Kevin Owens Sends a Message to Carmelo Hayes After His US Title High on SmackDown

Carmelo Hayes has received a stamp of validation from Kevin Owens following the 31-year-old's US Championship win on SmackDown.

Kevin Owens Sends a Message to Carmelo Hayes After His US Title High on SmackDown

Carmelo Hayes and Kevin Owens [via- WWE]

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Kevin Owens is currently recovering from a neck injury, but he’s keeping up with what his co-workers are up to these days. ‘The Prizefighter’ has reacted to Carmelo Hayes‘ US title triumph from SmackDown this past Friday. As Michael Cole said on commentary, Hayes got the proverbial monkey off his back the moment he pinned Ilja Dragunov‘s shoulders to the mat.

‘The A-Champion’ later took to X and explained how he felt that the crowd lifted him up to the top rope, after which he clocked Dragunov with Nothing But Net to do the rest. Kevin Owens has quoted a reply to Hayes’ post, congratulating the 31-year-old for his special and well-deserved moment.

The Massachusetts-born wrestler has already received praise from WWE CCO Triple H, who foresees big things on the horizon for the man they call ‘H1M’. Hayes previously wrestled Owens on SmackDown back in December 2023 in the semifinals of the then-ongoing US title tournament.

The former NXT Champion hadn’t been called up to the main roster at that point in time but displayed glimpses of his brilliance against the veteran wrestler, who got the better of Hayes back then. It’d be interesting to see if the two of them ever get to share the ring again. In early November, the Quebec-born brawler gave a sneak peek into his resumption of training for an in-ring return.

He underwent neck fusion surgery in July and said in its aftermath that the fusion ended up being one level, which couldn’t have been better for a situation like he was in. The extent of his recovery is hinged on how the bones will end up fusing. Owens is targeting 2026 for a return to the wrestling ring, though it’s not a guarantee by any means.

Kevin Owens was front row for John Cena’s WWE farewell at Saturday Night’s Main Event

Back on December 13, John Cena had his last match in WWE. Before throwing it down with Gunther, the 17-time world champion took a stroll at ringside to greet his former in-ring rivals, and Kevin Owens was one of them. The former Universal Champion received a thunderous pop from the DC crowd when he was shown on camera.

John Cena and Kevin Owens
John Cena and Kevin Owens [via- WWE]

Cena and Owens shared a warm embrace to make the night even more emotional for the fans. John Cena was Kevin Owens’ first main roster opponent. Back in 2015, at the Elimination Chamber, ‘The Cenation Leader’ suffered an upset loss to ‘The Prizefighter’. It put Owens on the map and would forever remain etched in his heart.

Many fans deemed it extremely unfortunate that the Canuck didn’t get a chance to mix it up with ‘The Franchise Player’ even once in his retirement tour. Owens was active for the first three months of 2025, in which Cena had only wrestled in a couple of matches, first at the Royal Rumble and next at the Elimination Chamber.

Neither of the two brought Cena and Owens face-to-face, which, in hindsight, should’ve been the other way around, as ‘KO’ got sidelined after wrestling Sami Zayn in an unsanctioned match. Owens’ unavailability led to the cancellation of his WrestleMania match with Randy Orton, who, in turn, met Joe Hendry as the surprise replacement on D-Day.

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