Since coming to the WWE, Carmelo Hayes has shown the world exactly how good he is. From his wars on NXT with Trick Williams, to representing the brand as the NXT Champion, Hayes has delivered on his run thus far. He has shown exactly why he is indeed “HIM.”
For a good portion of his run, Hayes was well-protected, especially in NXT. Despite his couple of losses on the main roster, Hayes still possesses all of the potential in the world to be one of WWE’s next big stars.
This could potentially all reach a whole other level in 2025 when Hayes very well likely could, and should be the one to dethrone Shinsuke Nakamura and win the United States Championship.
Carmelo Hayes should win the United States Championship in 2025
Back in April of 2024, Carmelo Hayes was selected in Night 1 of the WWE Draft, as the third overall draft pick. That very same night, Hayes jumped on the biggest dog he could, Cody Rhodes. Despite falling short, Hayes and Rhodes went to war which ended with Hayes winning the respect of Rhodes in defeat.
Since then we’ve seen Hayes have a very fun story with Andrade, which took up a good portion of his 2024. This was arguably one of the best stories for each men in 2024, and all of their matches delivered on just about every front. In their seven matches together, they tied at 3-3 and had one draw when LA Knight attacked both men, leading to a United States Championship triple threat match.
Hayes failed to win the title back at Crown Jewel, however he left his mark in that match and left many fans believing he should be next in line. Instead, WWE had other ideas, giving Shinsuke Nakamura the United States Championship with a win over LA Knight, and leaving Hayes to feud with Braun Strowman.
Back on December 13th, Hayes faced a mystery opponent which turned out to be Braun Strowman. Unfortunately, Hayes would be absolutely squashed in this match. It was not anyone’s favorite moment for Hayes, but it started something even bigger. Hayes and Strowman have been having a “David vs. Goliath” type of feud recently.
In their latest match, Hayes won via count out. However, a decisive win over Strowman, which should come sooner rather than later could very well put Hayes in a prime spot to once again be pushed. In 2025, Hayes should be the one to defeat Shinsuke Nakamura and win the United States Champion.
It’s time to put more gold around the waist of “HIM.” Hayes is certainly no stranger to gold as he’s won the NXT Championship and NXT North American Championship, representing the NXT brand in the process. However, it’s time for Hayes to get some gold on the main roster and 2025 should certainly be the year to do so.
