29-year-old WWE Superstar praises current rival, calls him 'GOAT'

A WWE Superstar recently praised his current rival on social media and referred to him as 'GOAT.'

The name in question is Carmelo Hayes. The former NXT Champion took part in the ongoing WWE United States Championship tournament. On the December 15 edition of SmackDown, he defeated Grayson Waller to advance into the next round.

Carmelo Hayes faced Kevin Owens in the next round of the tournament. The two superstars put on an entertaining match, which ended with the former WWE Universal Champion securing a hard-fought win. Owens and Hayes shook hands after the bout. KO will now face Santos Escobar in the finals to earn an opportunity to challenge Logan Paul for the United States Championship.

Hayes recently took to his Instagram account to share multiple pictures from his match against Kevin Owens. The former NXT North American Champion also praised his opponent in the captions. He referred to Owens as 'GOAT.'

"Smackdown looks good on ya boy 🥶 Also, shoutout KO. There’s a reason why he’s main evented 2 Wrestlemanias. Certified 🐐 imo," Carmelo Hayes wrote.

You can check the Instagram post below:

With Kevin Owens determined to dethrone Logan Paul as the United States Champion, it will be interesting to see how he fares against Santos Escobar, who defeated Bobby Lashley in his match after interference from Humberto Carrillo and Angel Garza.

Kevin Owens praises Carmelo Hayes after an intense match at WWE SmackDown

Kevin Owens was impressed by the fight Carmelo Hayes put against him, as the two superstars put on a stellar bout on the latest episode of SmackDown. Following WWE's Friday Night Show, Kayla Braxton caught up with the eventual winner of the fight.

The former Undisputed Tag Team Champion praised his opponent for his in-ring capabilities and stated that Hayes took him to his absolute limit. He believes that the two will cross paths again in the future.

"Look Carmelo Hayes is a fanstastic professional wrestler. Let me say this. And you remember when he told me that I wasn't gonna little bro him? You were right there with me. I still don't know what that means. I don't know if I little bro'd him in this match. Didn't feel like it. Felt like, if anything, he was little bro-ing me. Really gave me a run for my money. Carmelo, I'm sure we'll see each other soon again, and again, and again for a really long time," said Owens.

Are you looking forward to seeing Kevin Owens and Carmelo Hayes battle it out inside a WWE ring in the future? Sound off in the comments section below.