The impressive reign of Carmelo Hayes comes to an end as Ilja Dragunov is crowned NXT Champion at NXT No Mercy.
Following the change in the NXT North American Championship match earlier in the night, gold changed hands once again later at NXT No Mercy when Ilja Dragunov defeated Carmelo Hayes to become the new NXT Champion. Dragunov controlled the match for the most part, dominating Hayes with his hard hitting offense. The match was finally won by Dragunov after he delivered his H-Bomb diving punch from the turnbuckles.
Carmelo Hayes had held the NXT Championship since WrestleMania weekend, having defeated Bron Breakker at NXT Stand & Deliver on April 1st, 2023. Hayes was in the 182nd day of his reign as of tonight’s No Mercy event.
His victory secures Ilja Dragunov’s first reign with the NXT Championship but the Russian-born German has held major championship gold in WWE before, defeating GUNTHER at NXT TakeOver 36 before having to vacate the title, due to injury.
Congratulations to Ilja Dragunov on regaining championship gold, once again.
Dragunov finally gets back some gold! How do you feel about his victory? Let us know your thoughts in the comments
