Opening Match for WWE NXT Deadline 2025 Revealed

Just ahead of WWE NXT Deadline 2025 going live, Megan Morant dropped a major announcement on the Countdown show: the NXT Championship match will open the event.

That’s right—Ricky Saints vs. Oba Femi for the NXT Title will kick off the night in San Antonio, immediately setting the tone for what’s expected to be one of the most action-packed cards of the year. With Oba Femi looking to reclaim the title he lost to Saints, the decision to put this high-stakes rematch first adds extra urgency and energy to the entire show.

Saints, who shocked fans by dethroning Femi earlier this year, now faces a hungry challenger who’s been laser-focused on redemption. And with the gold on the line right out of the gate, WWE is clearly looking to fire up the crowd early.

Here’s the full lineup for NXT Deadline 2025:

• Opening Match – NXT Championship: Ricky Saints (c) vs. Oba Femi
• Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge: Je’Von Evans vs. Joe Hendry vs. Myles Borne vs. Leon Slater vs. Dion Lennox
• Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge: Sol Ruca vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Kelani Jordan vs. Lola Vice vs. Kendal Grey
• NXT North American Championship: Ethan Page (c) vs. Mr. Iguana
• Tatum Paxley vs. Izzi Dame

NXT Deadline airs tonight, December 6th, from the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas. The pre-show began at 6:00 PM ET, and the main card kicked off at 7 PM ET, streaming live on Peacoc in the U.S. and Netflix internationally.  Ringside News will be providing live play-by-play coverage of tonight’s show over in our WWE NXT Deadline coverage hub.

Are you surprised WWE chose to open Deadline with the NXT Championship match? Was it the right move—or should it have closed the show? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.