Ricky Saints has only been on the main roster for a few weeks, but he’s already made a big enemy. Carmelo Hayes has been irritated by him for weeks. The two men faced off on the May 15, 2026, episode of Friday Night SmackDown, where Saints lost.
They have also been involved in the business of WWE United States Champion Trick Williams, with both of them having history with him. On the May 22 SmackDown, Hayes and Williams had an intense faceoff, but not before the former attacked Saints backstage.
They had a match, where Williams won after Saints interfered. He got the attention of the referee, allowing Williams to knock Hayes off the turnbuckle. The latter went for a pinfall, but the referee didn’t see it. Williams then delivered a Trick Shot to win the match, which definitely delighted Saints greatly.
It was clear that the result was not forgotten the next week. Would he get the last laugh with the victory, or would Hayes once again beat him in an entertaining match?
Double Count-Out Between Carmelo Hayes and Ricky Saints
Going into the match, all three men involved in the storyline had a lot to say to each other. Williams was mad that Hayes was still coming at him after a betrayal that had happened two years ago. Hayes wanted a title shot immediately, wanting to prove that he deserved to get the US title back.
He also wanted to get Saints out of the picture, finally, so that he could focus on just him and Williams. Saints wanted to show Williams that he could beat Hayes in order to potentially get a title opportunity. With King of the Ring starting Monday, and Williams declaring earlier in the night, both men really wanted the victory.
The match started with Saints getting in some great offense. He chopped Hayes against the ropes, clearly mad that this feud is continuing. After both men ran the ropes with offensive maneuvers, he was forcefully kicked into the corner. He then got hit with a no-look reverse springboard, sending him to the outside.
But he was quickly back on his feet, as he hit a lariat on Hayes and started punching him. After an extremely large number of kicks and punches, Hayes did the same thing to him. It looked like Saints was going to lose quickly, but he tossed Hayes out of the ring over the top rope. He then threw him into the barricade not once, but twice.
When they got back in the ring, he still had major control over the match. But Hayes pushed him down and delivered a frog splash. He got his knees up, allowing him to get the pin attempt, which was unsuccessful. Hayes then got an unsuccessful pinfall as well. The two men then threw several punches before a springboard sent Saints to the mat.
After more rope running between them, the Dirty Diana gave Hayes the upper hand on the mat. He then sent Saints tumbling out of the ring after another failed pinfall. But he wasn’t done as he leaped onto him, sending both men crashing in front of the Spanish announcer’s table. The referee began his count for both men to re-enter the ring, but they didn’t seem to notice.
Saints once again sent him tumbling towards the barricade, but this time he sent him over it into the crowd. He wasn’t amused as he leaped onto Saints, sending him to the ground.
The two men continued brawling as the referee’s count hit nine. They finally separated, but not before the count hit ten and the double count-out was made official. Hayes tried to reason with the referee afterward, but the decision was final. Saints then attacked him, but a First 48 sent him tumbling out of the ring. After this match, there’s no question that their storyline is far from being over.
