Shawn Michaels explains the harsh reality of pro-wrestling; warned Carmelo Hayes

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“I’ve looked at Melo and said, ‘This business is the way that it is. And sometimes, the best people are not always gonna finish in first place. It’s just that you may have to work harder than somebody else to get half as much.’ I don’t know if it’s my job to teach him about life. I will go ahead and leave that to their parents, but I need to at least do my best to teach them about this job. And yes, it is life,” said Shawn Michaels.

Carmelo Hayes claims he got “sidestepped”

It was the first episode of SmackDown in April 2026, when Carmelo Hayes held a United States Championship Open Challenge. Sami Zayn stepped in and defeated him to win the title. That quickly made his WrestleMania 42 match against Trick Williams official.

Carmelo, in kayfabe, was given a rematch the next week but was booked to lose. Speaking in an interview with Michael Fairman, Hayes said it was heartbreaking and felt like he ran the race, threw his arms, and was just about to finish, but got sidestepped.

If you use quotes from this article, please credit What’s Your Story? With Steph McMahon, and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.

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