Photo: Carmelo Hayes pays tribute to legendary athlete after his match at NXT Battleground 

WWE Superstar Carmelo Hayes recently took to Twitter to share a photo of himself and a young Kobe Bryant side-by-side, paying homage to the late basketball legend.

The NXT Champion defended his title against Bron Breakker at Battleground last Sunday night, where he emerged victorious. A photograph was captured of him backstage with the gold following the bout. He recently posted the photo on social media side by side with the popular Kobe Bryant photo after the 2001 NBA Finals.

In the caption, Carmelo Hayes wrote that he's thankful to the NXT social media team for snapping the photo immediately after his match. He pointed out how similar his picture is to Kobe's with the hashtag 'same energy.'

"Appreciate the NXT social team for capturing this pic directly after my match Sunday. Sat there for like 15 min reflecting on the journey. Jobs not done. #SameEnergy," wrote Hayes.

You can check out the tweet below:

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Carmelo Hayes was shockingly attacked by Baron Corbin on WWE NXT this week

During this week's episode of NXT, Melo successfully defended his title against Noam Dar in the main event. After the bout, he was attacked by Baron Corbin, who made a surprise return to the developmental brand.

The former King of the Ring winner is currently listed as a free agent, which means he's allowed to show up on any brand. He has never held the NXT Championship, and it seems he has set his sights on the gold.

Baron Corbin is a former United States Champion and a former Money in the Bank contract winner. His run on the main roster has been underwhelming, and he could reinvent himself by having another stint in NXT.

Do you think Baron Corbin will dethrone Carmelo Hayes for the NXT Championship? Sound off in the comments below!