NXT Star Carmelo Hayes Reflects On His Moment With WWE Legend The Undertaker

Amidst the ratings war between "WWE NXT" and "AEW Dynamite" earlier this month, WWE loaded up their Tuesday night show with several main roster stars, and a pair of wrestling legends — both of whom shared the screen with former "NXT" Champion Carmelo Hayes. In addition to having John Cena in his corner for his main event match, Hayes also had the opportunity to recreate The Undertaker's signature fist-raising pose with "The Deadman" himself. Looking back on this moment with The Undertaker, Hayes described it as a "fever dream."

"It's funny, a lot of people kept hitting me up the day after and that night. I almost couldn't believe that it happened," Hayes said on "Insight With Chris Van Vliet." "But there was that moment where you're like, 'Look, I'm a pro and I'm gonna be in this moment and I understand the assignment.' And then there was a moment where I was a little kid and I'm like, 'Shoot, this is freaking cool, man. This is really cool.' The whole thing with 'Taker at the end, I didn't know that was gonna happen. I didn't know what to do. I just kind of was like, let me just walk back with him. And he walked me through the whole thing with the pose and everything. I was just sitting there like a kid. I remember walking back through I was like, 'That was so freaking cool,' and he just patted me on the back. It was a great moment. Just a cool experience and something I'll never forget."

Following his encounter with The Undertaker, Hayes pivoted his focus back to the "NXT" Championship, the title he lost to Ilja Dragunov at "NXT" No Mercy. After beating Baron Corbin and Dijak in a number one contenders match, Hayes secured himself a rematch for the "NXT" Championship, which takes place later tonight on night two of "NXT" Halloween Havoc.