It was a busy night on WWE SmackDown, which included four rounds of picks for the WWE Draft and a number of reveals and additions to the card for WWE Backlash. There were a few true surprises in the draft picks as well, and amongst night one’s 32 picks there were also two NXT call-ups, and both superstars are poised to have big impacts on their respective brands. Those two call-ups were Carmelo Hayes and Kiana James, with Hayes calling SmackDown home while James will hold court on Monday Night Raw.
Hayes made an impact early, as Melo was SmackDown’s second pick of the night. Melo wasn’t done though, as he came out to greet Triple H and Cody Rhodes on the stage. Rhodes and Hayes got into a bit of a back-and forth before Rhodes gave the crowd want they wanted and said he was down for a match against SmackDown’s newest signing, which would end up being the main event of the night.
Videos by ComicBook.com
The next NXT call-up wouldn’t happen until the final pick of the night, which was a pick for Monday Night Raw. Raw would also deliver the biggest surprise of the night with this pick, as they selected Kiana James to join the red brand.
James has been one of NXT’s biggest rising stars over the course of the past year, and has shined in tag teams and singles matches in her current heel persona. She’s also shown a knack for forming alliances and various teams while always staying in the forefront, and that should suit her well on Raw, which has a host of talented superstars in need of allies and possibly a leader.
James also provides a big heel presence for a brand that could use it. With Becky Lynch and Rhea Ripley holding court in the women’s division as faces, you only have Liv Morgan at the moment as your main heel now that Nia Jax is on SmackDown. Like Zoey Stark before her, James can hit the ground running when she debuts on the show and immediately mix it up with Raw’s babyface powerhouses.
As for Hayes, he then had a fantastic match with Rhodes, and it was a hell of an introduction to kick off his official main roster run. Hayes has quickly established he can go with anyone, and now we’ll have to see who his first proper feud ends up being against. There are several options from tonight’s draft alone, including LA Knight, AJ Styles, and The Bloodline, and he could also end up colliding with Logan Paul.
What did you think of the two NXT Call-ups, and who do you want to see brought in from NXT on night two on Monday Night Raw? You can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!
