WWE still believes in 32-year-old star despite recent booking – REPORT

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According to a Fightful Select Answers Q&A, WWE is still high on Carmelo Hayes backstage. It was noted that Hayes is viewed as a professional backstage who still has a ton of upside.

Hayes was SmackDown’s first overall pick in the WWE Draft in 2024. He won the NXT Championship and the North American Championship during his time in the company’s developmental brand. Hayes also won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in 2025. The popular star still has not competed at a WrestleMania event since being called up to the main roster.

Popular WWE star comments on working with Carmelo Hayes

Ricky Saints recently opened up about working with Carmelo Hayes on SmackDown.

In an interview with Complex, the former AEW star praised Hayes and noted that they had good chemistry in the ring. Saints admitted that he wasn’t a fan of everything the former champion did but couldn’t have asked for a better opponent once joining the main roster.

“So, this is kind of unexpected to be real with you because while I am a fan of Carmelo Hayes in certain aspects — I don’t really like everything that he does — I will say that my man brings it, and so, I don’t think I could’ve had a better opponent for my first time really being on SmackDown and getting my feet truly wet on SmackDown than him, and I have realized for the three matches that we have that there are some parallels between me and him that I can’t even ignore, and I think that makes our chemistry pretty good,” he said. (H/T: Fightful)

It will be interesting to see if WWE has anything substantial planned for Hayes in the months ahead on SmackDown.