Right now, Carmelo Hayes is the star of the show with WWE on Tuesday nights. He claimed the NXT Championship from Bron Breakker at NXT Stand & Deliver 2023, adding to his resume which already included the NXT Breakout Tournament, NXT North American Championship, and NXT Cruiserweight Championship.
However, he never defended the Cruiserweight belt, only unifying it with the North American Championship – as he never wanted to be just a 205 Live guy in WWE.
Carmelo Hayes Took Initiative, Asked Triple H & Shawn Michaels To Give Him Big Chances
While appearing on the WWE After The Bell podcast with Corey Graves, Hayes would recall early conversations in WWE NXT – where he expressed to both Triple H & Shawn Michaels that he wanted to be a top name, and had all the tools to do so. Hayes had the following to say.
“Finally they gave me a shot, they gave me my name, and then two days later they gave me a shot against Kushida for the Cruiserweight title in my debut. After that match, I had done really well, but I remember talking to Hunter after. I was like, ‘Man, I know I could do so much better.’ Then I remember talking to Shawn Michaels and I was telling Shawn straight up, I said, ‘Man, I really want to be a top guy.
I don’t want to get like, nothing wrong with 205 Live. I know I’m undersized, but I don’t want to be a 205 Live guy.’ Shawn will even say to this day that he kind of respected that I had the balls to come up to him and tell him that, and here we are. I bet on myself at that very moment and that was something that I just believed. It was like, I know I have a lot to offer for this brand. Just give me the ball.”
WWE has given Hayes the ball – and there is no sign of him even considering dropping it anytime soon. He’s set to have his rematch with Breakker at NXT Battleground, but is expected to continue his reign well in 2023.
Are you a fan of Carmelo Hayes in WWE? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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