Folks, it's official: NXT Deadl1ne is upon us. Soon, the WWE Universe will be aghast with all sorts of interesting matches, including two for championships and the debut of the Iron Survivor Challange, a new, WarGames-inspired fatal five-way with a very unusual set of rules that could either be the innovation of the year, surpassing the double-dog collar match being wrestled by FTR and The Briscoes earlier in the day at Ring of Honor Final Battle, or an abject failure that unfortunately, fans have to sit through twice, once for the men and again for the women.

But what, you may ask, is an “Iron Survivor Challenge?” Fortunately, NXT provided some information on the match on their website, in case you got lost when Shawn Michaels attempted to explain it on television.

  • Five Superstars will compete in this unique 25-minute match as they battle each other and the clock.
  • Two Superstars will start the match, and every five minutes a new Superstar will enter the match until all five are in the ring.
  • The goal is to have the most falls when the clock hits 25 minutes.
  • Falls can be won at any time via pinfall, submission, or disqualification.
  • When a Superstar scores a fall, they will earn one point.
  • However, when a Superstar loses a fall, that Superstar must pay the penalty. They are forced out of the ring and into a penalty box for 90 seconds.
  • Once the 90 seconds are up, the Superstar can re-enter the match.
  • The Superstar who has scored the most falls when the clock hits 25 minutes will be named the Iron Survivor and become the No. 1 Contender to the NXT Championship and NXT Women’s Championship, respectively.

Confusing? Sure. Convoluted? Potentially so, but at the end of the day, WarGames surely sounded kind of dumb when Dusty Rhodes initially pitched it, and the match was a major hit at Survivor Series, so it's impossible to know what will get over until the match is officially run. Still, with the match fast approaching, why not take a look at the card and make a few bold predictions? Considering the volatility of the show, why not?

5. Isla Dawn goes 2-0

Isla Dawn has officially wrestled one match in NXT USA, securing a win over beating Thea Hali on the go-home edition of NXT, the show, before Deadl1ne. While she has wrestled Alba Fyre on five occasions in NXT UK, their former promotion back when Fyre was known as Kay Lee Ray, to the greater WWE Universe who only watches American television, that doesn't particularly matter, nor does it that Dawn is 0-5 in those contests. No, as far as “local” fans know, Dawn is a new heel who cost Fyre her match with Mandy Rose, and she's never lost a match; best not spoil that now.

4. New Day get their crowns

New Day really want to become triple crown champions in WWE, adding the NXT Tag Team Championships to the RAW and SmackDown Tag Team titles the three-man faction have already won on eight occasions. No offense to Pretty Deadly, who have been pretty good champions – see what I did there – but any opportunity to get New Day on television is worth it, especially considering just how unhinged their NXT promo game has already been over the last week.

3. Bron Breakker keeps his winning ways alive

Apollo Crews has been a fun addition to NXT, especially in his fishing segments with Bron Breakker, but unless Paul “Triple H” is ready to really pull the trigger on kicking the second-generation Steiner up to the main roster, pulling a Dolph Ziggler 2.0 just doesn't make sense this late into this current title reign. If Breaker's going to drop the strap, it makes more sense to do so by putting over a younger star or by creating a new big bad for a star to overcome.

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Crews, unfortunately, is neither of those, so on to the next one.

2. Roxanne Perez wins the first-ever NXT Iron Survivor Challange

Roxanne Perez has the potential to be one of the biggest stars in WWE, regardless of age, gender, etc. She won the Ring of Honor Women's Championship when she was still a teenager, jumped to NXT and into multiple storylines with Cora Jade, and has even wrestled for a championship within the promotion four times, again, all before she turned 21.

Zoey Stark feels like a good bet to win the match, as she's been on a roll as of late, but if Nikkita Lyons has her way, a little outside interference could open the door for Perez to secure the win and take another step in her WWE journey.

1. Grayson Waller earns a date with Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship

Did you know Grayson Waller has never wrestled Breakker for the NXT Championship? Did you know Triple H reportedly really likes Waller and has big plans for him down the line? Did you know Waller, at 32, is getting sort of old for NXT and could parlay a relatively short yet incredibly memorable run with the strap into a decades-spanning career on either RAW or SmackDown as a sort of Millenial Miz from Down Under? I'm just laying out the pieces here, you put them together to form whatever picture you'd like.