Carmelo Hayes Reflects On Getting a ‘Reset’ With US Title & Babyface Run, Earning Connection With Fans

Carmelo Hayes comes into 2026 with a new alignment and the WWE United States Championship, something he reflected on in a new interview. Hayes was a heel for most of 2025, including an alliance with The Miz. Hayes turned that around at the end of the year, splitting from Miz and winning the US Championship on the December 26th episode of Smackdown.

Hayes spoke with the Toronto Sun for a new interview and spoke about his new babyface demeanor and more. He also spoke about what he’s learned from the likes of Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns about how to be a babyface on the main roster. You can see the highlights below:

On Getting a ‘Reset’ With His Babyface Turn & US Title:

“Yeah, it feels good now just to kind of have that sort of stamp of ‘Okay, I’m here now. I’ve got my footing.’ Especially, being a babyface is something that I was a little bit worried at first. I was like, ‘Oh, man. Here we go.’ It’s so much harder to try to be liked than it is for people to hate you.

“But the truth is that especially in the fans’ eyes, they want to like somebody that everybody else likes. That’s kind of what — you know, wrestling fans are very much, they see what everybody else is [doing], they don’t know right away, especially casuals and things like that. And you know, the people that have liked me throughout my heel run, now they can like me a little bit more loud and a little bit more proud. They feel okay liking me, and other people are going, ‘Oh yeah you know what? We like him too.’ So it’s been great. I’m so happy that we’re cooking with something now, and I got the championship now, this direction and here we go.”

On What He’s Learned About Being a Babyface On the Main Roster:

“Biggest thing I noticed, with Cody especially, is just the connection with the fans, man. I feel like that’s something that –and Roman too. It’s just, they’re connected. It’s just like, they’re one, you know what I mean? And they’re ride or die, up and down. And I think — you know, I will say this. What has been good for me is this year and a half of trying to figure out who I am, what I am, what my purpose is. [It] kind of took the fans on a ride with me, where they felt like they’ve seen the kind of journey. They’ve seen me fail, they’ve seen me have to jump over a hurdle or start back at the beginning.

“So it’s almost like they organically said, ‘Hey, you know what? We want something for this guy. We want to see this guy win; we want to see this guy overcome.’ So that’s why I think, that was my connection that I ended up finding with the fans. Whether it was intentional or not, and ended up — you know, and then being with the Miz. And kind of allowing people to see me in a different light, and get to where I got to. So yeah, Cody and Roman, the biggest things I think that they taught me in a sense is just connection.”

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