Former WWE champion ends unfortunate streak on SmackDown

A former WWE champion has been struggling to get a win in a while. However, he ended that streak tonight on SmackDown.

Carmelo Hayes is one of the rising stars on the SmackDown roster. However, his mouth has always gotten him into trouble and has resulted in him having to face much bigger stars like Braun Strowman, Damian Priest, and even Cody Rhodes. However, at the Royal Rumble, it was his actions that got him into trouble.

After being eliminated from the Royal Rumble Match, a frustrated Carmelo Hayes attacked Akira Tozawa when he was making his entrance. As a result, IShowSpeed took his spot in the Rumble.

Tonight on WWE SmackDown, the former NXT Champion was backstage in Nick Aldis' office. Aldis told him that Adam Pearce had sent someone from the RAW brand to face him. Hayes wasn't feeling it at first but when he found out that he would be facing Tozawa, he agreed to the match.

Akira Tozawa kicked off the match in top gear. However, it was Hayes who was still able to beat the Alpha Academy member. This marks Hayes' first singles win since he beat Braun Strowman by count-out on the December 13, 2024, episode of WWE SmackDown. Since then, he has competed in five televised singles matches and lost three matches, with the other two bouts ending in a 'No contest.'

It will be interesting to see if Carmelo Hayes will be able to get on a winning streak from here.