While Carmelo Hayes has been on RAW before, this month, in fact, alongside his good friend Trick Williams, the go-home edition of WWE's Monday night flagship program before Money in the Bank featured “Him” in the ring for the very first time, wrestling a clean match with Finn Balor after coming to the defense of his new friend Seth Rollins for the second time in a week.

Speaking with Byron Saxton for a special WWE Digital Exclusive after the show, Hayes noted that, while he's ecstatic to get in the ring on RAW, he's focused on the task at hand, which is beating the bricks off of a certain “Bumba**” Corbin.

“Yeah sure, I can’t take away from Finn Balor of The Judgement Day, I think Finn is one of the best in the world,” Hayes said after RAW. “If I’ve gotta take a loss to one of the best in the world, I can accept that, but listen, the important thing is tomorrow night against Baron Corbin for the NXT Championship. I’m not 100 percent, but I can beat Baron at 75 percent, at 50 percent, at 25 percent. I know he’s gonna put up a great fight, but I’m ready, man. I might take a loss, but I look in the mirror, and I’m still Carmelo Hayes, so that’s a W.”

As Rollins, Corey Graves, Kevin Patrick, and even Hayes pointed out repeatedly when afforded a chance to talk on camera, NXT is running Night 2 of Gold Rush this week, with “Him” set to headline the show with a match with Corbin for the NXT Championship. Based on how Melo performed against Balor even in defeat, it's safe to say he deserves to be the favorite heading into the match.