Carmelo Hayes walked into NXT Vengeance Day looking to sweep Apollo Crews, and he accomplished it, with some help from a friend.
In a two-out-of-three falls match, Hayes jumped out to an early lead after trapping Crews in a crossface. During the second fall, however, a stunning event occurred, as Dabba-Kato (formerly known as Commander Azeez) came down to ringside to stop Trick Williams from interfering.
After saying hello to another with a quick dap, though, Crews was hit with the Nothing but Net by Hayes for the win. After the match, Kato and Crews hugged, but then Kato shocked his former friend by unleashing an assault on him.
Wow.
Once friends, but not anymore ?#WWENXT #VengeanceDay pic.twitter.com/NIJ4lgDZrP
— WWE (@WWE) February 5, 2023
For a brief recap of how the match came to an end, check out below courtesy of our live, play-by-play coverage:
Melo tries a suplex, but Crews escapes and lands another kick. Melo tries a springboard but gets kicked in the head by Crews. Crews deadlift suplexes Melo off the apron back into the ring. Melo kicks out. After a series of reversals, Hayes lands his head scissor facebuster. Crews kicks out. Hayes traps Crews in a crossface. Crews taps out.
Melo-1, Crews 0
After a strike exchange, Melo hits the ropes, but Crews flips him into a DDT. Melo kicks out. Melo dumps Crews out of the ring. Crews is almost counted out. As the referee is distracted, Williams pulls off one of the turnbuckle pads. Crews sends Melo into the exposed turnbuckle. Williams hops up on the apron with a chair. Daba Katto hops the barricade and pulls Williams down. Crews and Katto dap each other up. Melo catches Crews with Nothing but Net for the pinfall.
Melo-2, Crews-0
Winner- Carmelo Hayes