4 Reasons why Carmelo Hayes won the 2025 Andre the Giant Battle Royal
Carmelo Hayes won the 2025 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal after outlasting 25 other WWE stars on the WrestleMania 41 go-home edition of SmackDown. This was the young star's first major accomplishment since moving to the main roster last year.
The former NXT Champion defeated stars like Rey Fenix, Andrade, Chad Gable, Shinsuke Nakamura, Karrion Kross, and others to capture the trophy.
El Grande Americano pulled Fenix out of the match, leaving Hayes, Andrade, and Nakamura as the final three competitors. Hayes won the 2025 match for any of the next four reasons.
#4. It shows WWE Creative didn't forget about him
Carmelo Hayes is one of the SmackDown stars who wasn't considered for an angle for WrestleMania 41. He appeared consistently on ensuing episodes with The Miz but had no clear path to The Show of Shows.
Pairing him with Miz was also seemingly a bad sign that he was slipping to the middle or bottom of the card, as has happened in the past with newer stars.
While the pairing with The A-Lister has been entertaining, it wasn't going to push Hayes up the card. Winning the 2025 Battle Royal at least shows officials haven't forgotten about using him.
#3. A definitive winner of his Best-of-7 with Andrade
Commentators made reference to the Best-of-Seven series of matches between Andrade and Carmelo Hayes from last year. Each competitor won three matches, but the deciding contest was ruined by current United States Champion LA Knight.
They never had a clear-cut winner, but met again face-to-face as the final two stars in the battle royal. Because of their familiarity with each other, Andrade and Hayes exchanged several counters in the final sequence.
By eliminating one of the first big rivals of his main-roster career, Carmelo Hayes can claim victory in their series of matches from 2024.
#2. A win allows Carmelo Hayes to brag about it
A simple explanation for a win is that Carmelo Hayes can brag about winning the annual match. Only a select few have claims to the trophy, and Hayes can add his name to that list.
Heels always gloat about victories, irrespective of their importance, and Hayes is super confident despite his limited time on WWE's main roster. He always brags about "never missing" a shot, so he doesn't lack any confidence in a land of wrestling giants.
Having the trophy will give him a device and reason to continue being an arrogant yet promising young SmackDown star.
#1. A renewed push after WrestleMania 41
While it hasn't led to bigger success for many other winners, this year's Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal happened under Triple H's regime. Vince McMahon was notorious for having random matches with no tangible rewards.
The reward for winning The Greatest Royal Rumble was a green title belt. The same is true for the battle royal, but Triple H could tweak things by perhaps giving the winner a shot at the United States Title.
He could also grant the winner an automatic spot in the Money in the Bank ladder match. Whatever happens, the win shows he may be pushed once the dust settles after WrestleMania 41.