#18: Carmelo Hayes vs. Ilja Dragunov, NXT No Mercy (9/30/2023).
This is for Melo's NXT Championship.
I've been hearing about Carmelo Hayes for years. Some people say he's the modern day version of The Rock, though I don't imagine Melo has a clause that says he can't lose. And Dragunov? Well, I know about him all too well. His matches with WALTER are some of the greatest I've ever seen. I remember this match happening, and people lost their minds over it.
The bell rings, and Ilja boots Melo right away. Huge chop in the corner, and hard forearms follow from the challenger. Ilja boots Melo off the apron, and back in the ring, Melo spears Ilja and unloads with punches. Ilja hits a gnarly lariat that sends Melo inside out. Ilja with Kenta Kobashi style machine gun chops to Melo in the corner, then he follows with a running boot to the back of the head. Next, he hits a running knee to the side of the head.
Ilja backhand chops Melo right in the face, and he continues to egg him on, just as he's done basically all match up to this point. Big chop to the back of the neck follows. Melo catches one of Ilja's chops and stares daggers into him. He unloads with one of his own. They each throw forearms while on their knees. They continue to throw bombs and Melo catches him with an enziguri, followed by a high launching bulldog.
Ilja connects with a gut wrench German Suplex. Melo hits, what I described, as a tilt-a-whirl face plant? I don't know, but it looked like it hurt like hell. A running knee strike and a high powerbomb from Ilja drops the champion. Ilja tries to go coast to coast, but Melo catches him with a facebuster...that Ilja catches! He sends him into the corner with a running Death Valley Driver.
Ilja slaps Melo off the top turnbuckle. He lifts Melo from the apron back into the ring with a superplex. Somewhere along the way, Ilja got busted open. Melo hits a Facebuster, which sends Ilja into the ropes, and he ricochets back with an H Bomb on Melo for a nearfall. A second H Bomb from the top rope also gets a nearfall. Melo connects with a superkick that gets a nearfall. Big slap exchange between both men on the apron, followed by forearms.
Melo hits a Cutter that drops Ilja face first on the floor. Melo looks to fly, and Ilja counters with a clothesline. He hits the H Bomb for the third time off the top, and Ilja takes the match and the championship. That was a lot of fun. It was exciting throughout, with big moves and stiff shots, and the closing stretch was molten. I assume the H Bomb is Ilja's main finisher now, so the fact it took three to finish Melo says a lot about his tenacity. Melo certainly has the athleticism and charisma needed to get comparisons to The Rock. Meanwhile, Ilja never misses. This is worth the praise.