Carmelo Hayes has already established himself as one of the top stars in NXT, winning the NXT North American Championship on last Tuesday's episode.
Before winning the NXT North American Championship, Hayes won the NXT Breakout Tournament and faced top talent in Kushida and Adam Cole. He's also been given time on the mic to establish his character.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, Hayes discussed his freedom on the mic in NXT.
"Still using bullet points, but I'm big on trying to say stuff that I would truly say. So, a lot of the stuff that you hear is 100% from me with their direction," he said. "I've been lucky enough to where they've trusted me to say what I want. That's really the direction they're going now, truly. They are trusting guys and giving guys, especially in NXT 2.0, they're trusting guys to say what we would say because we're trying to reach a different demographic now. They can't really tell us...Shawn has said to me straight up, 'I don't know what cool is so I trust you to tell me what cool is.' That's the biggest thing that I've been able to take away from that. I said, 'Okay, trust me, I'll do my part to reach that demographic.'"
When asked if the talk of reaching a different demographic came from the top or was just talk among the locker room, Hayes said, "It was told, 'Hey, we're trying to reach a new audience here. This is fresher, younger, brighter.' Everyone knows that now and seeing what we're watching now. A lot more focus on characters, less on wrestling, and that's perfect for somebody like me, that's what I want to do. If I can be the leader of that and at the forefront of that, then put me in coach. I want to help get that."
Elsewhere during the interview, Hayes discussed not wanting to go to 205 Live and telling Shawn Michaels he was going to be a top star. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
Fightful will have live coverage of NXT 2.0 beginning at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
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