Ilja Dragunov Stuns Carmelo Hayes to Win NXT Title at No Mercy 2023

Ilja Dragunov defeated Carmelo Hayes at No Mercy on Saturday to win the NXT Championship for the first time in his career.

Two months ago, Hayes put the title on the line against Dragunov in the main event of the Great American Bash, and while Melo come out on top, it wasn’t without some controversy.

Hayes’ longtime friend, Trick Williams, was ringside for the bout, and while he was only offering moral support at first, he eventually got physically involved and played a huge role in the result.

Dragunov went for a dive to the outside, but he accidentally dove right into the NXT Championship belt that Williams was holding. That allowed Hayes to take advantage and hit his finisher for the victory.

Upset over the way his title opportunity played out, Dragunov challenged Williams to a match, and they went to battle on the Heatwave edition of NXT TV last month.

Although Dragunov prevailed, Trick put forth the best performance of his young career, further emboldening him to strike out on his own rather than playing second fiddle to Melo.

Meanwhile, Dragunov refocused on getting another shot at the NXT Championship, and he earned that chance with a win over Wes Lee.

Dragunov also attempted to use the evolving relationship of Hayes and Williams to his advantage by planting a seed of doubt in Trick’s head regarding whether Melo could actually beat Dragunov without his help.

On one of the final episodes of NXT before No Mercy, Hayes faced Dominik Mysterio with Dragunov at ringside, and Dragunov became unhinged when Mysterio was thrown into him, attacking both Dom and Melo.

There was no shortage of animosity between Hayes and Dragunov entering No Mercy, bolstered by the fact that Melo wanted to prove he was the best and Dragunov wanted to finally get his hands on the NXT title.

After coming close previously, Dragunov finished the job on Saturday, taking down one of the best NXT champions in recent memory in Hayes, and cementing himself as the top dog in NXT.

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