Carmelo Hayes has been feeling like a top guy for quite some time.
The current reigning NXT Champion discussed his progression on the yellow-and-black brand during a recent interview on the After The Bell podcast. Hayes says that when he was the North American Champion he felt like he was the most important person in NXT, then explains how he carried that mindset with him on his hunt for the NXT title.
It’s really the journey of my progression, in a way. There was a period of time when I had the North American Championship and I was calling myself the A Champ. At that time, I truly believed I was the most important champion on the brand. For a long time it was ‘The A Champ’ and then when I lost the championship, I called myself ‘One of One’ to that starry light, ‘there is only one of me.’ >On the journey to get the NXT Title, it was really like, ‘I’m the guy, I’m Him.’ If anybody is going to be the guy and take that title and do it, it’s me, I am Him.
He continues…
That’s where Him came from, where it was; you can’t deny me, I’m the guy. It’s another thing in pop culture and sports, Him is very popular. When guys do something great, they self-proclaim themselves, ‘I am Him, I am the one, I am the guy. I am Him.’ I think it carries weight. It’s ‘Boom. Him.
Hayes won the NXT Championship from Bron Breakker at Stand & Deliver back on WrestleMania 39 weekend. The two will meet again at NXT Battleground on May 28th.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)