Carmelo Hayes has blacked out his X profile picture during a two-month absence from WWE television, and hours later MJF posted a throwback photo of the two from the independent scene.
MJF just posted a picture of himself and Christian Casanova (Carmelo Hayes) on Instagram 👀 pic.twitter.com/p9hFpXyRnF
— Self Made AO 💫 (@KXNGAO) October 12, 2026
Hayes has not given a reason for the change. He has not wrestled on WWE TV since the August 14 SmackDown, when he lost to Baron Corbin in a United States Championship match. WWE has not said why he has been off TV.
MJF shared the photo on his Instagram Story. It dates to when Hayes wrestled on the New England independents as Christian Casanova. MJF did not add a caption.
The two crossed paths at Limitless Wrestling in Maine. Both worked the promotion’s Know Your Enemy show in Portland on September 6, 2019, when MJF lost the Limitless World Championship to Anthony Greene. Casanova won the same title in December 2020.
MJF lost the AEW World Championship to Kenny Omega in July. There has been no report that Hayes is leaving WWE.
Hayes’ Last WWE Match
Hayes earned the August 14 title shot by ambushing Corbin backstage a week earlier. The match took place at TD Garden in Boston, near his hometown of Framingham, Massachusetts.
Hayes kicked out of Deep Six, but Corbin knocked him off the top rope to the floor. Corbin then pinned him with End of Days. Trick Williams took the title from Corbin on September 6.
The absence follows other setbacks this year. Hayes was left off SummerSlam after also missing WrestleMania 42.
Sean Ross Sapp said on a Fightful Select Q&A in August that he had never heard Hayes described negatively backstage, and that he is regarded as “dependable, professional, and with a lot of upside.”
Former rival Andrade, now in AEW, posted “Where are you Amigo?” to Hayes on X in September. WWE.com still lists Hayes on the SmackDown roster.
Carmelo Hayes’ WWE Career
Hayes won the NXT Championship from Bron Breakker at Stand & Deliver in April 2023 and held it for 182 days before losing to Ilja Dragunov. He was also a two-time NXT North American Champion. SmackDown drafted him in April 2024.
Hayes won the United States Championship from Ilja Dragunov in December and lost it to Sami Zayn in March. Zayn won it in an open challenge after Williams accidentally punched Hayes. Dragunov has since left WWE after his contract expired.
Hayes told WBZ News Boston that he and Kelani Jordan will marry in October. They got engaged in July 2025. Jordan is the reigning NXT Women’s Champion and defends the title against Wren Sinclair at Halloween Havoc on October 31.
