Carmelo Hayes pushes for Nick Aldis to rehire controversial former WWE star

WWE Superstar Carmelo Hayes and SmackDown General Manager Nick Aldis were part of an intriguing backstage segment on the latest edition of the blue brand. The former NXT Champion recently shared a social media post, pushing the 38-year-old authority figure to rehire a controversial star who parted ways with the wrestling promotion in 2018.

On the December 6 edition of SmackDown, Carmelo confronted Nick Aldis backstage and expressed dissatisfaction with his treatment. As he threatened to join the red brand following the announcement of the transfer window, Aldis announced that Hayes would face a mystery opponent next week. After the show, the wrestling promotion hinted at the arrival of a "new Superstar" on the blue brand to compete with Melo, which the latter believes could be former WWE Superstar James Ellsworth.

Earlier today, Carmelo Hayes took to his X/Twitter account to share James Ellsworth's picture while mentioning Nick Aldis. He guessed that the 39-year-old could be his opponent next week. Moreover, Carmelo suggested the SmackDown General Manager sign Ellsworth ahead of the roster shakeup set to take place during the transfer window.

You can check out his X/Twitter post below:

Current WWE champion praises Carmelo Hayes

Carmelo Hayes had an impressive run in NXT before he joined SmackDown as the third overall pick during the 2024 Draft. Prior to his move to the main roster, the 30-year-old was feuding with former teammate Trick Wiliams.

During an appearance on the No-Contest Wrestling podcast, Trick Williams broke character to praise his former Trick Melo Gang teammate. The NXT Champion stated how he learned a lot from being paired with Hayes.

"I say someone who laid a great platform for me; I can't go without saying Carmelo Hayes. I learned a lot by being beside [him] or even back into the right of Carmelo Hayes. When he had the main event matches for the PLEs, for Tuesday Nights, I was able to sit there and learn and build a rapport with the audience, without having the pressure of, 'Hey, I could put on this 15-20 minute banger and go get that title.' I was able to see what the main event scene felt like without having the pressure first," he said. [From 08:38 to 09:11]

You can check out Trick William's comments in the video below:

Trick Williams successfully defended his title against Ridge Holland on the NXT Deadline Premium Live Event. He will next face Oba Femi in a championship match, as the latter won the Iron Survivor Match at the PLE to become the number one contender.