WWE's Carmelo Hayes Praises New NXT Talent, Doesn't Think There Are Many Holes in the Roster
WWE NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes solidified his Championship reign at NXT Battleground after taking down Bron Breakker, and now he is shifting his focus to his newest challenger. That was shockingly revealed to be Free Agent Baron Corbin, who hit the ring and delivered an End of Days to Hayes before holding the Title above his head. While Hayes deals with this latest threat, there's still plenty to be thrilled about. ComicBook.com's Matthew Aguilar spoke to Hayes all about his Title reign and what the future holds, but Hayes was also asked what he is most proud of regarding his own journey and the journey of NXT as a whole, and it's the roster that shines brightest. That roster features a wave of new talent and NXT UK talent, and Hayes feels it creates a roster with very few holes.
"So as far as myself when I'm most proud that they were able to take a core couple of guys and girls and rebrand this whole thing multiple times and we're still at the center of it," Hayes said. "That makes me proud because they put a lot on us early and they bet on us early to help the brand and to succeed and to be pretty much where we are now, and we lived up to those expectations.
"Now seeing all the newer talent come in and just get it so quickly and fall right in place and help the machine move and continue to move, and having the guys from the UK come and they're just fantastic, fantastic talents and they gel with everybody and they elevate everybody," Hayes said. "The roster feels very strong. I don't think there's very many holes in NXT right now. "
"Obviously you have experience and then you have people learning, but that's part of the show. You have to adjust. You are going to see bangers and you're going to see people having their third and fourth matches and then people trying to get promo work and things like that. So it is like a variety show in a lot of ways, but I think we have a very strong core NXT roster and attitude going on right now here," Hayes said.
When NXT UK shut down ahead of its NXT Europe relaunch, a number of the brand's biggest stars came over to stateside NXT. That included Ilja Dragunov, Lyra Valkyria, Gallus, Tyler Bate, Noam Dar, Blair Davenport, Isla Dawn, and Nathan Frazer. Pretty Deadly and Alba Fyre came over from NXT UK previously, and other NXT UK stars have also shown up from time to time, like Meiko Satomura. They've started to really find their place and thrive in the NXT roster over the past few months, and the increased room on the roster after the WWE Draft only helped move them into the spotlight to a greater degree.
There's also a new wave of talent in NXT finding success on the roster, including names like Sol Ruca, Nikita Lyons, Eddy Thorpe, Dragon Lee, Fallon Henley, Kiana James, Tank Ledger, and more. The roster did recently lose a number of veterans and big names in the Draft, including the NXT Women's Champion and the Women's Tag Team Champions, but the talent in NXT looks more than capable of filling those positions and keeping things rolling.
What do you think of the current NXT roster? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!