Carmelo Hayes Defeats Bron Breakker for NXT Championship at Stand & Deliver

In the main event of today's WWE NXT Stand & Deliver event, Carmelo Hayes defeated Bron Breakker to become the new WWE NXT Champion.

Things are starting to pick up in this #WWENXT Championship Match!!!@Carmelo_WWE @bronbreakkerwwe #StandAndDeliver pic.twitter.com/usmx4xWOPn

— WWE (@WWE) April 1, 2023

 

Respect 🤝

Your time is now @Carmelo_WWE. @bronbreakkerwwe #StandAndDeliver pic.twitter.com/kePxTme3gT

— WWE (@WWE) April 1, 2023

Match coverage courtesy of Matt Boone of Rajah.com:

NXT Championship
Bron Breakker (C) vs. Carmelo Hayes

Now we head to a commercial break. When we return, Vic Joseph and Booker T promote NXT Battleground and then announce Pretty Deadly vs. Tony D'Angelo and Stacks for a tag-team bout on Tuesday's episode of WWE NXT. Also announced is Dijak vs. Odyssey Jones.

From there, the elaborate video package, Prime Target: Bron vs. Melo, airs to get us ready for our main event of the evening. It wraps up and we return inside the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. where Vic Joseph and Booker T get us ready for our final bout of the show.

We see the lights go out and a spotlight shines on the entrance stage. Trick Williams appears and hypes up the crowd as the theme for Carmelo Hayes plays. The challenger emerges and heads down to the ring for our main event.

The camera focuses on a dog inside a "Beware of Dog" dog-house as a graphic that reads, "I got that dog in me" appears. Bron Breakker comes out barking as his theme hits. The NXT Champion heads to the ring for what is the youngest WrestleMania Weekend main event of all-time.

After that, the bell sounds and we're officially off-and-running with this one. Breakker and Hayes look at each other and around at the crowd as the fans cheer. The two finally lock-up and get after it following a lengthy "NXT! NXT!" chant.

Both guys push-and-pull with neither establishing an offensive lead. Hayes is unable to toss and takedown the champ, but Breakker goes for the same thing and connects. He backs Hayes in a corner kneeling down and barking like his father, Rick Steiner.

Now the action gets going again where the two bounce off the ropes and Hayes connects with a picture-perfect drop kick. He backs Bron in a corner and lets out a war scream of his own. Hayes gets in some offense and does his basketball shot pose. Breakker beats him down and does the same pose to mock him.

Breakker hits a nice standing moonsault on Hayes for a close near fall attempt. He slaps a tight guillotine on Hayes and squeezes as the two hit the mat. The fans try and rally behind Carmelo with "Let's go Melo!" chants. Hayes starts to fight back but Breakker hits a wicked suplex to slow down his momentum.

As Bron comes at Hayes, he is drop-toe-hold'ed into the turnbuckles face-first in the corner. Hayes puts the boots to him for a follow-up and now the challenger is in the offensive driver's seat. Breakker eventually fights back and starts to focus his attack on the lower-back of the challenger.

We see Breakker hoist Hayes up for a torture rack. Trick Williams hits the ring apron to make the save, pulling him down. The referee ejects Trick from ringside. As Hayes talks to him on the floor, Breakker hits a running dive over the ropes and splashes onto them both.

Back in the ring, Breakker comes off the top-rope and connects with a huge bull dog for a close near fall. Hayes fires up for a comeback and hits a couple of cutters for a close near fall of his own. Breakker keeps this one alive by kicking out.

Hayes plays to the crowd and then heads to the top-rope as they break out in a loud "Melo! Melo!" chant. He leaps off but Breakker moves. Hayes connects with a pump-kick that sends Breakker out to the hard part of the ring apron. Hayes suplexes Breakker back into the ring in an innovative ways for another close pin attempt.

Carmelo heads back to the top-rope but Breakker leaps up to the top-rope in a single hop, ala Kurt Angle in his prime. Once up there he leaps from the top-rope to the shoulders of Hayes with a super fast hurricanrana. That was insane. He goes for the cover but Hayes kicks out.

We see the ref get bumped and then Breakker gets Hayes in the Steiner Recliner. While the ref is down and out, we see Hayes tap out. Trick Williams re-appears and grabs the NXT Championship. He hits the ring and blasts Breakker with it. Hayes goes for the cover as Trick escapes and the ref recovers, but Breakker kicks out.

Breakker hoists Hayes up with a military press but Hayes comes down and connects with a Code-breaker on the way down. Hayes heads to the top-rope and leaps super high, connecting with a leg drop on the way down. He goes for the cover and gets the 1-2-3. Trick Williams hits the ring to celebrate with Hayes as the crowd goes wild.

Bron Breakker recovers, takes the title from the ref and heads over to Hayes. The two shake hands and Bron hands him the title. He raises Hayes' hand and points at him. Hayes is the new NXT World Champion. That's how the NXT Stand & Deliver 2023 show goes off the air. Thanks for joining us!

Winner and NEW NXT Champion: Carmelo Hayes