Carmelo Hayes continues to be United States Champion after his latest open challenge on “WWE SmackDown,” and this week, it was the UK’s own TNA X-Division Champion Leon Slater to get within the ring with “HIM.” Slater has appeared on “WWE NXT,” and most recently, he teamed with Je’Von Evans against AJ Styles and Dragon Lee at Saturday Night’s Essential Event.
Slater proved to be a formidable challenger for Hayes, and the pair battled back-and-forth in a fast-paced first half of the match. They traded chops at one point, and Slater looked to wrap things up quickly when he hit an enormous cross body to the champion from the highest rope. Hayes searched for a Codebreaker, and Slater countered with an try to get Hayes right into a half-Boston Crab. Hayes then countered right into a roll-up, but Slater kicked out.
The pair traded falls, each kicking out at one, until Slater almost had Hayes on his final attempt. The challenger flew over the ring post to take out the champion on the surface. He quickly got Hayes back within the ring and went up top, but missed the Swanton 450 when Hayes rolled out of the way in which. Hayes hit the First 48, but couldn’t keep Slater down. In the long run, it was Hayes to hit an enormous cutter as each men were on the highest rope for the victory.