Christian Brigham[4] was born inFramingham, Massachusetts, on August 1, 1994.[5][6] He graduated fromFramingham High School in 2012.[7] A fan of professional wrestling since childhood, he began training for a career at the New England Pro Wrestling Academy following his graduation.[5]
Brigham made his in-ring debut forChaotic Wrestling on April 12, 2014, under thering name "Christian Casanova", losing to Mikey Webb. During his first year, he wrestled for severalindependentpromotions includingPower League Wrestling (PLW),Top Rope Promotions (TRP), Independent Wrestling Entertainment (IWE) and Lucky Pro Wrestling (LPW).[8] On August 8, he debuted for Northeast Championship Wrestling (NCW) at NCW Big City Rumble, adopting aMichael Jackson-esquegimmick, complete with the nickname "The Thriller of New England" and using themoonwalk as one of his signature moves.[2][3]
Casanova debuted forBeyond Wrestling on January 23, 2015, where he, Drew Mastone andKevin Park defeated 2Buff,Ace Romero and Xavier Bell in asix-man tag team match.[9] On June 19, he defeated Triplelicious to win the NCW New England Championship.[10] He made his debut for Limitless Wrestling on September 12, defeating Marcus Hall.[11] On September 25, he lost the championship to Scott Levesque in atriple threat match also involving Osiris.[12]
Christian Casanova at anindependent show in December 2019
On October 9, 2020, Casanova andTasha Steelz, as "Culture SZN", took part in a triple threat tag team match forGame Changer Wrestling (GCW) at For The Culture, which was won by 40 Acres (PB Smooth and Tre Lamar).[18] On December 19, Casanova won the Vacationland Cup, becoming the new Limitless Wrestling World Champion in the process.[19] He lost the title toDaniel Garcia on March 19, 2021, which marked his final match on the independent circuit.[11]
On February 12, 2021, Brigham signed a contract withWWE and was assigned to theWWE Performance Center.[4] He made his in-ring debut as aface on the June 1 episode ofNXT under the name "Carmelo Hayes", acceptingKushida's open challenge for theNXT Cruiserweight Championship, but lost.[20] He would then take part in theNXT Breakout Tournament, where he defeatedJosh Briggs in the first round,[21]Duke Hudson in the semifinals,[22] and won the tournament by defeatingOdyssey Jones in the finals and earned a contract for a championship opportunity for a title of his choosing.[23] Following the tournament, he introduced the debutingTrick Williams as his friend during an in-ring promo, and afterwards, assisted Williams in attacking Hudson as he entered the ring, establishing both men as heels and starting an alliance known as the "Trick Melo Gang".[24]
AtNXT Vengeance Day on February 4, Hayes defeatedApollo Crews in atwo out of three falls match. Later that night, he and Williams confrontedNXT Champion Bron Breakker following the main event.[37] On April 1, 2023, Hayes defeated Breakker atNXT Stand & Deliver to win the NXT Championship.[38] On the following episode ofNXT, he turned face after Breakker, enraged over having lost the title, turned heel by attacking Hayes.[39] AtNXT Battleground on May 28, Hayes successfully defended the title against Breakker.[40] Two nights later onNXT, he retained the title againstNoam Dar, but was attacked byBaron Corbin after the match.[41] Hayes wrestled hisRaw debut match on June 26, where he lost toFinn Bálor in a non-title match.[42] The following night atNXT: Gold Rush, Hayes retained the title against Corbin.[43] AtNXT The Great American Bash on July 30, he defeatedIlja Dragunov to retain the title.[44] On the following episode ofNXT, Williams told Hayes that he needed to leave and shine on his own, amicably separating the Trick Melo Gang.[45] AtNXT No Mercy on September 30, Hayes lost the NXT Championship to Dragunov in a rematch, ending his reign at 182 days.[46]
On the October 17 episode ofNXT, Trick Williams was slotted into the triple threat match between Hayes,Dijak and Corbin to make it afatal four-way match for an NXT Championship opportunity against Dragunov atNXT: Halloween Havoc, causing a rift between Hayes and Williams. Before the match, Williams was found attacked backstage and taken to a hospital. Hayes then defeated Dijak and Corbin for the opportunity.[47] On Night 2 ofNXT: Halloween Havoc, Hayes failed to regain the title from Dragunov after being distracted by the returning Williams.[48] On the November 21 episode ofNXT, Hayes lost an Iron Survivor Challenge qualifying match after interference fromLexis King, who Hayes accused for the backstage attack on Williams.[49] AtNXT Deadline on December 9, Hayes defeated King, who subsequently denied attacking Williams.[50] Following Deadline, he represented NXT in theWWE United States Championship#1 Contender Tournament onSmackDown,[51] defeating Waller in the first round, but lost toKevin Owens in the semifinals.[52][53]
On January 27, 2024, atRoyal Rumble, Hayes made hisRoyal Rumble match debut as the fifth entrant, eliminating Waller, before being eliminated by Bálor.[54] During this time, Hayes and Williams competed in theDusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament,[55][56] losing to Corbin and Breakker in the finals atNXT Vengeance Day on February 4. Later that night, after Williams failed to win the NXT Championship from Dragunov, Hayes attacked Williams with asteel chair, ending their partnership and turning heel.[57] On the following episode ofNXT, Hayes revealed that he was the one who attacked Williams back in October 2023, as he felt Williams was trying to steal his spotlight.[58] AtNXT: Roadblock on March 5, Hayes lost toTony D'Angelo in a match to determine the number one contender to the NXT Championship atNXT Stand & Deliver after being distracted by Williams' entrance music. After the match, Hayes was attacked by the returning Williams.[59] AtNXT Stand & Deliver on April 6, Hayes lost to Williams.[60] In a rematch on the April 16 episode ofNXT, Hayes lost to Williams in asteel cage match despite assistance from his security team, ending their feud in what would be Hayes' final NXT match.[61]
At Night 1 of the2024 WWE Draft on the April 26 episode ofSmackDown, Hayes was drafted to theSmackDownbrand as the third overall draft pick. He then challengedUndisputed WWE ChampionCody Rhodes to a match as his first opponent as a main roster wrestler, which he lost.[62][63] Hayes participated in theKing of the Ring tournament and theMoney in the Bank ladder match at thetitular event on July 6, but did not win either.[64][65] After Money in the Bank, Hayes began a feud with fellow Money in the Bank competitorAndrade, with the pair having won three matches each against each other by the end of September.[66] On the October 25 episode ofSmackDown, Hayes and Andrade'sgame seven match, which was also for a United States Championship opportunity, ended in a no contest afterspecial guest referee and reigning championLA Knight attacked both men, ending theirbest-of-seven series match at three wins, three losses and one draw each.[67] This led to a triple threat match for the title atCrown Jewel on November 2, which Hayes lost after being pinned by Knight.[68] AtRoyal Rumble on February 1, 2025, Hayes entered the titular match at number 4, but was eliminated by Bron Breakker. Afterwards, Hayes attackedAkira Tozawa, causing him to be replaced in the Royal Rumble match by celebrity entrantIShowSpeed.[69]
On the February 21 episode ofSmackDown, Hayes formed a partnership withThe Miz dubbed "Melo Don't Miz" (aportmanteau of Hayes' catchphrase "Melo Don't Miss" and The Miz), where they defeated LA Knight andR-Truth in their first match together.[70] He won theAndré the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the April 18 episode ofSmackDown, last eliminating Andrade.[71] On September 16, atNXT Homecoming, "Trick-Melo Gang" reunited for one-night only, defeating#DIY (Johnny Gargano andTommaso Ciampa) with the help of The Miz.[72] On the September 26 episode ofSmackDown, Hayes and The Miz lost to theStreet Profits (Angelo Dawkins andMontez Ford) after miscommunication between the two.[73] The following week onSmackDown, Hayes was attacked by Miz as he was about to accept United States ChampionSami Zayn's open challenge for the title, turning face and disbanding Melo Don't Miz.[74] Hayes cemented his face turn by doing the same to Miz on the October 17 episode ofSmackDown.[75]
Brigham is in a relationship with fellow professional wrestler Lea Mitchell, professionally known asKelani Jordan. On July 5, 2025, Mitchell announced that she and Brigham got engaged on July 1.[79]
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