NXT’s Iron Survivor Challenge is one of wrestling’s best matches

The Iron Survivor Challenge has put itself among the best special match types in wrestling — and it’s only been three years.

It was hard not to appreciate all the possibilities and the care Shawn Michaels and his team at NXT put into all the stories told in the men’s and women’s Iron Survivor Challenge matches at Deadline on Saturday to determine the No. 1 contenders for the brand’s respective world championships heading into WrestleMania season.

Needing the victor to have the most pinfalls or submissions after 25 minutes opens so many different elements to play with creatively and allows you to give each participant a story that could set them up for the rest of next year.  

Michaels, who needed to replace WarGames after the main roster took it for Survivor Series, can play with the order of the staggered five participants, how the final seconds play out, who is ahead and behind in the scores and when wrestlers are stuck in the penalty box after getting pinned or submitted. 

There is no other match in wrestling with that many variables to tweak and consider. It leads to numerous ways to create drama in a short time as we saw again over the weekend.

The women’s match at Deadline ended in a 40-second scramble with all the competitors tied at one. Giulia was able to get a second pin in the closing seconds and Stephanie Vaquer — who was the only person not pinned — was left rushing to try to pin Giulia to tie things up. She was unable to do so and the frustration will only add to the rivalry NXT is building between two of its new star signees.

Oba Femi returned to win the men’s match that Ethan Page looked like he had won with three minutes to go. But Femi pinned two competitors at once to jump into the lead with five seconds to go, Je’Von Evans appeared to have Femi down to be pinned for the tie, but the clock ran out before he could cover him.

NXT can now tell the story of Evans needing to erase that disappointment of coming so close. It’s hard to forget Trick Williams’ wild comeback win in last year version in one of the most perfectly timed endings you will ever see.

In a business where it seems like every type of match has been done already or is just a riff off of something that came before, this feels different.

NXT has been able to create something truly unique that can stand the test of time. 

Time is Moné

The Dynamite segment between Mercedes Moné and Anna Jay bordered on wrestling cliché after some solid dialogue. Jay got insulted and then slapped the heel TBS champion, who would slink off to some decent boos after saying she didn’t have time for this. 

Yes, AEW is biding time before Kamile returns from being attacked backstage to begin her feud with Moné, but I’m hoping her feud with Jay gets more depth this week and doesn’t rest on just that segment. The more reasons you can give the audience to truly dislike the champion, the better. Keep turning up the heat.

Jay has some momentum and if positioned correctly, she could get a big boost from working with Moné to the point where she could be a viable option to win the TBS championship in the future. Don’t waste chances to elevate as much of your talent.

The 10 Count

It was pretty stunning to see the Wyatt Sicks lose just four months since their debut, but it was a very important step. It takes away any invincibility that once plagued The Fiend and allows the audience to sympathize with them. Paul Ellering, who returned to throw powder in Uncle Howdy’s face, has saved Miz twice and shows WWE is committed to adding depth to Final Testament’s storyline.

Love to see fans give Shelton Benjamin the love he deserves during his match with Kyle Fletcher — who is having a star-making Continental Classic. They were rooting for him. Follow that up with MVP and Bobby Lashley verbally undressing Benjamin and the Hurt Syndicate is starting to sizzle.

MLW made very good use of Eric Bischoff’s One Shot last week. He had his hands on every match decision made on the show, gave away a TNA finish like the old days in WCW and even turned heel midway through by firing Alex Kane. It played into the overall arc of the show about what Bischoff’s true intentions in MLW are. We even got a great closing shot and cliffhanger at the end.

Can’t say enough good things about the match Bianca Belair and Piper Niven had on SmackDown. It was well laid out to build drama, showcased both women’s power and made Belair look like a million bucks at the end when she got Niven up for a KOD for the win.  

Swerve Strickland absolutely squashing Max Caster was the right call and could be the spark to the breakup of The Acclaimed so he can start his singles run as as heel — which Caster tried to build toward with a New Yok Post front page last week.