Former champion sends message ahead of WWE SmackDown, Lio Rush responds

Former WWE Superstar Lio Rush has responded to a former champion preparing to make his SmackDown TV debut.

SmackDown will see WWE NXT Superstar Carmelo Hayes face Grayson Waller in a first round match in the tournament to crown a new #1 contender to United States Champion Logan Paul. Hayes has wrestled two Main Event matches and one on RAW, but this is his blue brand TV debut. He had worked a SmackDown dark match in 2021.

The official WWE Instagram account posted a video of The Thriller From New England hyping himself up with a parking lot promo, as seen below. Hayes re-posted the video and issued a warning.

"Smackdown’s gonna learn what NXT already knows," Hayes wrote.

Rush, who last worked for the company in April 2020, responded in the comments with a show of support for the final NXT Cruiserweight Champion.

"Let’s go! [fire emoji]," Rush wrote.

Rush's comment led to several fans asking him to return to WWE, as seen in the screenshot below. The one-time NXT Cruiserweight Champion, who most recently worked for NJPW and IMPACT, has not responded as of this writing.

Screenshot of Lio Rush's Instagram reply to Carmelo Hayes

Tonight's WWE SmackDown will also feature Kevin Owens vs. Austin Theory in a first round tournament match. Last week's show saw Santos Escobar defeat Dragon Lee to advance, while Bobby Lashley defeated Karrion Kross to advance.

What is your prediction for Carmelo Hayes' next year in NXT and the main roster? Would you like to see Lio Rush return to the company? Sound off in the comments section below!