Carmelo Hayes Reveals His Favorite Wrestlers Growing Up

Carmelo Hayes knew he wanted to wrestle from an early age, and revealed his favorite wrestlers when he was growing up. Hayes spoke with CBS Boston for an interview ahead of Friday’s episode of WWE Smackdown, where he challenged Baron Corbin for the WWE United States Championship.

Hayes spoke in the interview about his desire to wrestle from the age of nine and how he followed his dream despite being told he couldn’t do it. He named Shawn Michaels, Eddie Guerrero, Rob Van Dam, and Rey Mysterio as his favorites as a kid. You can see the highlights below:

On Wanting to Wrestle From a Young Age:

“Like you said, nine years old. I was watching as a kid and in our backyard, we were wrestling, we were hanging out. You know, get the whole neighborhood together in the backyard. I just knew I wanted to do it. It just didn’t seem like a reality.

“I get through school, I tell everybody I want to do this. Everybody shuts it down. ‘You’re too small. Get a real job,’ whatever it is, whatever it is. I had that mentality. I got out of school, I said, ‘You know what? Let me just try.’ I tried, and I never left and I made it. So that’s why I always tell people — as crazy as your dream is in your head and however many people are going to tell you ‘Don’t try to do it’ or maybe, ‘It’s not possible,’ or ‘You’re too little’ or whatever, just try. You never know, You truly never know.”

On His Favorite Wrestlers Growing Up:

“So I liked Shawn Michaels, Eddie Guerrero, RVD, Rey Mysterio. I had a group of guys that I was just like, ‘I could see myself in their shoes.’ There’s a lot of kids now — you know, like superheroes, right? Those guys were superheroes to me. That was my Batman, and that was my Superman and Spider-Man.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit CBS Boston with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.