Former Universal Champion receives an apology after botch on WWE SmackDown 

The first night of the 2024 WWE Draft is in the books, as superstars have moved across RAW and SmackDown. A couple of top names from NXT were picked as well. Among them was Carmelo Hayes, who became the #3 pick in the entire Draft after getting selected by SmackDown.

This was a huge moment, as he proceeded to challenge Cody Rhodes to a match in the main event of the show. Wade Barrett was visibly excited on commentary, which led to a botched call on SmackDown. He claimed that Hayes was the first NXT Superstar to ever be picked in the first round of the WWE Draft.

This wasn't true, with Finn Balor being the first. He was the #5 pick in the 2016 edition, while still being on the developmental brand. A fan pointed this out on Twitter, which prompted a response from Barrett. He owned his misstep and apologized to Balor:

"Can’t win ‘em all, especially when you’ve been kicked in the head as often as I have. My bad @FinnBalor," tweeted Wade Barrett.

Check out his tweet below:

Finn Balor won the Universal Championship a month after being called up to RAW in the WWE Draft. While Carmelo Hayes won't see that level of immediate success, he is well-placed to become a top star on SmackDown. The former NXT Champion had a great showing against Cody Rhodes, even if it was in defeat.

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