5 Ups & 5 Downs From NXT Vengeance Day 2024

by Scott Carlson

1. ‘F*** You Melo!’

Carmelo Hayes Trick Williams
WWE

If you’re going to turn heel, it might as well be in the most convincing and soul-crushing way possible. Otherwise, what’s the point? You get one shot to generate that nuclear heat of turning your back on everything good.

Carmelo Hayes didn’t miss his shot Sunday night, finally paying off a story that dragged on for too long by turning on longtime running buddy Trick Williams, hitting his friend when he was down, just moments after Trick lost an NXT Championship match. Hayes was there in Williams’ corner throughout the match, but at one point he “inadvertently” chop-blocked Trick. But he mainly acted as a cheerleader and played it close to the vest.

Afterward, he turned on Williams, wearing out a steel chair on his injured knee and leaving him in a heap in the ring, walking out to a chorus of boos and angry chants from a very pissed-off audience. Melo shot back to the fans, “You made me like this!”

Hayes will likely explain himself on NXT on Tuesday (and hopefully won’t say, “I don’t owe you an explanation”) and will probably be revealed as the guy who attacked Trick all those months ago. If played right, Hayes could be a nuclear heel to give Williams an even bigger rub at Stand and Deliver.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.