Fightful Select reported today that Carmelo Hayes specifically caught the eye of Shawn Michaels, who is working as a top WWE NXT 2.0 official. It was said that Hayes is viewed as a “project” of Michaels.
A source believes Michaels sees a lot of himself in Hayes. He impressed many with his match with Kushida in early June and later Adam Cole.
Hayes won the North American Title from Isaiah Scott on Tuesday’s episode. The title change was done to establish a new star and keeping Scott strong on his way out as he’s going to the main roster on SmackDown along with Hit Row.
Although WWE had discussed this past summer for Hayes to be part of the Cruiserweight Division, WWE decided against it with the mass talent cuts in the division.