Carmelo Hayes (@carmelo_wwe) is a professional wrestler with WWE and is currently in NXT. He joins Chris Van Vliet to talk about the meaning of being "Him", what being the NXT Champion meant to him, his match with opponents like Ilja Dragunov and Bron Breakker, sharing a moment with The Undertaker on NXT, the advice he received from John Cena, how he came up with the name "Christian Cassanova" that he used on the independent circuit, his favorite wrestlers when he was growing up, looking up to Eddie Guerrero, the pressure of being referred to as the future of WWE and much more! 00:00 Intro 00:34 What does it mean to be HIM? 01:36 Do you learn more from a win or a loss? 02:39 Working with John Cena & The Undertaker 04:17 Did Undertaker give him advice? 05:34 Wrestling on the Indies vs NXT 06:37 His indie name Christian Casanova 09:01 What made him a wrestling fan? 11:07 His list of favorite childhood wrestlers 12:00 Does being labeled as ‘The Future’ add pressure? 12:52 Being an ‘indie’ wrestler vs an ‘athlete’ at the PC 14:28 His matches vs Ilja Dragunov 15:51 Bron Breakker’s impactful spear 16:23 Being sick of main roster talk 17:29 Wanting to wrestle Eddie Guerrero 18:10 Does HBK still take bumps in the PC? 18:48 What has Shawn Michaels taught him? 20:06 His favorite HBK match of all time 20:55 What was it like when he walked into the PC? 21:48 Helping Cody Rhodes prepare to return 23:44 Which match does he rewatch the most? 24:58 Coming up with new moves 25:52 John Cena acting silly 26:30 Was the Undertaker moment a “passing of the torch” 27:31 Which Carmelo Hayes match should fans watch? 28:31 Did he attack Trick Williams? 29:13 3 Things Carmelo Hayes is Grateful for Subscribe to http://youtube.com/ChrisVanVliet Subscribe to my podcast: https://podcast.chrisvanvliet.com Get awesome CVV t-shirts & merch: https://teespring.com/stores/chris-van-vliet Email me: cvv@chrisvanvliet.com Follow me on Instagram: http://instagram.com/ChrisVanVliet Like me on Facebook: http://facebook.com/ChrisVanVliet Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChrisVanVliet #wwe #nxt #carmelohayes