With rumours and reports so rife on the internet, spoilers today are more accessible than ever. Even WWE’s biggest attempt to work journalists with Seth Rollins’ faked leg injury last year managed to slip rumours through the cracks. That is why it was genuinely exciting for Carmelo Hayes’ defection to the 946 on last nights Raw to feel so legitimately unpredictable and surprising. Just last night after Hayes suddenly blacked out his social media, many, including top AEW star MJF, had begun bemoaning his poor treatment since his main roster call up in 2024 and fantasy booking a future on TNT. Yet just hours later Hayes was in the main event of Raw savagely attacking Solo Sikoa with a crowbar.
As I will express in this article, the news is certainly exciting, although I have to say my enthusiasm comes tempered with the concern that, frankly, we have been here before. This article is a plea for WWE to learn from their previous mistakes and give Carmelo Hayes the best chance of ascending the faction to success, not getting stuck in an immovable rut under the guise of having time on their side.
Why am I excited?
My immediate reaction to Carmelo’s reappearance is of joy and excitement, especially given the frustration at decisions gone by. Coming to the main roster from NXT with all the potential in the world, Melo’s main roster run has seen a flurry of ups and downs. Hayes’ run with the US Title through late 2025 to early 2026 brought hope of a sustained push, before he promptly vanished from TV. Given the trajectory of Ilja Dragunov, with whom Melo beat for the US Title, it was not hard to see the same fate befalling another beloved young midcarder. It is therefore terrific to see Carmelo get a fresh start, a chance to further the potential fans have seen in him for so many years.
On the surface the combination of wrestlers within 946 feels like a great fit for Carmelo. He certainly fits the group’s performance, bringing a swaggering charisma that makes him so inherently watchable heel or face. This also adds a dimension of energy and high flying to the faction, who to this point are mostly hoss brawlers on the male side. Finally it cannot be denied that, at least in the short term, Carmelo is now part of one of, if not Raw’s biggest heel faction, which will get him main event exposure every week and undoubtedly a more prominent position on the show.
This will also almost certainly put Carmelo into the WarGames match as a result of this alongside his cohort, where he will probably steal the show, and the push for Main Event Melo will renew in abundance.
Why am I nervous?
Yet as I look around Raw at a flurry of factions either fractured beyond measure or past their sell-by-date, the optimism can’t help but be twinged with a sense of deja-vu. WWE have a history of trapping people into stables long past the time they should be there, slowly flanderising their position as a top draw.
Though some may disagree, I would view Bron Breakker’s time in the Vision post-Seth split to be an abject failure, dragging him down the card and making him feel less important than he would have done otherwise. You could also argue the same happened with Dominic Mysterio in The Judgement Day, who beat John Cena last Survivor Series and yet is spinning every wheel in America while even his Mexico work doesn’t excite like it did. Young stars ready to blossom are becoming locked into factions with no end in sight, and with more and more members joining 946 my fear of a repeat only rises higher,
If I am being honest, I do feel the positioning of all 4 other members of the 946 is the best way to get them over. OTM are in a stronger position on the main roster than I ever thought they could be, Keys now feels like he is operating with purpose and direction, and Jaida Parker will inevitably stand out in the upper mid-card womens division.
While adding Carmelo Hayes fixes WWE’s own mistakes by taking him off television and neutering his momentum, I feel that had they built upon his Post-US Title Run hype months ago, moving him into the main event scene on either Raw or Smackdown, it could have benefitted both Hayes, who has proven his main event prowess in NXT, and WWE who would have had more challengers in its sometimes sparse main event scene on Raw. This, I feel, would have done Hayes more good than now being thrust as another cog in a faction wheel, especially if the faction’s hierarchy remains as is with Keys as leader.
How it can work!
My concerns are, I admit, based on assumptions of things which have yet to happen or ruing that which has come, gone and cannot be undone. For now we have only the reality of the present, which is that of all the options to rehab Carmelo’s character, this was probably the best option, and there are certainly possibilities where this can really work and shine.
If Melo either gets hugely over in the faction, breaks away and feuds with Hobbs, or surpasses Hobbs as group leader, we could see a legitimate main event elevation for one of WWE’s brightest talents. I want this to succeed for the sake of all involved, most of all Hayes who is one of the very best young stars in the industry. This is why I plead not to do what is always done, not to drag out Mid-Card Melo for another year while telling me about the big opportunities you are claiming to give him. Learn from your mistakes with Breakker and others, make a storyline with energy and momentum and use this to genuinely elevate Hayes into something befitting his astronomical talents.
But what do you think? Let us know in the comments below!
Photo Credit: WWE on YouTube
