3 Ups & 4 Downs From WWE SmackDown (17 May - Results & Review)

2. Carmelo Hayes Shines Again

Randy Orton Carmelo Hayes
WWE.com

Sure, Carmelo Hayes has lost to both Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton since jumping up from NXT to SmackDown, but one of those men is WWE Champ and the other is Randy f'n Orton. These are hardly damaging defeats for Hayes, let's be real. Fans aren't exactly going to give up on him just because he's staring at the lights for the best.

A loss to Baron Corbin last week would've been far more alarming.

It'd be smart to show patience with Carmelo. He was clearly a pet project of one Shawn Michaels on NXT, and that'll continue with Triple H on the main roster. Here, Melo entered another sparkling showing vs. one of WWE's most respected veterans, and that'll stand him in good stead going forwards.

Don't be shocked if he goes on a winning run soon, then finds himself in the running to win Money In The Bank. There's time for him to do the honours for LA Knight before that though (assuming that's the plan). Yep, Hayes will be absolutely fine coming out of this loss to Randy.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.