Shawn Michaels Sees NXT Star As A Project, Reason For Big Push

He got their attention. NXT is in a strange place at the moment as there are all kinds of wrestlers who have been coming and going from the show. Everything is being changed with moves being made on an almost weekly basis. That can make for some interesting moments as you don’t know what you are going to see. This week saw another change and it happened for a good reason.

The main event of this week’s NXT saw Isaiah Scott successfully defend his North American Title against Santos Escobar. After the match was over, Carmelo Hayes cashed in his Breakout Tournament contract to win the title in an impromptu match. According to Fightful Select, Hayes has impressed some of the higher ups in NXT, including Shawn Michaels. Following his match with Kushida, Hayes was seen as a project for Michaels, as Michaels sees a lot of himself in Hayes. The title win was designed to turn Hayes into a bigger star while also protecting Scott, who is leaving for SmackDown.

Goated ?? pic.twitter.com/wuC2etNcOp

— Carmelo Hayes (@Carmelo_WWE) October 13, 2021

Hayes has been quite impressive so far. Check out what he has done so far in NXT:

Isaiah “Swerve” Scott vs. Santos Escobar – NXT North American Championship: WWE NXT, Oct. 12, 2021

Carmelo Hayes vs. Odyssey Jones – NXT Breakout Tournament Final: WWE NXT, Aug. 24, 2021

Adam Cole vs. Carmelo Hayes: WWE NXT, June 22, 2021

Opinion: This is what NXT needs: someone fresh and new, who has the skills to look like a polished star. There are so many brand new stars presented in NXT who do not feel ready to be stars and it makes Hayes stand out that much more. I’m looking forward to seeing what he does next and that is the kind of feeling that has been lacking from the relaunched version of NXT.

What do you think of Hayes? Who should be his first challenger? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 60,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 6,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books.

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