Carmelo Hayes has been busy.
It's just nine months since he made his NXT debut and in that time he's risen to the heady heights of North American champion, taking part in some epic bouts along the way, most recently Pete Dunne's barn-storming final match for the brand before he moved up to the main WWE roster.
Hayes, 27, is now set to take part in arguably the biggest match of his career so far, defending his title in a five-man ladder match at Stand and Deliver, the NXT pay per view set to take place in Texas just hours before the first night of Wrestlemania.
He's clearly relishing the opportunity.
He told The Mirror: "There's a little bit more pressure on us because it's the first show back in front of real fans. Not only that, but we're kicking off the whole weekend for WWE for Wrestlemania."
While the full line-up for the ladder match is not yet confirmed, it's likely to include some of the brand's biggest names - and going in not just as champion but arguably favourite isn't bad going for a man who only made his NXT debut less than a year ago.
He said: "It really feels surreal when people say it out loud. Because if you think about it, I'm just going week to week.
"But in a way I manifested this and I spoke this into existence.
"Before my very first match I had talked to Shawn Michaels and I had explained to him: 'I don't know what plans you have for me. But I want to be a top guy here.' And that was in June. And that was the first conversation I ever had with Shawn Michaels. And he kind of looked me up and down and he goes: 'You know, I see that for you. And then here we are today. So it was something that I always knew I had the potential of doing. I just needed the ball and they gave me the ball. And since then it's been first downs and touchdowns.'
Hayes was speaking to The Mirror during an eventful week for WWE.
On Friday, Big E took a horrific-looking bump on the ring apron on Smackdown which saw him taken off on a stretcher with a broken neck, much to the horror of fans watching live and at home.
Talking about the incident, Hayes said: "He's just such a good guy and he's beloved by everybody. Thankfully I think he just knows that he's gonna be okay.
"He's at that point in his career where you know he's won the WWE Championship. He's done everything there is to do so he can afford to miss a little bit of time and come back even stronger.
"I wish the best for Big E and thank God it wasn't worse - even though it was still pretty bad."
News also emerged that beloved two-time Hall of Famer Scott Hall had a series of heart attacks and was seriously ill in hospital.
His life support was turned off on Monday morning and he passed away several hours later.
Speaking before news of his death was confirmed, Hayes told us: "Scott Hall's just a legend. He wasn't on TV as much when I was watching as a kid. But I'm a student of the game and I've watched a lot of wrestling over time.
"He's an icon who's gonna go down in history forever and his matches have inspired a generation as well.
"If you can take a positive out of this it's that we're all able to celebrate him while he's still alive in these last couple moments, to cherish him and give him his flowers."
Stand and Deliver will take place on April 2.
The full card is still to be confirmed, but we know Hayes will be joined by Santos Escobar, and the winners of several other tournament matches to be held in the next few weeks.
Meanwhile Mandy Rose is defending her women's title against Cora Jade and Imperium (with Gunther in their corner) will be fighting The Creed Brothers and MSK.
Tommaso Ciampa is also confirmed to take on Tony D'Angelo.
It will be available to watch on BT Sport and via the WWE Network.
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