WWE plans for SmackDown’s Carmelo Hayes as US Champion appear to have been revealed, following his title victory.
Carmelo Hayes became US Champion in a match which aired on the December 26 SmackDown episode, pinning Ilja Dragunov to win his first main roster title belt.
With Ilja Dragunov notably continuing to hold US Title Open Challenge matches following Sami Zayn bringing them back during his reign, there has been some speculation about whether Carmelo Hayes will also hold open challenges, or if he’ll have different plans as champion.
The answer to this question appears to have been revealed, with Hayes holding US Championship Open Challenges during his two live event appearances following his title win, indicating they will likely also continue on TV.
Ahead of the December 27 WWE house show in Pittsburgh, Hayes took to social media to announce his first title defence, challenging anyone to step up.
Similarly, Carmelo Hayes officially announced an open challenge for the December 28 WWE house show in Rochester, writing:
Tonight- Rochester, NY #WWEHolidayTour #WWERochester Open challenge??
Hayes ultimately faced and defeated The Miz at both house shows.
With WWE often using house shows to test out matches and spots, there is a chance that we could soon see The Miz present himself as a challenger for Carmelo Hayes’ gold on WWE TV.
Another star who appears set to challenge for Hayes’ US Championship is Johnny Gargano, who attacked the new champion backstage on SmackDown.
Gargano has since addressed this attack, click here to read more.
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