When Carmelo Hayes was announced as Shawn Michaels' hand-picked NXT representative for the United States Championship number one contender's tournament on SmackDown, it felt like a big deal.

Tasked with showing up and showing out against one of his own personal rivals, Grayson Waller, a man who suffered a broken leg during their last encounter, Hayes dazzled fans in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with the sort of cruiserweight performance fans have come to expect from “Him” from his time in NXT, securing the pinfall victory with his signature move, the Nothing But Net, to punch his ticket to a round two match against fellow victor Kevin Owens.

Stopping by the SmackDown LowDown to discuss his first-ever SmackDown win with Kayla Braxton, Hayes let it be known that he's happy to have not only secured the win but had a chance to talk to Owens for a minute about their forthcoming match, letting the “Prize Fighter” know that he is no way going to be “little bro'd” regardless of their difference in experience on the main roster.

“I'm glad I got to talk to Kevin for a second and just let him know that I'm not that guy,” Carmelo Hayes told the WWE Universe. “There's so many guys around here that probably walk on eggshells around Kevin Owens, but I'm not going to be one of them. I am Carmelo Hayes. I am a former NXT Champion, just like Kevin Owens. On top of that, I am ‘Him,' and one thing I won't do is bow down or back down from anybody.”

Asked by Braxton about the term “little bro-ing someone,” Hayes explained its meaning, noting that he doesn't want to be made to look like a geek or a less than by KO, aka the fate of both Austin Theory and Waller over the past few weeks.

“So look at Austin, look at Grayson, look at how they're treated by him. That's being little bro'd,” Waller explained. “When you double punch somebody in the face, and you walk over their body that's being little bro'd. When you're disrespected on national TV, week in and week out, that's being little bro'd. One thing you're not gonna do to Carmelo Hayes is little bro me.”

Will Hayes be able to prove he belongs in the same ring as Owens next week on SmackDown, punching his ticket to a finals match against either Santos Escobar or Bobby Lashley? Well, considering Owens has a “broken hand” at the moment, that feels like a pretty safe bet.

Booker T was right about Carmelo Hayes staying in NXT.

A few months back on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T was talking about NXT stars who were getting ready to be elevated to the main roster after extended stints in developmental.

Targeting Carmelo Hayes specifically, Booker noted that much like Grayson Waller, who had main roster Superstar written all over him, he felt like the man formerly known as the “A-Champ” and his partner Trick Williams weren't quite ready for RAW or SmackDown over the summer, and would instead like to see them get even more battle testing in Orlando.

“Just like Grayson Waller; I always said Grayson Waller would be a great, great fit, Pretty Deadly. To see a tag team, you know, as a tag team before you see them on the main roster, two guys, they didn’t just put together,” Booker T said via PW Mania. “You got Carmelo Hayes, Carmelo; you got Trick Williams. You got, I mean, so many guys that, you know, are going to be making their way to that main roster real soon. But to be able to see these guys on exceed, for me, it’s, it’s cool. And for me to work with these guys, you know, on a close and personal basis, that’s what I’m, I love more than anything. What do we say? We are NXT. Just Let them cook a little bit longer.”

In hindsight, it's hard to argue with Booker's request one bit, as had the Trick and Melo Gang been elevated to the main roster around SummerSlam, fans would have never gotten to see Trick Willie's current run as a singles star or Melo develop even more from a character perspective now that he has to grapple with no longer being the focal point of his faction. While only time will tell how much of that characterization follows them to the main roster, as WWE typically soft resets acts when they go to RAW or SmackDown for the ease of new fans, it's tough to argue that either performer is worse off now than they were six months ago.