Carmelo Hayes gives himself new nickname ahead of WWE SmackDown

WWE SmackDown star Carmelo Hayes has given himself a new nickname ahead of tonight's show at Madison Square Garden. The former NXT Champion has already qualified for the Men's MITB Ladder Match for the Money in the Bank Premium Live Event on July 6.

Last week on the blue brand, Hayes battled Randy Orton and Tama Tonga in a Triple Threat qualifying match to determine which star would be heading to the PLE next weekend. Hayes pinned Orton in the match to pick up the surprise victory. Ahead of tonight's SmackDown at Madison Square Garden in New York, the 29-year-old gave himself a new nickname on social media while sharing a few photographs at the iconic venue.

"Melo in the Garden 💰," he named himself.

Carmelo Hayes was a first-round draft pick in this year's WWE Draft. He lost to Cody Rhodes in his first match on the blue brand but picked up a major victory last Friday night.

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Carmelo Hayes credits WWE veteran for helping him along the way

Carmelo Hayes recently thanked Baron Corbin for helping him during his tenure in WWE NXT. Corbin spent some time in the developmental brand and won their tag title with Bron Breakker before being called back to the main roster during this year's draft.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda Wrestling's Senior Editor, Bill Apter, Hayes shared that he appreciates Corbin for helping him during his career. He said the veteran took a lot of the rookies under his wing, including himself, and helped them learn the tricks of the trade of the pro wrestling business.

"Actually, I appreciate Baron Corbin a lot. He's one of those guys that, he came in, you know, he took a lot of us younger guys under his wing in a way, and kind of just smartened us up on the game. There is a lot of stuff that we don't know on the other side, that we aren't privy to because we haven't got to experience that yet," said Hayes. [3:04 onwards]

You can check out the interview in the video below:

Carmelo Hayes appears to have a very bright future in WWE. It will be fascinating to see if he can capture the Money in the Bank contract at the premium live event next weekend in Toronto.