Carmelo Hayes reveals dream WrestleMania 40 opponent

Carmelo Hayes says he’d like to wrestle Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 40 next year in Philadelphia.

In an interview with Under the Ring, Hayes spoke about wrestling Rollins and why he’d be the performer to get the best out of him. “I feel like if there’s anybody I think I find as similar to me and my style that I would mesh with really well in the ring, it’d be Seth Rollins.”

Hayes has spoken before about wanting to wrestle Rollins. Hayes is a multiple time NXT North American Champion and is wrestling Bron Breakker for the NXT Championship at Stand and Deliver Saturday morning. It’s his first shot at the NXT Championship since becoming a fixture of the brand in 2021. Hayes spoke to Wrestling Inc. and said that winning the NXT Championship would be like being at the top of his senior class.

“I feel like that black and gold era was my freshman year and then we get into 2.0, and winning the championship is like my sophomore year. Then, winning it back the second time was like my junior year, and then going into the white and gold is like my senior year. I feel like I’ve got it down now. I’m a senior, I’m up at the top of the class. I feel like I’ve been at the top of the class for a while, but especially as a senior, varsity style, we’re at the top of the class.”

NXT Stand and Deliver airs live on Peacock on Saturday April 1. Other matches on the show include Johnny Gargano vs. Grayson Waller, a women’s ladder match for the NXT Women’s Championship, and more.

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