WWE Star Carmelo Hayes Discusses Genesis Of Partnership With NXT Champ Trick Williams

Over the course of several years, Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams told the story of a friendship-turned-rivalry that resulted in both men becoming WWE NXT Champion. Looking back at the beginning of their partnership during an appearance on "SHAK Wrestling," Hayes revealed how the two were first paired together at the WWE Performance Center.

"I had just won the Breakout tournament," Hayes said. "They did have an influx of athletes at that time in our class. It was Bron [Breakker], it was Trick, it was Tony D'Angelo, it was a group of those guys — the Creed Brothers — and they were trying to get everyone on TV. I think it was Road Dogg [Brian James] who was just kind of like, 'Hey, let's put Trick as Melo's heater.'"

Though the company wasn't sure how long the partnership would last, they knew that the plan was to turn Hayes into a heel, and they needed someone to stand by his side. Once the two began working together, however, the chemistry could be felt by all involved. That made it easy to turn the relationship between the pair into a full-fledged storyline over time.

After starting out together as villains, Hayes and Williams eventually became crowd favorites. In late 2023, tensions began to rise within the partnership as both men vied for the WWE NXT Championship, with Hayes later revealing that he attacked Williams backstage to stop him from getting close to the title. 

The feud between the two men culminated with a pair of matches — one at WWE NXT Stand & Deliver in April followed by a Steel Cage match just 10 days later on an episode of "WWE NXT." When the dust had settled, Williams had won both matches and captured the NXT Championship. Based on how things were left between the two, it seems likely WWE will continue the storyline down the road.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "SHAK Wrestling" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.