Christian Casanova Debuts In WWE NXT As Carmelo Hayes

Former independent wrestling star Christian Casanova made his NXT debut on last night's edition of the black and gold brand.

Now known as Carmelo Hayes, the NXT Superstar answered Kushida's open challenge and they went one on one for the Cruiserweight Championship.

Hayes looked impressive during the 10-minute match, but he was ultimately forced to submit after Kushida trapped him in the Hoverboard Lock.

Carmelo also impressed Triple H with his debut, and The Game tweeted: "An impressive young man with an incredibly bright future here in #WWENXT. Even in defeat, @carmelo_wwe showed that he belongs on the black and gold brand. #KeepWatching."

Hayes made his pro wrestling debut back in 2014 and he spent much of his time on the indies working for various promotions in the North East of the United States. He signed with WWE back in February 2021 and was in the same Performance Center class as fellow NXT Superstars Franky Monet, Zoey Stark, LA Knight, Gigi Dolin and Cora Jade.