Carmelo Hayes earns praise from former WWE manager after SmackDown encounter (Exclusive)

Former WWE manager Dutch Mantell praised Carmelo Hayes after this week's SmackDown. The star faced Andrade in the opening encounter of the show.

The two stars put on an instant classic on SmackDown. The thrilling matchup involved several high spots and spectacular moves. However, Carmelo came up short, as he got caught in the Hammerlock DDT by Andrade and was pinned.

In a recent episode of Smack Talk, Mantell detailed that Hayes had a lot of potential. Mantell pointed out that the 29-year-old star had a great personality, which was a plus for him. The veteran wished Carmelo the very best and hoped for the former NXT Champion to do well in the company.

"Carmelo Hayes [has] a lot of potential in him. Plus, what's gonna help him is that he has a personality. He does a pretty decent interview, and I wish him all the luck in the world," he said. [From 6:23 onwards]

Mantell also claimed that Andrade and Carmelo Hayes had the best match on the show. The veteran pointed out that TV matches didn't get any better than their encounter.

It will be interesting to see what lies ahead for the two stars after this blockbuster showdown on SmackDown.

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