WWE Main Roster & NXT Key Difference Explained

WWE

The difference between the WWE main roster programming and its NXT counterpart has been revealed by a current champion.

Having signed a WWE contract in February 2021, Carmelo Hayes is approaching his fifth year in the company and was called up to the main roster in 2024.

The current WWE United States Champion, Hayes has also held titles over in NXT and compared both brands in recent comments.

Speaking to the Toronto Sun’s No Holds Barred podcast, Hayes revealed that NXT had a seeming faster pace than the main roster environment, saying:

“NXT was a lot of go, go, go. I remember Shawn had told me early on, ‘Hey, if you can do this, you could go up there and do that easy. Once you’ve got this down, the main roster is kind of just like that.’ It is a little bit of like, not a slower pace, it depends on who you’re in the ring with…

“I’ve always worked guys who are bigger than me because obviously I’m not the biggest guy. I’m used to that sort of style and sort of story, so I didn’t have to do much to change that. I try to just stick to what got me to the dance.

“I’m very adaptable, I think that’s one of the things that’s gotten me this far, being kind of like a hybrid style… Whatever it is they need me to do, I can kind of adapt.

“I wouldn’t say it was a huge change, it’s just a matter of learning how to bring the people in more, as opposed to relying on my wrestling to get the crowd going. It’s more, how can my character within the match allow the people to come in.”

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Hayes defeated Ilja Dragunov on the December 26 episode of WWE SmackDown to become the United States Champion.

Following his recent title defense against Johnny Gargano, Hayes has teased a possible intergender tag team match with his real-life fiancé, NXT’s Kelani Jordan.

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