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Several NXT Stars Appear During WWE Smackdown

By John Canton • Published 22nd July 2023
wwe smackdown nxt bobby lashley carmelo hayes trick williams

There were many NXT stars that appeared on WWE Smackdown including an interesting meeting for the NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes.

For the past several months, WWE has been doing more crossover segments and matches between NXT talent and main roster stars than ever before.

Back in June, WWE’s CEO Nick Khan made it clear that the company wanted NXT to be a third brand rather than just a developmental territory. Clearly, the company is moving forward with that plan because main roster talent are appearing on NXT and it’s leading to a boost in TV ratings for the third brand as well.

Since last night’s WWE Smackdown episode took place in Orlando, which is the home of NXT, it made sense for NXT superstars to appear on the show.

During the broadcast, they showed several different NXT wrestlers at ringside including Wes Lee, Dragon Lee (no relation), NXT Women’s Champion Tiffany Stratton, NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes, and Trick Williams. They also showed The Cavinder Twins (Hanna and Haley) were at ringside since they are training at the WWE Performance Center.

When Jey Uso was walking backstage during Smackdown, we also saw NXT’s Tony D’Angelo & Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo hanging around. The Creed Brothers (Julius & Brutus Creed), who recently lost a Losers Leave NXT Match, were also backstage as Jey was walking around.

Dominik Mysterio is the new NXT North American Champion that was on Smackdown with “Mami” Rhea Ripley, the Women’s World Champion. Butch interrupted an interview with Dominik to challenge him for the NXT North American Title. Dominik didn’t want to do it, but two-time WWE Hall of Famer and NXT boss Shawn Michaels interrupted to say he could make it official by talking to Adam Pearce.

In the match between Dominik and Butch, Ripley got involved by hitting the back of Butch’s leg. That led to Dominik sending Butch into the ring post and pinning Butch right after.

The most interesting moment between NXT talent on the show was when the NXT Champion Carmelo Hayes and Trick Williams were shown talking to Bobby Lashley. Could it mean they will be part of a stable with the All Mighty Lashley like a new edition of The Hurt Business? We don’t know.

Last week on Smackdown, Lashley was shown talking to The Street Profits duo of Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkins as they pulled away in a limo. The Street Profits were not on this week’s show.

On Twitter, Carmelo Hayes teased about what happened in that segment calling it a “Business Trip” which is obviously a nod to The Hurt Business group that Lashley led a few years ago.