Carmelo Hayes Defeats Wes Lee, Retains WWE NXT Championship In Heatwave Main Event

Carmelo Hayes defeated Wes Lee to retain his "WWE NXT" Championship during the "NXT: Heatwave" special on Tuesday, even after Lee vowed to prove his doubters wrong during last week's episode. The match itself was historic, as it was the first "NXT" Championship bout that saw two Black men compete for the title. The former North American Champion put up a tough fight against Hayes, a fight that even saw both men go through the announce desk before battling back into the ring.

Lee put up a valiant effort in his attempt to take the title off the champion, hitting a Cardiac Kick after both competitors went through the table and were back inside the ring. Hayes, however, was able to roll out of the ring after the kick to get his wits back about him. Lee attempted a suicide dive onto the champion, but just missed, crashing into the barricade head-first. Hayes got back into the ring, going for the count-out victory, but Lee was able to just beat the ten-count by the referee.

Hayes was able to hit the Nothing But Net onto the challenger and pinned Lee for the victory, retaining his championship. The victory means that Hayes will head into the brand's next premium live event, No Mercy, on September 30 in Bakersfield, California as the "NXT" Champion.