WWE NXT star Carmelo Hayes faced Grayson Waller in a United States Championship Tournament First Round Match this past Friday on SmackDown and came out of the match with a huge win.
Kevin Owens also competed in a United States Championship Tournament First Round Match against Austin Theory on SmackDown and won his match.
Later in the broadcast, Hayes and Owens had a backstage interaction ahead of their scheduled tournament match on next week’s show. Hayes talked about this interaction in a backstage interview on the SmackDown Lowdown.
Hayes said, “I’m glad I got to talk to Kevin for a second and just let him know that I’m not that guy.” “There’s so many guys around here that probably walk on eggshells around Kevin Owens, but I’m not going to be one of them.”
“I am Carmelo Hayes. I am a former NXT Champion, just like Kevin Owens. On top of that, I am him, and one thing I won’t do is bow down or back down from anybody.”
You can check out Hayes’ comments in the video below.
(H/T to Fightful for transcribing the above quotes)
