Having defeated an NXT Champion for a championship, it came as a surprise to many to see a WWE star drop the title one week later.
That’s what happened after Solo Sikoa faced Carmelo Hayes for the NXT North American Championship on the September 13 2022 NXT 2.0 One Year Anniversary Show.
He would defend the title at SmackDown against Madcap Moss before vacating the championship on September 20.
Carmelo Hayes recently weighed in on the baffling creative choice in an interview with Fightful that took place ahead of NXT Deadline on December 10.
Speaking to Sean Ross Sapp, Hayes said of the situation:
“I took the challenge on it.
“I said, ‘Okay,’ because it’s out of my control.
“At that point, it’s like, I’m not going to fight Shawn Michaels for this title.
“‘Hey, give it to me. Come on.’
It was a challenge that I was looking at like, ‘Okay, if I have to prove it again.
“If I have to prove five times that I’m the man, I’ll prove it five times.’”
Hayes would further explain his approach to setbacks and obstacles like this, saying:
“That’s always my mindset.
“They keep throwing things at me to see if I’m going to miss, and I looked at this as another one of those.
“‘Okay, you want to take my title and you want make me try…’
“I didn’t win it back, so I guess I did miss.
“At the same time, ‘You want to put me in a ladder match, you want me to show out and get my title back, alright, that’s what we’re going to do.’”
The vacant NXT North American Championship was contested in a five-way Ladder Match at Halloween Havoc.
The match featured Carmelo Hayes, Oro Mensah, Von Wagner, Nathan Frazer and Wes Lee, who would go on to win the title.
Transcript from Fightful.
Think you’re a wrestling mastermind? Well you can prove it by taking quizzes in our brand new quiz section! Don’t forget to tweet us your results!
Trending
- WWE Botches Bloodline Match Announcement
- Damian Priest Shares WWE Moment He Struggled To Stay In Character
- Challenge Issued To Tony Khan Ahead Of Upcoming Pay-Per-View
- Current AEW Champion Suffers Leg Injury
- Recent WWE Release ‘Surprised’ Those In The Company
- Departing WWE Star Comments On Departure, Says Door Is Open For Return
- Former Champion Open To WWE Return Appearance
- Chris Jericho AEW Double Or Nothing Opponent Update
- Another Championship Match & More To Be Added To AEW Double Or Nothing
- Drew McIntyre Reacts To Hilarious Moment From WWE Star On SmackDown