Baron Corin Becomes #1 Contender For NXT Championship, Will Face Carmelo Hayes At Gold Rush

Baron Corbin has earned himself a shot at the "WWE NXT" Championship. During Tuesday's episode of "WWE NXT," Corbin defeated Ilja Dragunov to become the new #1 Contender for the "NXT" title. Corbin got a slight assist from Bron Breakker, who distracted Dragunov with an attempted sneak attack mind-match — the latest confrontation in a rivalry that began last week.

Corbin will now be facing "NXT" Champion Carmelo Hayes on the upcoming two-week "NXT" TV special, Gold Rush. Corbin vs. Hayes will be the main event of the second week and will take place on June 27. Corbin returned to the developmental brand on the May 30 episode and has been feuding with Hayes ever since. Despite his victory over Dragunov, Hayes got the last laugh, attacking Corbin after the bell and hitting him with Nothing But Net off the top rope.

Week one of "NXT" Gold Rush is set for June 20 and will feature Seth Rollins defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Breakker — at this point it seems likely that Dragunov will somehow get involved. Several other matches for Gold Rush have also been announced, including Tiffany Stratton vs. Thea Hail for the "NXT" Women's title and Wes Lee vs. Tyler Bate for the "NXT" North American title.