Carmelo Hayes Vs. Ilja Dragunov Set For NXT Great American Bash

The NXT Title Match at The Great American Bash has been confirmed, with Ilja Dragunov set to face Carmelo Hayes for the gold on July 30.

Dragunov took on former NXT Champion Bron Breakker on the July 11 edition of NXT TV, Dragunov overcoming an hellacious mid-air spear from Breakker to continue on and get the win with a sliding headbutt to Breakker’s head.

This will be Dragunov’s second shot at the NXT Title since joining the brand full-time, with Dragunov unsuccessful in a three-way against then champion Breakker, and JD McDonagh at Halloween Havoc 2022.

Hayes almost fell victim to a Damian priest Money in the Bank cash-in on NXT but was saved by the new number one contender, although Dragunov’s save allowed Finn Balor to get the pin on the NXT Champ in tag team action.

Elsewhere on NXT, the North American Title match at GAB has been confirmed, with Mustafa Ali officially set to to challenge for the gold. However, Champion Wes Lee will need to successfully defend the title against Dominik Mysterio before getting to the Great American Bash.

WWE NXT The Great American Bash 2023 is set for Cedar Park, Texas, on July 30.

Updated line-up:

• Carmelo Hayes (c) vs. Ilja Dragunov - NXT Championship
• Wes Lee (c) or Dominik Mysterio vs. Mustafa Ali - NXT North American Championship

Cultaholic Wrestling has an account on Threads! You can follow us here. You can also follow us on Bluesky here.