Ilja Dragunov defeated Trick Williams at NXT Vengeance Day on Sunday to retain the NXT Championship, and to add insult to injury, Carmelo Hayes turned on Williams, dissolving their longtime friendship.

After a hard-fought match against Dragunov, Williams was viciously attacked by his now-former friend as boos rained down from the audience in attendance.

Dragunov and Williams have a longstanding rivalry dating back to last year when Dragunov was feuding with the then-NXT champion in Hayes.

Williams and Dragunov first had a match against each other in February 2023 and then again in August 2023 with The Mad Dragon winning both. Dragunov then went on to beat Hayes for the NXT title at No Mercy in September.

Since then, Hayes has been trying to get the title back, but it was Williams who earned a championship match at Vengeance Day by virtue of what was then the biggest win of his career.

At NXT Deadline in December, Williams outlasted Bron Breakker, Dijak, Josh Briggs and Tyler Bate to win the Iron Survivor Challenge and become No. 1 contender for the NXT Championship.

The title match between Williams and Dragunov was originally supposed to take place at New Year’s Evil, but it was postponed after Dragunov suffered an injury during a match against Ridge Holland.

Dragunov recovered and told Williams he would put the title on the line at Vengeance Day, and while Williams accepted, it created something of a conflict.

Prior to the title match getting set, Williams and Hayes had entered the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, and the finals were scheduled to take place at Vengeance Day.

Hayes was clearly unhappy with Williams’ pursuit of the NXT title amid their foray into the Dusty Classic, but they still made it to the finals and faced the team of Bron Breakker and Baron Corbin on Sunday.

Following the win over/loss to Breakker and Corbin, Williams looked to end the night on the highest note possible, but he came up short against Dragunov and was betrayed by the person who brought him to NXT in the first place.

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