Carmelo Hayes Wins WWE NXT Breakout Tournament 2021

This week’s edition of WWE NXT saw the finals of the NXT Breakout Tournament, with Carmelo Hayes defeating Odyssey Jones in just under seven minutes.

Hayes’ prize for winning the tournament is an NXT title shot of his choice at some point in the future. When handed the title contract by NXT General Manager William Regal, Hayes said it’s far too early to decide which title he’ll be going after.

This was NXT’s second ever Breakout Tournament, with the first edition in 2019 won by Jordan Miles (fka ACH). For the 2021 edition of the tournament, Hayes had to get past Josh Briggs and Duke Hudson before his finals bout with Odyssey Jones.

Hayes signed with the WWE in early 2021, after competing on the independent scene as Christian Casanova. Prior to the breakout tournament Hayes had wrestled two matches on NXT TV - a loss to Cruiserweight Champion Kushida in a title match on June 1, and a loss to Adam Cole on June 22.