Ricky Saints to Defend NXT Championship Against Oba Femi at Deadline PLE

Saints’ next challenger for the NXT Championship is former champion Oba Femi. Femi made his return after Saints retained the title against Trick Williams on last week’s show (November 14) in a brutal Last Man Standing Match. It was Femi that Saints beat to become the new champion at the NXT No Mercy PLE on September 27, 2025. Before he lost the title to Saints, Femi had been the champion since he defeated, you guessed it — Trick Williams — at New Year’s Evil. Saints' only title defenses have been against Williams. Besides last week’s episode, he faced Williams at the Halloween Havoc PLE on October 25.

During last night’s show, Femi had challenged Saints for a match, telling Saints that the reason he was gone, he went back to the “motherland to become a version of himself that will beat Saints” at Deadline. Femi has wrestled shows on WWE Live, but his last televised event was his title loss. Saints, of course, accepted the challenge, and now the two will be facing each other on Saturday, December 6 at the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas.

What Else Is Scheduled For NXT Deadline?

The Men’s and Women’s Iron Challenge is set for the PLE. The challengers haven’t been announced yet, but it was revealed yesterday by NXT GM Ava Raine that John Cena is going to be picking the opponents. His picks will be revealed next Tuesday.

The 2024 men’s opponents were Je'Von Evans, Wes Lee, Nathan Frazer, Ethan Page, and Oba Femi. The winner was Femi, and since he won the match, he earned his title match at New Year’s Evil, and the rest is history. The 2024 women’s opponents were Giulia, Wren Sinclair, Sol Ruca, Zaria, and Stephanie Vaquer. Giulia was the winner, and she would go on to face the Women’s NXT Champion, Roxanne, and defeat her at New Year’s Evil. Now, both of them, along with Stephanie Vaquer, are on the main roster. Vaquer is the Women’s World Champion. Things have definitely changed in less than a year.