Summary

Trick Williams addressed Carmelo Hayes losing the WWE United States Championship on the March 27 episode of SmackDown, then spoke about Hayes' standing heading into WrestleMania season.

Hayes dropped the title to Sami Zayn after Williams tried to strike Zayn during the match, missed, and hit Hayes instead. Later that same night, WWE made Williams vs. Zayn for the United States Championship official for WrestleMania 42.

Quote from Trick Williams

"He’s assuming Carmelo Hayes. My long-time tag team partner. We got a lot of history back in the day but honestly, I’m glad I don’t have to beat down a Black man on a WrestleMania stage. Because I don’t care who’s in front of me, everybody gotta get it. It is what it is but, nah, all jokes aside, me and Melo, we go way back of course and I would love to see him get his moment and he deserves that and you never know, he probably still will. He carried that U.S. Title great so, he deserves his moment. I’m sure he’s going to get his moment..."

How the title changed hands

The deciding moment in the title match came when Williams attempted to interfere on Hayes' behalf. Zayn avoided the shot, and Hayes took the contact instead, which directly set up the finish and ended his reign.

What this means for Sami Zayn vs. Trick Williams at WrestleMania 42

Sami Zayn now goes into WrestleMania 42 as champion because the same sequence that cost Carmelo Hayes the title also gave WWE a clear story hook for Zayn vs. Williams on the biggest card of the year.

Williams publicly backing Hayes also keeps their history alive on screen, even as Williams moves into a title challenge of his own.

Sources

As reported by Fightful.