Carmelo Hayes' first WWE SmackDown LowDown comments were a direct message to Kevin Owens.
On Friday, December 15, 2023, Carmelo Hayes made his WWE SmackDown in-ring debut, defeating former NXT adversary Grayson Waller in the first round of the tournament to crown a new #1 contender for the WWE United States Championship.
Up next in the tournament, he will face Kevin Owens on December 22, 2023. Melo had a brief interaction with Owens on December 15th where he declared that he would not allow Kevin Owens to "little bro" him.
On the subsequent episode of the WWE SmackDown LowDown, Melo defined the term and also made it clear that he would not allow Kevin Owens to put him in a position where he feels like he has to walk on eggshells.
"I'm glad I got to talk to Kevin for a second and just let him know that I'm not that guy. There's so many guys around here that probably walk on eggshells around Kevin Owens, but I'm not going to be one of them. I am Carmelo Hayes. I am a former NXT Champion, just like Kevin Owens," said Melo. "On top of that, I am him, and one thing I won't do is bow down or back down from anybody."
When asked to define the term "little bro-ing someone," Carmelo used the example of Kevin Owens knocking out both Austin Theory and Grayson Waller backstage in one punch.
"So look at Austin, look at Grayson, look at how they're treated by him. That's being little bro'd. When you double punch somebody in the face, and you walk over their body that's being little bro'd. When you're disrespected on national TV, week in and week out, that's being little bro'd. One thing you're not gonna do to Carmelo Hayes is little bro me."
Check out the updated lineup for the December 22 episode of WWE SmackDown here.
For those interested and eager to find out who advances early, fans can check out spoilers for the December 22 episode here.
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