“Still holding my head high,” 29-year-old Superstar breaks silence after suffering his first loss on SmackDown 

When Shawn Michaels announced that the unknown NXT superstar in the 8-man tournament was Carmelo Hayes, fans went wild. They were excited to see ‘HIM’ showcase his skills on the main roster. It’s safe to say that he certainly made a good impression on everybody.

Hayes defeated his old rival Grayson Waller in his debut match on the main roster last week on SmackDown. Unfortunately, he couldn’t surpass his next-round opponent, Kevin Owens. Although he lost in a hard-fought battle, he has nothing to be ashamed of. The 29-year-old took his loss positively and believed better things were waiting for him in the future.

Back-to-back weeks on SmackDown. Win or lose, I still hold my head high. What's meant for me will be mine.

Carmelo Hayes on X

Hayes was happy that he got to perform on SmackDown for two weeks in a row. He further said whether he wins or loses, he will always be proud of himself.

As of now, he is completely invested in the storyline with Trick Williams, and constantly trying to prove that he did not attack his best friend. With all the fingers pointing at him, it will be interesting to see whether Hayes can prove he is innocent or if is he the one who attacked Trick.

Carmelo Hayes shares his experience working with Cody Rhodes

When Cody Rhodes was nearing his return at Royal Rumble, he was constantly training with the NXT stars like Carmelo Hayes and Joe Gacy. Hayes shared his experience working with Cody.

The 29-year-old gave an interview on Chris Van Vliet‘s podcast and talked about various things related to his career. He said working with Cody helped him a lot, he didn’t feel like Cody was learning from him, he was learning from Cody instead. The American Nightmare himself chose guys like Hayes and Gacy to get to know them.

So I knew he was getting ready to come back for the Royal Rumble, he had picked Joe Gacy and myself to kind of work around with him. Cody wants to get to know the younger talent. But it was a huge honor, and I didn't feel like I was helping him out, he was helping me out, he was fine.

Carmelo Hayes on Cody Rhodes via Chris Van Vliet podcast

Hayes further added that when he worked with Rhodes, it just felt different. He said Cody has so much experience under his belt as he has traveled the world around, and also featured in the main event at WrestleMania. The 29-year-old has impressed everybody with his performance on SmackDown. Although he lost and is now out of the tournament, he has the potential to be the world champion in the future.

In case you missed it:

• TKO wants to extend top Raw star’s multi-year WWE contract to even longer period on priority: Reports
• WATCH: WWE’s top executive takes a brutal shot at Roman Reigns backstage on SmackDown 

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