WWE NXT 2.0 North American Champion Carmelo Hayes recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. The Champion discussed several topics during his time on the show, including how he revealed his ‘top guy’ intentions to Shawn Michaels backstage at the Performance Center.
“I had a conversation earlier with Shawn (Michaels) about how I want to be a top guy eventually,” Carmelo Hayes began. “He was like, ‘alright, we’ll give you the ball and you can run with it. We’ll get you where we need to get you.’”
“I told Shawn that I see myself as a top guy” Hayes continued. “I told him, ‘take me there.’ And I think that (conversation) is what gave him the belief that, ‘OK, this kid is a little different.’
“And on top of that, my mindset is every time I step out, it is WrestleMania” the new North American Champion revealed. “I’m not one of those guys who’s just happy to be here. I truly, truly want to be great – through my work, actions, attitude, and training. I’m just trying to work harder than everybody else, and I think it’s showing.”
Carmelo Hayes on Creative Freedom
Carmelo Hayes would also reveal that he has some leeway when it comes to his promos in the NXT 2.0 format alongside Trick Williams.
“They give us bullet points” Hayes noted. “But I’m big on trying to say stuff that I would truly say. So a lot of the stuff you’re hearing is 100 percent from me – with their direction.
“I’ve been lucky enough to where they’ve trusted me, to say what I want. That’s really the direction they’re going in now, they are trusting guys, especially down here in NXT 2.0. They are trusting guys to be authentic” Hayes concluded.
