Trick Williams Wins WWE NXT Championship, Unseats Ilja Dragunov At Spring Breakin'

Trick Williams defeated Ilja Dragunov in the main event of night one of "WWE NXT's" Spring Breakin' special, and he captured the NXT Championship to become the new face of the brand. 

It was Williams' fourth shot at Dragunov for the title, and the stipulation put forth by the former champion was that Williams would leave "NXT" if he lost. After a night of video packages showing social media support for Williams, as well as cameos from various main roster talent, and even a phone call to Williams' mother, who is currently in the hospital, Williams was able to pull off the victory with a Trick Shot.

Dragunov dominated the first half of the match, though both men were delivering ferocious chops to one another. Dragunov went coast-to-coast at one point in the match, but Williams was able to kick out and gain momentum. Williams hit an H-Bomb to Dragunov as well as a Torpedo Moscow, but the now-former champion kicked out after taking his own moves twice.

Williams got Dragunov up on the barricade outside of the ring and sent him through the announce desk. They got back in the ring and Dragunov delivered two H-Bombs of his own, one from the second rope, then the top. On the second move, Dragunov looked as though he hurt his wrist and took a second too long to cover his challenger. After Williams kicked out a final time, he hit the Trick Shot for the victory.

After the match, Dragunov hugged Williams as he handed him the "NXT" Championship. It's been reported Dragunov may be headed to the main roster in the 2024 WWE Draft, though he has not explicitly declared so himself. He already made his first appearance on "WWE Raw" after WrestleMania 40, when he took on Shinsuke Nakamura.