Carmelo Hayes (Christian Bringham) is one of WWE’s top prospects who is currently signed with NXT. With a whole lot of experience in the independent pro wrestling scene and being a 2-time NXT North American champion, he is said to be a top name in the books of WWE higher ups like Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
He was the 2021 NXT Breakout Tournament winner and the last NXT Cruiserweight champion before it was defunct. Hayes has the look as well as athleticism and charisma to reach the top of the mountain when he moves to the main roster. Let’s look at some astonishing facts about this future top star of the company:
1. Carmelo Hayes Referenced John Cena
Career defining moment 🤞🏾 https://t.co/Ut5LGPKXeQ
Advertisement— Carmelo Hayes (@Carmelo_WWE) March 22, 2022
Carmelo Hayes imitated John Cena’s debut by slapping Adam Cole on his second NXT night, in the same way Cena had slapped Kurt Angle.
He even mentioned “Ruthless Aggression” before doing this. There he showed the WWE Universe who he is trying to be in future, someone who is no less than the Leader of the Cenation.
2. Shawn Michaels prodigy
Carmelo Hayes specifically caught the eye of Shawn Michaels, and was viewed as a "project" of his by many.
A high level NXT source said that they believe Shawn Michaels sees a lot of himself in Carmelo Hayes
Advertisement– @FightfulSelect pic.twitter.com/CbkJvFfbEt
— WrestlePurists (@WrestlePurists) October 13, 2021
He has endorsement from the legendary Heart Break Kid himself, who reportedly sees a young himself in Hayes. Carmelo considers Michaels to be a father figure who regularly guides him. He says that the legend, who is a top ranking official in WWE now, just thinks differently and gives him valuable advice.
3. Carmelo Hayes is close to MVP
During an interview with The Black Announce Table, he revealed that he is close to WWE superstar MVP (Montel Vontavious Porter). He considers MVP to be more of a cool uncle and a friend rather than a father figure.
He narrates how the baller once showed up at the WWE Performance Center and they hit it off really well even training together in the ring. They are in regular touch now and he even called MVP a mentor to him. Maybe he can have the veteran as his manager on the main roster.
4. WrestleMania match with Seth Rollins
The Visionary Seth Rollins is on top of Carmelo’s list of superstars he wants to steal the show with at WrestleMania. He says it’s his soulful desire to work with Rollins and feels it will happen in the future.
Hayes also wants matches with Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods and Roman Reigns down the road. He expressed his desire to go straight to the top and believes WWE needs him.
5. Joined WWE instead of AEW
Carmelo revealed that after working in the indies for 5 years, he had offers lining up from different promotions to join them. He thought he would consider some companies and work here and there but finally made up his mind that he wants to go with the top two, either WWE or somewhere else (AEW).
He wanted to consider none but the best and kept working hard to be considered by them somehow. His wish finally came true when the two top players expressed their interest in him at the same time and he ended up joining WWE over AEW.
