Ilja Dragunov vs Carmelo Hayes set for NXT Great American Bash
Carmelo Hayes will defend his NXT Championship against Ilja Dragunov at the NXT Great American Bash 2023 PLE.
During the July 11 episode of NXT, a number one contender match was set between Ilja Dragunov and Bron Breakker where the winner would get an opportunity for the NXT championship match at NXT Great American Bash. Dragunov successfully defeated Breakker and secured his spot for the NXT Great American Bash PPV event.
A brutal match saw Dragunov hitting a Torpedo on Breakker, but that was not enough as Breakker kicked out of the pinfall. Breakker then came back with a spear midair to counter a move from the top, but Dragunov also kick out of the pin. After some more beatdown, Dragunov hits torpedo once more to get the pinfall.
WHAT. A. MATCH. 👏👏👏@UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR wins and will face @Carmelo_WWE for the #WWENXT Championship at #NXTGAB! pic.twitter.com/9wKVb1UhGV
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) July 12, 2023
In his NXT career, Ilja Dragunov has secured the NXT United Kingdom Championship once. The upcoming match for Dragunov will mark the first singles match for the NXT Championship. The last time he got the opportunity for the NXT title was at NXT Halloween Havoc 2022 event, where he faced Bron Breakker and JD McDonagh in a triple threat match.
Hayes won the NXT championship at the main event of the NXT Stand & Deliver PPV event by defeating Bron Breakker. He has recently defended the title successfully at the NXT Gold Rush night 2 event against Baron Corbin.
NXT Great American Bash PPV event is scheduled for July 30 it will be live from live from Cedar Park, Texas, US. NXT North American match is also set for the event between Mustafa Alli and Wes Lee.
