Carmelo Hayes Has Notes For His WWE NXT Vengeance Day Match

For the first time since February 2020, "WWE NXT" was on the road by themselves for a premium live event. Emanating from the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina, Vengeance Day was only the second "NXT" event held outside the Performance Center since the 2.0 relaunch in September 2021 (the first being Stand and Deliver during WrestleMania weekend last spring). One of the featured matches at Vengeance Day was the Two-out-of-Three Falls bout between Carmelo Hayes and Apollo Crews, which Hayes swept.

Speaking to "Busted Open Radio," Hayes admitted that while the experience of being in the Spectrum Center was great, and he's glad the match has been well-received, the perfectionist in him — based on the connection he felt with the crowd — believes he could've done things differently and better during the match. When asked by co-host Bully Ray what he wishes he could've improved on, Hayes felt they could've put the stipulation of the match over better as fans have become programmed to "one fall, one fall, go to the third."

"I don't think people were expecting I was going to get the two falls," he said. "As I'm listening to the crowd, I'm thinking that they're about ready for an Apollo fall at this point and I feel like there was down moments where they weren't coming because they were like, 'okay, when is Apollo going to get his fall so we can really get cooking here?'" Overall, Hayes was happy with the match and how hard he and Crews worked. "I thought all of our stuff was good. But you know, I'm ready to get back out and do it again, and one up that."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.