Photo credit: WWE.com
Ilja Dragunov defeated Carmelo Hayes on Saturday at No Mercy to win the NXT Championship for the first time in his career.
WWE NXT @WWENXT
Destiny is fulfilled!@UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR is the NEW #WWENXT Champion!!! #NXTNoMercy pic.twitter.com/93RcS9j3ji
WWE @WWE
Welcome to a new era of #WWENXT!@UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR #NXTNoMercy< /a> pic.twitter.com/QYmilqScE7
WWE @WWE
THIS IS AWESOME 👏👏👏#NXTNoMercy pic.twitter.com/yBytuehDfU
WWE @WWE
If you don’t succeed at first, try again! @UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR goes from coast to coast 😱#NXTNoMercy pic.twitter.com/Hpjuaw1gwS
Two months ago, Hayes put the title on the line against Dragunov in the main event of the Great American Bash, and while Melo emerged victorious, it wasn’t without controversy.
Hayes’ longtime friend, Trick Williams, was ringside for the fight, and although he initially only offered moral support, he eventually became physically involved and played a large role in the outcome.
Dragunov did a dive to the outside, but he accidentally launched himself right into the NXT Championship belt that Williams was holding. That allowed Hayes to press his advantage and hit his finisher for the win.
Dragunov was upset with the way his title opportunity ended and challenged Williams to a match. Last month they competed on the Heatwave edition of NXT TV.
Although Dragunov prevailed, Trick put in the best performance of his young career, further encouraging him to assert himself rather than play second fiddle to Melo.
Meanwhile, Dragunov refocused on getting another shot at the NXT Championship, and he earned that shot with a win over Wes Lee.
Dragunov also tried to use the developing relationship between Hayes and Williams to his advantage by planting doubt in Trick’s mind about whether Melo could actually beat Dragunov without his help.
In one of the final NXT episodes before No Mercy, Hayes faced Dominik Mysterio with Dragunov at ringside, and Dragunov went unhinged when Mysterio was thrown into him and attacked both Dom and Melo.
There was no shortage of animosity between Hayes and Dragunov at No Mercy, compounded by the fact that Melo wanted to prove he was the best and Dragunov wanted to finally get his hands on the NXT Championship.
Having previously come close, Dragunov completed the task on Saturday by defeating one of the best NXT champions in recent memory in Hayes and establishing himself as the top contender in NXT.
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