Carmelo Hayes Learned One Thing From WWE Stars

While he's currently enjoying success as United States Champion, Carmelo Hayes' earlier time on WWE's main roster wasn't as fruitful. Still, he managed to look for the positives, and in doing so, learned a valuable skill from two of WWE's top stars, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns.

"Biggest thing I noticed with Cody especially is just the connection with the fans," Hayes told "No Holds Barred." "I feel like that's something that in Roman too. They're connected. It's just like they're one. They're ride or die, up and down.

"I will say that what has been good for me is this year and a half of trying to figure out, who I am, what I am, what my purpose is, kind of took the fans on a ride with me where they felt like they've seen the journey," he continued. "They've seen me fail. They've seen me have to jump over a hurdle or start back at the beginning, so it's almost like they organically said, 'Hey, you know what? We want something for this guy. We want to see this guy win. We want to see this guy overcome.' So I think that was my connection that I ended up finding with the fans."

Hayes, a former NXT Champion, received his official call up to the main roster in April 2024 as a first round pick in the WWE Draft. In the months following, he notably feuded with Andrade through a best of seven match series that ended in a no contest, with both of them losing to LA Knight in a triple threat US Title match at WWE Crown Jewel. In 2025, Hayes formed an alliance with WWE veteran The Miz, though that later dissolved and propelled Hayes into the spotlight as a babyface singles star.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "No Holds Barred" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

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Read the original article on Wrestling Inc.