30-year-old WWE superstar reveals the real reason why he cost Andrade on SmackDown
Andrade is enjoying a spectacular run on WWE SmackDown. Since returning to the Stamford-based promotion at the 2024 Royal Rumble, the former US Champion had maintained a clean slate in televised singles matches until last night. His winning streak was shattered last night due to the interference of a 30-year-old superstar. The man in question is Carmelo Hayes, who has revealed his motives behind the unprovoked move.
Andrade locked horns with Legado del Fantasma's Santos Escobar in a singles match in this week's Friday Night SmackDown to earn a shot at LA Knight's United States Title. During the closing stages of the match, former NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes interfered but was knocked off the apron by El Idolo. However, the 30-year-old was still able to help Escobar avoid a double knee and steal a victory via a rollup.
Later in the night, The A-Champion revealed the reason behind his interference in an exclusive interview with WWE. Hayes claimed that if he can't win the US Champion, then he wouldn't let Andrade win it either.
Notably, Andrade and Carmelo are engaged in a heated rivalry on Friday Night SmackDown. The two men have delivered back-to-back brilliant matches on the blue brand, with El Idolo emerging victorious on both occasions.
“Andrade. Aye, man. If I can’t win, you can’t either. I’m not hated till the day I die,” he said.
Santos Escobar may soon get his sweet revenge along with the WWE US Championship
Santos Escober and LA Knight have been locked in a heated rivalry on WWE SmackDown in recent months. The LDF leader had a verbal altercation with The Megastar last month after the latter finally earned a shot at the US Title against Logan Paul at SummerSlam.
Santos Escobar challenged Knight's status as the top contender, which led to the current US Champion challenging the Mexican wrestler to a singles match on SmackDown. The duo locked horns on the July 19, 2024, episode of the Friday Night Show, where Knight emerged victorious.
Last night, Escobar interrupted Knight's celebrations and claimed that the Mexican star truly deserved to be the US Champion. This led to LA firing verbal shots.
Later that night, Santos defeated Andrade to earn a shot at Knight's title. It will be interesting to see if the LDF leader manages to end The Megastar's reign as WWE United States Champion.