WWE United States Champion Carmelo Hayes has responded confidently after CM Punk called him out at Royal Rumble.
At WWE Royal Rumble 2026, Punk pointed out that he needs just one more title the United States Championship to complete his Grand Slam. With Hayes currently holding that title, Punk made it clear he wants the match.
Speaking on the Beyond The Bell Podcast, Hayes addressed Punk’s challenge and didn’t hold back. He said, “Yeah I definitely wanna wrestle CM Punk, I made a joke on Twitter though that if we do it’s gotta be winner takes all.”
“Punk, he’s actually a guy man, I’ve been watching him since I was a kid, so I’ve looked up to CM Punk and he’s been a mentor to a lot of the younger guys backstage, despite what people wanna say, he’s always been a mentor to a lot of us, and he’s always excited to see us have our first moments.”
Hayes shared a personal story from when he won the United States Championship. He said Punk was standing in Gorilla with tears in his eyes. “I remember when I won the title, he was in Gorilla with a tear in his eye.”
“I couldn’t believe it, like why do you care so much, but I think just him seeing other people have these accomplishments for the first time, and remembering where he was when he had his first accomplishment, it’s just very cool that he’s like that.”
Carmelo Hayes says he’d run circles around CM Punk in the ring
Reacting to CM Punk’s callout, Carmelo Hayes said, “As far as getting in the ring with him, I’d probably run circles around him honestly. I think CM Punk’s a great in-ring performer, but I don’t think he’s ready for what I got. I’m just going right now, week to week to week with it.”
“I’m very much so looking forward to that match, and I challenge CM Punk to really bring the heat man. He’s on a roll too and he’s having a great title reign, but we can go title reign for title reign and I don’t think he’s touching Melo.” [H/T: Wrestletalk]
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