Current champion says Ricochet had lost confidence after major WWE setback; got back on his feet after a match

A current champion claims that Ricochet has regained his lost confidence after their match.

Carmelo Hayes has been one of the top stars in NXT for quite some time. He had a positive start to his career and quickly captured the NXT North American Championship. He enjoyed two successful reigns and defended the belt against anyone.

During one of his title defenses, Carmelo Hayes faced Ricochet at NXT Worlds Collide in a stellar contest that had the fans on their feet. Since then, the former's career has come a long way. He is the current NXT Champion who will be defending his title this weekend against Ilja Dragunov.

Hayes spoke to Comicbook Nation ahead of his title defense and reflected on his match against The One and Only. He claimed that the former Intercontinental Champion had lost confidence after losing the title, and their match helped him get back on his feet.

"I wanted it the next couple of days after the first one [Hayes said about a rematch with Ricochet], just because I enjoyed working with Ricochet that much and going up against him and I think he brought a lot of me, he brought the best out of me in a lot of ways and I think vice versa. I think that I gave him kind of a boost that he needed."

He continued:

"Just a confidence boost because at that time, he had lost the Intercontinental Title and he was kind of just doing, you know, here and there, little spot things here and popping up here and disappearing there. Come into NXT and since then, he’s been able to kind of get his feet back together and start making moves again and I only grew since then. So I’d like to see this version of Carmelo Hayes versus that version of Ricochet and see what we’re able to do with that," Hayes claimed. [H/T Post Wrestling]

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What's next for Ricochet?

The former Intercontinental Champion has found himself embroiled in Seth Rollins' rivalry with Shinsuke Nakamura after he was brutally attacked by the King of Strong Style backstage. The former Intercontinental Champion tried to get his measure of revenge but was badly injured.

He was seen on RAW this past week with crutches. Despite being barely able to walk, the former Intercontinental Champion vowed that he has unfinished business with Nakamura after Fastlane.

It looks like the former NXT star will feud with Shinsuke Nakamura once he is healed and ready to go.

What do you make of Carmelo Hayes' comments? Sound off in the comments section below.