7 Ups & 1 Down From WWE SmackDown (14 Feb - Results & Review)

Down...

1. Carmelo Hayes Lacks Direction

On the plus side, at least Carmelo Hayes was wrestling someone on his own brand this week (R-Truth moved in the seemingly never-ending Transfer Window), but a win over Truth isn't what Melo needs right now. The dude needs some direction. Being honest, accepting The Miz’s backstage offer and becoming “Melo Don’t Miz” wouldn’t be the worst thing for him right now.

A run in the tag-team ranks could do Hayes some good, because things aren’t working on the main roster thus far. There's time for that to change, but yeah - it’s been a bit rough for somebody who was a lightning rod on NXT, and that was unexpected. This fan definitely thought Melo would be a smash hit on SmackDown, especially when he was working with everyone from Cody Rhodes to Randy Orton.

The sensational series of matches he had with Andrade proved to be a false dawn too. Since then, Carmelo has been spinning his wheels and trying to find something/anything to remain relevant on TV. It perhaps says everything that his match was the only one that could've been deleted from scripts without anyone noticing on Friday night.

Yikes. That is not a good sign.

As the intro stated, LA Knight is next in line to challenge Shinsuke Nakamura for the United States Title. Hayes going after Shin was always far fetched 'cause they're both heels, but Melo badly needs creative to toss him a bone. It sucks to see somebody so talented working such lowly spots every other week. Maybe patience is a virtue?