Ilja Dragunov has retained the gold.
In recent weeks, Baron Corbin has set his sights on NXT Champion Ilja Dragunov, and their rivalry has quickly turned personal. Their collision course led to the main event of WWE NXT Deadline, where Corbin challenged for the gold.
The match was a physical battle from the start. Dragunov suplexed Corbin onto the floor, but the challenger fired back by slamming Ilja onto the broadcast table. Corbin then targeted Dragunov’s ribs throughout the match. The champion took some big swings with a knee strike and a diving senton, but the latter seemingly hurt his injured ribs.
Corbin took control with a super chokeslam, and he got a two-count with a modified Brainbuster. Dragunov rallied, and he escaped the End of Days. He dropped Corbin with a DDT and proceeded to hit him with three H-Bombs. To clinch the win, Dragonov drilled Corbin with the Torpedo Moscow and pinned him.
After the bell, Trick Williams came to the stage and stared Dragunov down. Earlier in the show, Williams won the Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge to earn a title shot. He will challenge Dragunov for the title at NXT New Year’s Evil on December 2.
Check out the NXT Deadline media call with Shawn Michaels here:
Catch up on our coverage of WWE NXT Deadline here.
