29-year-old WWE Superstar loses first match in 26 weeks on SmackDown

A WWE Superstar just lost his first match in 26 weeks on SmackDown tonight.

Carmelo Hayes has been a mainstay in NXT ever since his debut a couple of years ago. His impressive in-ring skills saw him rise through the ranks and capture the NXT North American Championship.

After two successful reigns as North American Champion, Hayes reached the pinnacle of his career when he finally won the NXT Championship. His accolades and accomplishments made him the perfect choice to represent NXT in the United States Championship No 1 Contender tournament on SmackDown.

Carmelo Hayes faced Grayson Waller in the first round of the tournament last week on SmackDown. After a win, Hayes advanced to the next round against Kevin Owens.

Their match took place tonight on the blue brand. Both men put on a competitive showing, but it was Owens who got the better of the former NXT Champion tonight. This was also Hayes' first loss on the main roster in 26 weeks. His last loss on the main roster came against Finn Balor on RAW earlier this year.

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With this win, Kevin Owens will advance to the finals of the tournament where he will face the winner of Santos Escobar vs. Bobby Lashley match?

What did you think of this match? Sound off in the comments section below.

About the author

Sunil is a pro wrestling journalist, covering AEW and WWE news stories at Sportskeeda. He holds an MBA degree in Marketing, and has nearly 7 years of experience. A wrestling aficionado since childhood, Sunil used to imitate his favorite wrestlers as a young kid, and started writing professionally about the sport via Sportskeeda’s revenue-sharing opportunity.

Sunil admires former world champions AJ Styles, Will Ospreay, and Kenny Omega for their ability to consistently deliver great matches as well as entertain crowds with their mic skills.

If ever given a chance to change a storyline, Sunil would have booked Roman Reigns to end The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak instead of Brock Lesnar. According to him, The Tribal Chief needed the victory more than Brock Lesnar, as the latter was already an established performer when he defeated ‘Taker. He would’ve also made that as Taker’s final match.

Always focused on making his work accurate and reliable, Sunil thoroughly checks his facts before writing his articles. When not writing for pro wrestling, he spends his time watching cricket.

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Edited by Harish Raj S