Eddy Thorpe, but Ava did find a replacement. When the time came to see who The Rock’s daughter picked Oba Femi, Each man in the fight all had a big reason to scratch and claw every step of the way toward an NXT Title shot.

Je’Von Evans and Wes Lee drew the first two sports, so they started off the match. They fought until Wes Less scored a pinfall while keeping his foot on the ropes, which sent Evasn to the penalty box. Then Nathan Frazer joined the match in the #3 spot. Ethan Page entered in the fourth spot, where he started laying people out right away, but then Nathan Frazer scored a quick roll-up pin on All Ego.

When Ethan Page got out of lockup, he scored a pinfall on Nathan Frazer. Then Oba Femi came out as the fifth mystery competitor who took Eddy Thorpe’s spot. In less than 90 seconds, Oba Femi scored a pinfall on Je’Von Evans. Then Evans scored a pinfall on Wes Lee to even things up across the board with one fall each. After Oba Femi leveled everyone, Ethan Page scored a surprise roll-up pinfall on him to send the former NXT North American Champion to the penalty box. Then Evans got a pinfall on Page, which sent him into the box with Oba. That didn’t go well for All Ego.

With only a few seconds to go, Oba Femi scored two pinfalls at once. That put him ahead of everyone else and secured the victory.

The Iron Survivor Challenge features unique rules that set it apart. The match starts with two Superstars, and a new participant enters the match every five minutes until all five are in the ring. Points are scored through pinfalls, submissions, or disqualifications at any point during the match. Each fall earns one point, but wrestlers who are DQed, pinned or submit must serve a 90-second stint of time in the penalty box. The winner of the match is also granted an NXT Title match down the line, which gives them a huge reason to win.

The mastermind behind the Iron Survivor Challenge concept was none other than Shawn Michaels. The WWE Hall of Famer’s influence in NXT has been huge since he took the reins, and this match was his idea from the jump. Obviously, he has all the right in the world to be proud of his accomplishments.

What’s your take on how the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge match turned out? Let us know what you think in the comments section!