Carmelo Hayes reflects on his SmackDown throwdown with Cody Rhodes

When Carmelo Hayes was drafted in the first round of the 2024 WWE Draft, it felt like a big deal.

Sure, Hayes has technically been a member of the main roster for a few months now, returning to NXT for his feud with Trick Williams as a guest with few expecting him to stick around in NXT regardless of how his program turned out, but going top four? In the most loaded era of WWE ever, by some people’s estimation? Well, fans didn’t have to wait long to see why Nick Aldis made the decision, as after Cody Rhodes announced his selection, the “A-Champ” marched down to the ring to announce his presence and challenge the “American Nightmare” to a match right then and there.

Unfortunately, Hayes didn’t secure the win over the top performer in WWE, but still, he found a way to get over with the SmackDown crowd nonetheless, which he explained in an appearance on The Bump.

“I’m feeling like I see what I could have did to beat Cody Rhodes after I watched the match back. There’s a couple of slip-ups that we could have fixed up, and I might have had him when I had him in that Crossrhodes. Then he tried to catch me with the Cody Cutter in mid-air, but he was just too slow, and I’m too fast. But all of that removed, I feel like I’m just so ready to put the rest of the SmackDown roster on notice. I’m so much hungrier than a lot of these guys. A lot of these guys have been up there for so long, they’ve been getting paid for so long they’re comfortable. The one thing you can’t be around Carmelo Hayes is comfortable or complacent because I’m coming for it all, like I did in NXT. I took everything, and I plan to do the same thing on SmackDown,” Carmelo Hayes explained on The Bump via 411 Mania.

“One of the things I’ve always been about, closed mouths don’t get fed on this boulevard. I don’t sit around and wait for opportunities to come to me, I never have. If you look as far back as my NXT career, I stepped to the man at that time in my second match. My first match was a Cruiserweight Championship match. I don’t sit around and wait for opportunities. I go out and I take them. That’s part of my motto with shooting my shot. It takes shots to make shots. To go at Cody Rhodes, it was shot I was willing to miss if I had to miss it, but one thing that everybody on SmackDown’s gonna learn and needs to realize is that I’m second to none. I’m the one, man. I’m one of one, and I am him.”

Was it bold to see Hayes shoot his shot on Day 1 against Rhodes, a man he’s worked with in the past on RAW and in NXT? Sure but frankly, what about Hayes’ career hasn’t been bold? I mean, we’re talking about a performer who told Shawn Michaels he was going to be the face of NXT at the beginning of his run in developmental; bold is sort of Hayes’ thing.