WWE SummerSlam 2026: 12 Things That NEED To Happen

11. Carmelo Hayes Wrecks US Title Match

Eyebrows were raised when none other than Baron Corbin returned on the 10 July edition of SmackDown to lay out both Trick Williams and Carmelo Hayes. The former 'Constable' hasn't been seen outside of pre-taped promo material since, so this United States Title tilt vs. Trick Willy will be his first televised WWE match since 2024.

Many believe that it's Melo who deserved this SummerSlam platform, not Corbin, but the creative team disagreed. They clearly view Baron's legacy name value as more important, and there is merit in claiming that a win over Corbs would help out Williams mid-run. Things have cooled off just a little bit too much for Trick since he turned babyface.

A momentum boosting win sounds great then.

He might not get it though, and Carmelo is the reason why. Ideally, on Sunday, Hayes will sprint out and put a stop to the title bout. He can even grab a microphone afterwards and explain why - it should've been "Him" who received that title shot on such a huge PLE, 'not Happy f'n Corbin'. Putting some fire behind Melo's words doesn't sound like a terrible idea at this point in time. He probably needs some gusto as a personality to back up his supreme in-ring skills.

Everyone knows that Trick vs. Melo is the real way to go on a future PLE too, so this would make perfect sense. Then, Baron can slot into a Matt Cardona-esque role by putting others over first and foremost. Putting the US Title on him in lieu of Williams (or even Hayes) would suck.