Carmelo Hayes: I’m ‘forever indebted’ to Baron Corbin

Carmelo Hayes appreciates all the ways that Baron Corbin helped him both in the ring and outside of it.

It was revealed last Friday that the 40-year-old Corbin had departed WWE with the company choosing not to renew his contract. While speaking with The Metro, Hayes reacted to the news and express how much Corbin helped him in WWE.

“Listen, Baron was one of the people that actually took a liking to me, and took me under his wing. He did so much for me, he helped me so much, he gave me so much advice. Not just wrestling, life advice, money advice, so many things. I’m forever indebted to Baron Corbin — super talented, and I hate to see him go,” Hayes said.

“That was one of those ones that really kinda hurt, seeing that, because believe it or not, me and Baron were pretty close, pretty tight. Everybody loved Baron.”

Hayes and Corbin were opponents in NXT in 2023 and later worked against each other on SmackDown this year.

Earlier this week, Corbin tweeted out a message thanking fans for their support. His career with WWE lasted more than a decade after starting out in developmental in 2012.

Along with Corbin’s contract not being renewed, Indi Hartwell and Tegan Nox were released from WWE last week. Hayes told The Metro that he almost feels “survivor’s guilt” whenever there is a round of roster cuts.

“It’s weird because I’ve been through it a lot unfortunately, where you’re with somebody one day and they’re gone the next,” he said. “It’s kinda like a survivor’s guilt, you know what I mean? After a day or two, you’re like, ‘Man!’ You just hate to see that for them.”

In WWE, Hayes has been in a long-term feud with Andrade that still remains unresolved. LA Knight retained the United States title against both of them in a triple threat match at Crown Jewel on November 2.