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00:00I
00:30The following contest is scheduled for one fall and it's for the united states championship
00:38Introducing first from boston massachusetts playing in at 210 pounds
00:45he is the united states champion
00:48well melo is doing it again defending the united states championship against the former champion
01:02elliott drag it off it's live and next on smackdown
01:05it's saturday night made of it this one is gonna be wild
01:24high stakes high pressure and we are just getting started
01:36saturday night's main event in montreal tomorrow
01:42ladies and gentlemen it is near zero degrees tonight in montreal but we're at the bell center
01:47for friday night smackdown same building that'll host saturday night's main event tomorrow night
01:54and inside the bell center the united states champion carmelo hayes
01:58set to once again defend the title the rematch the world has been waiting for including the two guys
02:06who will be competing in this ring
02:24and his opponent from moscow russia playing in at 210 pounds
02:36ilia
02:38dragunov
02:41well way dragunov is still stinging after a loss last week to sammy zayn in a very physical matchup but
02:48what an opportunity to get back on the horse tonight and i like that word stinging because it implies he's
02:53mentally stinging but the truth is he's physically stinging too because you're right it was an epic war
03:00and perhaps no competitor here on smackdown is more reckless with their own body in pursuit of victory
03:07than ilia dragunov the question is is that body gonna hold up enough tonight
03:12to put down mellow and win back the gold this has been quite the rivalry between these two men that
03:17dates all the way back to nxt a few years ago it's the seventh time they've gone one-on-one the
03:23third time for the united states championship you'll recall back in early december ilia dragunov
03:29defeated carmelo hayes retaining the united states championship and then the night after christmas
03:34carmelo hayes would be ilia dragunov to win his first title here on friday night smackdown and we're
03:40underway carmelo hayes quickly looked like he was going for the first 48 ilia dragunov was able to
03:45intercept and hayes went for a big kick again and dragunov as hayes lands on his feet again these
03:52men know each other so well yeah you're right and that was why it was a small move from dragunov to
03:57try that hot start try and catch mellow cold unfortunately for dragunov simply didn't work and
04:04this is the fourth time already this year that hayes has defended the united states championship he owns
04:09wins over leon slater shinsuke nakamura and johnny gargano and what a german suplex by dragunov yeah
04:16nicely held onto the waist too not allowing mellow any breathing room whatsoever keeping that pressure
04:23on now with a russian bear oh speaking of pressure all the pressure i believe tonight on dragunov looking
04:28to win back the united states championship against a man who's really coming to his own as the champion
04:32yeah no doubt about it mellow took a little time to establish himself here on smackdown wasn't really
04:39getting over that line but now he's there it's like the work the weight of the world has lifted
04:43off his shoulder and you are seeing the very best version of him right now and hayes is performing at
04:50such a high level and dragunov now once again grounding carmelo hayes yeah the only thing i disagree
04:56with when it comes to mellow and indeed dragunov is putting this championship on the line week in week
05:02out i'm more of the mindset when you finally do win that goal you want a nice long reign and matches like
05:08this opponents like this are simply not conducive to that well he's just following in the footsteps
05:13of dragunov before him and sammy zane and of course john cena who started this united states open
05:18challenge over a decade ago and let me ask you how many of those guys you just mentioned had a long
05:23championship reign certainly in the case of sammy zane and dragunov it wasn't as long as it could have
05:29been because they kept putting it on the line against the best and dragunov went for the constantine special
05:34and oh both men knocked down center of the ring what a collision carmelo hayes looks to defend the
05:39united states championship successfully tonight
05:43uh we are back live here in uh dragunov and carmelo hayes battling out for the united states
06:04championship and dragunov has already been busted open early on in this matchup i mean that's just pretty
06:09much standard for alia dragunov and we said it earlier he is so reckless with his own body when
06:14it comes to competition a pursuit of victory just doesn't look the same unless he's busted open dragunov
06:21was uh sporting a black eye earlier today said it was suffered in the hands of sammy zane last week
06:26one of the reasons dragunov was upset last week is that he lost to sammy and what was the qualifying match
06:32for tomorrow night's fatal four-way an opportunity to beat mcintyre at the rumble yeah incredibly
06:37frustrating especially for a young competitor when you're so close to earning an opportunity
06:42like that at saturday night's main event to watch it slip through your fingers in a hell of a war
06:47with sammy zane but it's time to make up for that now and get back to the goal for dragunov now on the
06:53apron driving hayes i mean it wasn't just the shot to the spine it was the fact that hayes's head
06:59ricocheted against that steel ring post in the process dragunov was full speed ahead at all times
07:07little wasted motion cover look at the forearm right the face and hayes kicks out at two just so
07:14technically astute this man is simply incapable of doing anything that does not absolutely maim his
07:22opponents look at the intensity burning in the eyes of dragunov now now what does he say let the pain
07:28entertain you those the words of dragunov
07:36mellow back to a vertical base and nice back suplex to dragunov to create some space for the champion
07:43yeah much needed space too because mellow has been right under the cosh for the past several minutes
07:48of this matchup finally getting a little breathing room now needs to follow it up with some offense of
07:53his own dragunov got his boot up driving hayes back toward the middle of the ring and now there's the
08:00power of dragunov the mad dragon oh with a senton again into the cover looking to win the united states
08:07title kick out by hayes and you've just got a taste here of the laser focus of the mad dragon as he's
08:14trying to close in on winning back that gold after last week's disappointment that you mentioned you
08:19you notice the knee brace on the right knee knee injury cost dragunov about 13 months of his career
08:26i promise you carl mellow hayes has noticed it too and if he gets an opportunity he will exploit it
08:31that springboard clothesline by the champion mellow into the cover looking to retain
08:37dragunov kicks out a near fall by the champion kind of damned if you do damned if you don't with
08:42a knee brace like that you do need the protection and stability that it gives you but that is just
08:46a giant bullseye to most of the locker room this is the battle we expected for the united states title
09:02bell center montreal quebec canada first of two nights here in montreal and carmelo hayes
09:08is defending the united states championship against the former champion ilya draganov and
09:12what's been a hard hitting affair so far it has kind of been dominated by the man who's bleeding
09:19surprisingly and off ilya draganov but clearly feeling that pain now and we'd be remiss if we
09:24didn't mention that carmelo hayes on a war of his own against leon slater last week tna's x division
09:31champ oh both men certainly feeling it now
09:34there's nothing pretty about a dragunov match it is flat out brutal oh and a mellow caught him with
09:45a back elbow right in the nose ilya draganov's face has taken the brunt of most of mellow's attacks
09:53thus far that was no different and finally it's starting to tell and and you saw dragunov favoring
09:58the left eye that's the eye that i mentioned there was a shiner on it because of sammy zane last week i
10:03believe that's where mellow caught him with the elbow problem with dragunov is you hurt him he
10:10simply gets better and more intense
10:24dragunov just you mentioned intense he says i'm not intense i am intensity and that's what this uh fiery
10:31brutal former united states champion is all about mellow simply hasn't had the answers for this far
10:38big boot mellow oh bounces off the ropes oh dragunov caught him with a step up
10:44and now hayes nice takedown face first cover looks to retain is it enough
10:49near fall as dragunov kicks out get a great taste of the contrast between the brutality of
10:56ilya dragunov and those technical aerial skills of carmelo hayes just when carmelo hayes was under
11:02the conch hitting this la mystica out of nowhere and perhaps finally turning the tide in this one
11:09wwe fans enjoying this matchup for the united states title
11:28nice block by dragunov to that waist lock and now look at the well-placed elbows to the jaw of the
11:35champion god mellow might be out here those were oh yeah but hayes fighting back as well and that's
11:42one thing we've learned about hayes he'll go toe-to-toe with the best of them by fire with fire
11:48constantine special turns the champ inside out dragunov looking for the win looking to regain the united
11:55states championship hayes kicks out at two and hats off to carmelo hayes who's absolutely on rubber
12:02legs on this one you mentioned this constantine special that is enough to completely ko a competitor
12:10not a championship level competitor like carmelo hayes not tonight anyway the official dallas
12:16irvin in this matchup in perfect position and that's what it's about the prestigious united states
12:21championship dozens of wwe hall of famers have held that title over the years and the likes of hayes and
12:28dragunov and fighting champions well mellows in a bad way here it might be about to get even worse
12:34we could be going coast to go comello hayes look for first 48 covered now by dragunov and ilya now dumps
12:43hayes cover is it enough to regain the title hayes at two and a half what a matchup for the united states
12:52championship
13:08man what a match this has been dragunov physically exhausted the champion carmelo hayes as well
13:17and ilya dragunov now showing a little sign of frustration here he's had control of the
13:22majority of this match he really has dropped the hammer on carmelo hayes as he continues to do and
13:28at times has even outmaneuvered carmelo hayes which almost never happens carmelo is in a bad bad way here
13:37and it's turned into something of a scramble
13:43fans in montreal still buzzing over the appearance of hometown hero sammy zane earlier on tonight sammy of
13:50course was a great fighting united states champion dragon off with another nice german suplex to hayes
13:58sammy zane so much heart and fighting spirit that has won this hometown audience over over the years
14:04while these two are showing that insane heart and fighting spirit that fighting spirit might
14:11slowly be leaving the body of the champ carmelo hayes here now when you don't release the german
14:16suplex and you keep that waist lock in tight by like dragunov's doing that just wears your opponent down
14:21absolutely you can't get any wind into your lungs whatsoever when he's squeezing on and also you run
14:26the risk of consecutive german suplexes you cannot give your opponent any breathing room any space
14:33whatsoever you've got to keep the pressure on but finally carmelo hayes scrambling his way out of
14:38there what can carmelo come up with here and this is a perfect example of what you were talking about
14:43earlier tonight wade putting the championship on the line each and every week against competitors
14:48like dragunov do not make for long title ranks yeah it's a noble stance the fans tend to love it you get
14:55great matches like this but clinging onto that title is turning into a desperate act now for carmelo hayes
15:03and now dragging off with hayes up on his shoulders thought maybe he's going for a death valley
15:08driver and hayes was able to count now a kick right to the the knee hayes springboard oh what a ddt by
15:15hayes cover is it enough to retain no and here's an example of that durability of carmelo hayes who
15:24has taken an absolute pummeling in this one but he's finally got that second wind and that superior
15:32movement of carmelo hayes came to the floor with that yeah we are learning a lot the past few weeks
15:37about carmelo hayes you mentioned the resilience i mentioned the toughness earlier tonight he's flashy
15:43he's agile he's athletic he's smooth he's confident that's why he's the champion yeah this is the guy who
15:49completely dominated in nxt became the nxt champ the north american champ became the face of that brand
15:55we haven't seen enough of that version of carmelo over the past couple of years but he is back he's
16:01trying to drag himself up to the top rope dragging off dragging himself to his feet as well
16:08now dragging off with a big slap to the champion hayes this is for the united states championship an
16:21extremely physical and intense battle between hayes and the former champ dragon off yeah the two
16:27technicians who can both fly this has just been a good old-fashioned slugfest from the off
16:34and this crowd is lapping it up
16:41come on inside both of them now let's go question is who can exploit the fact that their opponent is
16:48severely weakened both men hanging on by a thread here what the hell is this hayes now lands on the
16:56apron looks like he was trying to drag it off off but drag it off now listen to the shots of the chest
17:02budget in there is carmelo crumbled a lesser man but not carmelo hayes not yellow look at the power
17:09into a superplex my god a deadlift superplex and malo's lower back took all of that we've said on a
17:17number of occasions way that drag it off may be pound for pound one of the strongest men in wwe today
17:24and he just showed you why moments ago this is a complete deadlift of a human being yeah at this point in
17:30the match where you're so exhausted already so impressive from ilia dragunov but can he get over
17:38the line that's what it's all about the united states championship and right now it's hanging in the
17:43balance
17:46body language tells the story of how brutal this match has been
17:51uh it's gonna be so much fun what's wrong with you what's wrong with you as dragunov just wants
18:01more beatings look at these two go at it dragunov said this is so much fun
18:09look at him fight back with the chops something mentally not right with ilia dragunov you think
18:20that's what makes him so devastating once that bell rings hey kick the dragon off
18:26what's carmelo planning to do here dangerous oh goodness
18:35turning that suplex into a cutter right on the apron on the jaw of ilia dragunov striking it hard there
18:44is no give whatsoever in that part of the ring i'm pretty sure drag it off does not find it fun
18:50anymore as the count rises yeah count of five now count of seven drag it off sent back into the ring
18:58carmelo hayes now looks to go up top to try to put this match away
19:05mellow moving he's having some issues with that left leg carmelo was trying to get feeling back in
19:10the left leg but drag it off quick to his feet i mean the left leg hurts i'm sure the entire body
19:17hurts on both men at this point how badly do you want it how deep how deep can you dig
19:26and now with uh with hayes up on his shoulder dragging off carrying the champion to the center
19:32of the ring valley driver into the corner and dragging off looking to win the united states
19:41championship rocks the arm and the legs and hayes kicks it two and a half yeah late late kick out there
19:48and ilia dragunov knows just how close he was to recapture in that united states championship
19:55death valley driver in the corner and landing high on the neck of mellow who's down and in the
20:00drops on cold and drag it off gonna go high risk wait a minute the miss the miss just dug drag it off off
20:06the top rope the official was over with hayes first 48 by carmelo hayes into the cover
20:12case closed hayes with the wind here is your winner and still united states champion
20:25carmelo hayes oh make no mistake about it wave that is a mocking applause by the miss well carmelo
20:35hayes did not see this take place that was the miss who clearly begrudges the fact
20:41the dragon off got the shot instead of him now mellow didn't see that at all of course he pounced
20:47called the pin well mellow has just seen the replay and is now living with the miss for
20:52interfering in this match yeah miz as you mentioned extremely jealous that carmelo hayes is
20:58the united states champion and it appears miz wanted carmelo to keep the title to maybe get a
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