SmackDown star talks about "weird bond" he shares with IC Champion Bron Breakker

Bron Breakker performs on Monday nights, where he bears the unenviable burden of the workhorse title belt in WWE, the Intercontinental Championship. Prior to the 2024 Draft, though, he was briefly part of the SmackDown roster.

The Draft led to two NXT stalwarts switching brands — Bron Breakker and Carmelo Hayes. Speaking on The Ringer's Masked Man Show, Hayes praised Breakker for what he has achieved in such a short span of time. The star also opened up about the special connection the two share.

"Super happy for Bron man, it was inevitable. Bron is, he’s just one of one for real. Despite our past and everything like that, me and Bron are cool. It’s a special kind of camaraderie that we have," Hayes said.

The 30-year-old reflected on their time together in NXT 2.0, where WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels credited them for being consistent workhorses that the veteran can rely on.

"Shawn has even given us credit, we were heavily relied on in a lot of ways. Him at that time with the NXT title and me with the North American title, just to balance that show. [...] We have sort of a camaraderie or weird bond that’s like, only we know what we had to go through and we know the pressures that were put on us to succeed or produce when there was a lot of people that were looking at it in a negative way I guess." [H/T: Fightful.com]

The two have locked horns several times in the past, notably for the NXT Championship at NXT Battleground 2023.

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Bron Breakker to defend IC Title against Jey Uso, while Carmelo Hayes sets his sights on US Title

On the upcoming episode of WWE RAW, live from the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California, Main Event Jey Uso will challenge Bron Breakker for the latter's strap. Last Monday on the red show Uso reminded Breakker of how short his NFL career was. The Bloodline's former Right Hand Man claimed that his current reign will also be "short and sweet."

Meanwhile on SmackDown this past Friday, Carmelo Hayes and Andrade continued their rivalry after El Idolo failed to dethrone United States Champion LA Knight. Hayes called Knight's championship the "perfect first title" to conquer.