What WWE Really Thinks Of Carmelo Hayes REVEALED (WWE News)

Is Carmelo Hayes still considered to be "HIM" on WWE's main roster?

by Michael Hamflett
Carmelo Hayes The Miz
WWE.com

Carmelo Hayes' current backstage standing within WWE has been revealed following his most recent loss to United States Champion Baron Corbin.

The former titleholder lost to the recent returnee on the August 14th edition of the show. 'The Lone Wold' has stacked up victories against Hayes and his former partner-turned-enemy Trick Williams in recent weeks to reclaim a prize he last held almost ten years ago, but this latest defeat for 'Melo may not be signs that the company have given up on him on Friday nights.

Per Sean Ross Sapp answering a question about his standing on a recent Fightful Select Answers Q&A;

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"I've never heard anything about him being viewed negatively backstage. He's always been referred to as dependable, professional, and with a lot of upside. I think WWE definitely waits too long to pull the trigger on a lot of talent to their full potential which is why people can develop longtime perceptions of wrestlers not being main eventers. He was a favorite of Shawn Michaels in NXT, but that doesn't always translate to being one of Triple H's favorites."

After a soft-launch in late 2023, Hayes debuted proper on the main roster with a loss against Cody Rhodes just after WrestleMania XL in 2024. He's been a permanent member of the SmackDown roster ever since, with his best work coming in a best-of-seven series against Andrade and a United States title reign that ran from December 2025 to April 2026. That loss to Sami Zayn ultimately cost him making the WrestleMania card. This worked in service of Zayn's impending heel turn and loss to Trick Williams, but did little to keep things rolling for Hayes, and he's failed to appear on a Premium Live Event since.

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Occasional teases of a reunion/revived feud with Trick Williams notwithstanding, Melo's not really been heavily featured on television either, though the above review suggests at very least that WWE values him as an important roster member, if not currently a priority star.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation for nearly 10 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with over 70,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, Fightful, POST Wrestling, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana, 411Mania and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has provided in-person coverage of some of the biggest pay-per-views and Premium Live Events in wrestling history, including WrestleMania, Survivor Series, All In & Double Or Nothing in destinations such as New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in music and culture magazines The Crack, Pilot as well as Sunderland AFC's premiere fanzine A Love Supreme. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it every other Saturday at the Stadium Of Light, and at Cribs gigs nationwide.