Baron Corbin brought back The Lone Wolf, but he failed to dethrone Carmelo Hayes.
WWE NXT continued the two-week Gold Rush special on the June 27 episode, and in the main event, Barn Corbin challenged Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Championship. Corbin and Hayes had been feuding for the past few weeks, as the former King of the Ring winner set his sights on the gold.
Before the bout started, Corbin generated some buzz by coming to the ring with his old theme music, as it was clear he brought back "The Lone Wolf", complete with the logos and gear. The commentary team hammered it home by calling him "The Lone Wolf."
The Lone Wolf is back.@BaronCorbinWWE is ready to become #WWENXT Champion.#NXTGoldRush pic.twitter.com/7NsTSBmAFo
— WWE (@WWE) June 28, 2023
Not even the return of his previous persona led him to victory, though. Corbin and Hayes battled it out in a hard-fought match, and the champion took everything the challenger threw at him, including an impactful Deep Six. Corbin overpowered Hayes throughout the bout, but the champion clinched the impressive victory by hitting Nothing but Net.
THIS IS AWESOME!
— WWE (@WWE) June 28, 2023
This is a @BaronCorbinWWE we haven't seen a long time --#NXTGoldRush pic.twitter.com/WIkpqrUWXb
Hayes celebrated his victory after the bell as NXT came to a close, as he added another jersey of fallen challengers to the rafters.
Catch up on our coverage of the June 27 episode of WWE NXT here. For a full review, check out the post-show podcast on our YouTube channel.
