NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes and Baron Corbin are holding nothing back ahead of their much-anticipated title match later this month.

The two will face off on the June 27, 2023 edition of WWE NXT which will likely headline Night Two of NXT's Gold Rush event. During this week's WWE NXT, Corbin defeated Ilja Dragunov to become the new number-one contender for the NXT Championship, after Bron Breakker distracted Dragunov during the match. After the match, Corbin celebrated when Hayes entered the ring and attacked Corbin, eventually laying him out with the nothing-but-net guillotine leg drop.

The sparring between the NXT Champion and his challenger wasn't solely confined to what transpired in the ring this week. During NXT, Hayes said that he would send Corbin "back to the kitchen, making tik toks, cooking steak," in reference to the Lone Wolf's cooking videos on the platform. In a tweet, Corbin said that Hayes must be a fan of his to have seen his Tik Tok videos, and promised to "sign a pic as champ" following their match at NXT Gold Rush.



The two-week NXT Gold Rush event already has a stacked card for both nights. Next week will be Night One of Gold Rush, and see Seth Rollins defend the World Heavyweight Championship against Bron Breakker. NXT North American Champion Wes Lee will defend against Tyler Bate in a match with Mustafa Ali as guest referee. Dana Brooke will face Cora Jade, while it will be Malik Blade and Edris Enofe vs. Tank Ledger and Hank Walker vs. Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen to determine the number-one contenders for the NXT Tag Team Titles.

Whoever wins that triple-threat tag-team match will challenge NXT Tag Champions Gallus at Night Two of NXT Gold Rush. In addition to the Hayes-Corbin match, Night Two will see NXT Women's Champion Tiffany Stratton defend against Thea Hail.