Were Carmelo Hayes and Ilja Dragunov Able to Defeat DIY on 12/19 WWE SmackDown?

For weeks now, United States Champion Ilja Dragunov and DIY have had a problem with each other. Things between them got even worse last week. After he retained on the December 12, 2025 episode of Friday Night SmackDown against Tommaso Ciampa, his partner Johnny Gargano attacked him. With a two-on-one attack going on, Carmelo Hayes came to the rescue. He cleared the ring, making DIY even angrier than before.

A tag team match between the four men was set up the following week. Would Ciampa and Gargano get the last laugh, or would Dragunov and Hayes keep making them miserable?

Dragunov and Hayes Give DIY Another Loss

Ciampa and Gargano have had multiple embarrassing moments on the microphone and in the ring thanks to Dragunov and Hayes. The latter are fed up with DIY’s antics themselves, wanting a win to make them go away. People who watch NXT know all about their title matches during the fall of 2023. Would their shared history be a factor in the match’s decision?

The match started with all four men showing off their impressive offense. It was clear it wasn’t going to be easy for any of them to get the pinfall. Luckily for DIY, they had a secret weapon in the form of Candice LeRae. She climbed up on the apron and distracted the referee.

As that was happening, Dragunov was climbing to the top rope to jump on Ciampa. Noticing what was going on, Gargano pushed him off the top rope. That allowed Ciampa to run and knee him all the way to the announcer’s table. That got both him and Hayes really mad, which allowed them to stay in the match.

After a failed pin on Gargano, Hayes tagged in Dragunov, then leapt outside to take out Ciampa. They proceeded to go back and forth with pinfalls, but kept kicking out. That just showed the audience that the four men are truly talented wrestlers.

They were some of NXT’s best, so it was clear a great match would happen when they eventually met on the main roster. Things finally came to an end when Dragunov ruined a DIY Meet in the Middle attempt on Hayes.