Saints and Hayes have met three times in singles action on SmackDown. Each man has one win, and one bout ended in a no-contest.

Saints said the pairing caught him off guard at first, even as he respects what Hayes brings in the ring.

So, this is kind of unexpected to be real with you because while I am a fan of Carmelo Hayes in certain aspects, I don't really like everything that he does, I will say that my man brings it, and so, I don't think I could've had a better opponent for my first time really being on SmackDown and getting my feet truly wet on SmackDown than him, and I have realized for the three matches that we have that there are some parallels between me and him that I can't even ignore, and I think that makes our chemistry pretty good, and so, when you add in we're two people vying for the same thing which is the United States Championship, I do like that competitive edge to it because obviously, it's one thing to win a match but it's another thing to win a match to go on to something greater which is the U.S. Title…

Saints framed the U.S. Title chase as the layer that gives their matches extra weight beyond a single win or loss on the blue brand.

Both Saints and Hayes entered the 2026 King of the Ring tournament and were eliminated in the first round.