Tensions continued to rise ahead of WWE NXT Vengeance Day.
On the January 30 episode of WWE NXT, Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams defeated Joaquin Wilde and Cruz Del Toro to advance to the finals of the Men's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, which will be held at NXT Vengeance Day. There, Williams is also set to challenge Ilja Dragunov for the NXT Championship.
In the closing minutes of NXT on January 30, Williams and Dragunov came face-to-face. They made it clear that they were ready to fight each other. Williams implied that he thought Dragunov was responsible for taking him out, and he purposefully had their match delayed to Vengeance Day.
Dragunov poked holes in his argument and emphasized that he destroyed his body to lift NXT in 2023. He noted that part of this process involved his matches with Trick Williams, as he stated that he helped take Trick to a new level.
"I think you've been playing me this whole time"
— WWE (@WWE) January 31, 2024
Is @_trickwilliams right? Has @UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR been playing games this whole time??#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/YqWYkoj5pP
Dragunov emphasized that their rivalry was built on respect. He also claimed that it made Williams more the man he had become than anything Carmelo Hayes had done.
"Our rivalry made you more the man that you are today than Melo ever did"
— WWE (@WWE) January 31, 2024
Things are getting INTENSE between @_trickwilliams and @UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR --#WWENXT pic.twitter.com/Mh2WIdJZEF
Williams and Dragunov eventually shook hands. They were attacked by Baron Corbin and Bron Breakker, who will face Williams and Hayes at NXT Vengeance Day. Hayes made the save, and he stood tall with Williams. Williams, Hayes, and Dragunov were then were alone in a tense situation, as each one of them had reasons not to trust each other.
Click here to catch up on our coverage of the January 30 episode of WWE NXT. For a full review, check out the post-show podcast on our YouTube channel.
