I spoke with two-time WWE champion Mike “The Miz” Mizanin last week ahead of his July 11-13 appearance as one of over 90 athletes and celebrities in the American Century Championship, which will be streamed on NBC, Peacock, and the GOLF Channel.
Of the many topics we discussed, one that relates to his current run was the up-and-coming main event talent he’d be working with -- specifically those who were brought up in the WWE through the NXT developmental system.
One notable former NXT champion, Carmelo Hayes, is his “Melo Don't Miz” teammate on WWE SmackDown!
The Miz believes Hayes will be a main event talent at the next level in no time.
“I think Carmelo is an absolutely incredible talent. And I’m trying to get him to where I feel like he can be in the WWE as a main event. We’re working hard towards that,” the Miz said.
When I mentioned the difficult transitions it’s taken for some NXT champions to make the main event leap in the WWE, the Miz made it clear that the best will be the best regardless of where they came from.
“It’s tough to do anything. It’s tough to go from SmackDown to Raw and Raw to SmackDown. But if you are a true superstar and you have an ability like no other, then you will succeed in WWE. And I think Carmelo Hayes has that brain and bandwidth to do that,” the Miz said.
The Miz put Bron Breakker in the same category.
“Bron Breakker, you look at how he’s come into WWE from NXT, he’s absolutely succeeded. He’s devoured all expectations. He’s really blown people away. Some people do come from NXT and really make a statement right away. For some people, it takes a couple of years. It’s all a matter of the superstar,” the Miz said.
When I asked the Miz to give me an NXT superstar whom he felt had the same potential, he said without hesitation, “Oba Femi, man.”
“He’s good. Very good. It’ll be interesting to see when he comes up, how he’s able to transition to Raw and SmackDown.”
Hayes. Breakker. Femi.
That is your future WWE main event scene if “the Awesome One” is a soothsayer.