WWE titleholder confirms he was "not 100 percent" heading into major defense

WWE NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes was admittedly not in the best shape heading into his title match against Baron Corbin on the latest episode of NXT.

Carmelo Hayes showed up on RAW this past Monday and thwarted Finn Balor's attempt to attack Seth Rollins with a chair. This resulted in a match being set up between Hayes and Balor for later on in the night. The bout also marked the NXT Champion's debut on the main roster. Despite a valiant effort from Hayes, Finn Balor walked away with the win.

Following the match, Hayes had a WWE Digital Exclusive interview where he stated he was not 100% heading into his NXT Championship match against Baron Corbin, which took place on the recently concluded episode of the show.

"But listen, the important thing is tomorrow night against Baron Corbin for the NXT Championship. I'm not 100%, but I believe I can beat Baron at 75%, at 50%, at 25%. I know he's gonna put up a great fight, but I'm ready, man. I might have taken a loss, but I look in the mirror and I'm still Carmelo Hayes, so that's a W," he said. [H/T Fightful]

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Carmelo Hayes sent out a tweet following his loss to Finn Balor on WWE RAW

Apart from the interview, Hayes also took to Twitter to send a message to his fans. He stated that his debut on RAW against Balor was a "dream come true" moment.

"Debuted on #WWERaw. Gotta let it sink in... Dream come true. Win or loss, still HIM."

Check out the tweet below:

Carmelo Hayes turned around his misfortunes on RAW with a win against Baron Corbin on the latest episode of NXT. The two stars put on a pulsating performance, with Corbin returning to his dominant 'Lone Wolf' gimmick. It remains to be seen what is next for Hayes.

What did you make of Carmelo Hayes' WWE RAW debut? Sound off in the comments section below.