WWE NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes Reveals Challenges of Shifting from Villain to Hero

WWE NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes cemented the HIM era at NXT Battleground, where he seemingly closed the chapter on his rivalry with Bron Breakker. Hayes and Breakker have been two of the tentpoles of NXT since they arrived, and their story has resulted in changes for both Superstars. Coming into this feud, Hayes was clearly the heel, while Breakker was the face overcoming all odds, but that's all been turned on its head, as we've seen Hayes transform into the hero of the story and Breakker become the villain. ComicBook.com's Matthew Aguilar had the chance to speak with Hayes about that transformation and if it's been at all challenging, and there have been a few things that took getting used to.

"I can't lie, that has been a little bit of a challenge because it was easy to almost not worry about what the fans are thinking. You don't like me? Cool. You like me? I don't care. That was a good spot because it was like, obviously the character Carmelo Hayes, you know what I mean? But you want the fans to like you and enjoy what you're doing and respect you and things, and as far as going against your favorite Babyface, you could cheer me if you want, you could boo me if you want, I'm still the man," Hayes said.

"But now being, it's a little bit more leaning on doing the right type of thing, you know what I mean? Because shoot, if you're not cheating, you're not trying. There's a lot of things that I had to change in my game as far as how my matches go and stuff because we won a lot of matches with Trick's help and things like that," Hayes said. "And it's a little bit doing things the right way now, which is fine by me because I'm more than capable, but it's little things like that."

This was evident at Battleground, as while Trick Williams was at ringside, he didn't interfere in the match in any way. That match was purely Hayes vs Breakker, and it was Hayes that came out on top. While their story may continue down the road in some form or fashion, it looks to be complete for now. That doesn't mean Hayes' life is getting less complicated though, as he now has to deal with Free Agent Baron Corbin.

During our conversation, Hayes also revealed what has been the most surprising aspect of being the NXT Champion and being a huge focal point of the brand. It's something Hayes has embraced, though the element that surprised him most didn't involve the ring.

"As probably the amount of representation I've been having to do, which is not something that I'm new to because I remember I was doing this even before, we were doing a lot of media and stuff, even when I had the North American title," Hayes said. "But being able to go home, doing the news, do all the radio stations, go the Celtics game, I want to be that."

"And I had asked for that responsibility and I think we may be, we've been talking about it before, that if I win the Title, I'm willing to take that responsibility and do these types of things, to be the face of the brand," Hayes said. "So yeah, I think it has a lot to do with all those little things. Just making sure that I'm representing the company, representing the brand, and representing the NXT Championship and Carmelo Hayes."

Now Hayes will have to deal with Corbin, who is a Free Agent and is evidently going for the NXT Championship. That will play out next week on NXT, and likely lead to a battle at Great American Bash, but we'll have to wait and see.

What do you want to see next for Hayes? Let us know in the comments or as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Twitter @MattAguilarCB!