WWE United States Champion Carmelo Hayes has called for a celebrity to answer his championship open challenge, following his return to the company.
Jelly Roll made his WWE comeback on the March 13 SmackDown episode, appearing on an episode of MizTV and having a confrontation with Kit Wilson.
With Carmelo Hayes holding weekly US Championship open challenges, the titleholder had invited the returning musician to step into the ring with him.
Sharing the graphic advertising Friday’s MizTV segment, Hayes tweeted:
Bro @JellyRoll615, get away from the Miz and accept this open challenge for the vibes
Carmelo Hayes ultimately didn’t defend his gold on this week’s SmackDown, with the champion instead appearing in a backstage segment with Ilja Dragunov.
With Dragunov saying he was stuck somewhere between ultimate confidence and self-doubt, he told Hayes that he couldn’t fight him as he was already fighting himself.
Carmelo Hayes as WWE US Champion
Carmelo Hayes notably defeated Ilja Dragunov to become US Champion in a match which aired on the December 26, 2025 edition of SmackDown.
Hayes notably defended his gold against Dragunov in an open challenge on the January 21 SmackDown episode. He has also defeated Johnny Gargano, Shinsuke Nakamura, TNA’s Leon Slater, Rey Fenix, Matt Cardona and El Hijo de Dr Wagner Jr in open challenge title matches.
With the current and former champion’s recent interactions, it appears that WWE is building to one more showdown between the Hayes and Dragunov, during which we could see the Mad Dragon reclaim the gold.
Jelly Roll in WWE
Jelly Roll made his WWE in-ring debut at SummerSlam 2025, teaming with Randy Orton in a losing effort against Drew McIntyre and Logan Paul.
Between the musician punching The Miz on MizTV, being called out by Kit Wilson, and having Carmelo Hayes pitch for him to answer the open challenge, it appears that we will see the Grammy Award winner back in a WWE ring sooner rather than later.
The latest WWE updates and news stories can be found right here.
Bro @JellyRoll615 , get away from the Miz and accept this open challenge for the vibes https://t.co/MhqY6P2VzU
— Carmelo Hayes (@Carmelo_WWE) March 13, 2026
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