5 Ups & 3 Downs From WWE SmackDown (26 Dec - Results & Review)

by Jamie Kennedy

1. US Title Match Goes Hard

Carmelo Hayes WWE United States Title
WWE.com

Fighting champion and honourable son-a-ma-gun (credit: Santino Marella) Ilja Dragunov gave Carmelo Hayes another crack at the United States Title due to Tommaso Ciampa’s interference on the 5 December episode. That proved to be one battle too many for Ilja. Hayes won the belt following a fab 20 minute match that went back and forth. The action really was top tier, especially towards the finish.

This is a pivotal moment in Melo’s main roster career, so here’s hoping he gets a title reign to be proud of. Continuing the ‘Open Challenge’ gimmick wouldn’t be a bad idea. That’d fill a hole on the coming 3 hour long SmackDowns and give Hayes something meaningful to do. Saying that, maybe a standalone feud would be best, because Carmelo really needs a story he can point to as a turning point for him since moving up from NXT.

His bout with Dragunov was fantastic regardless.

Ilja’s title reign was littered with this kind of goodness, so hopefully Triple H doesn’t just forget all about him now he’s no longer champ. WWE can be guilty of that. It's like a child having seemingly endless fun with a shiny new toy. Then, once they get a new one, that old boy suddenly seems irrelevant. Has 'The Game' never shed tears over Toy Story?! What a monster. He was defo Sid growing up.

Back to the match. It was a slick showing, one typical for Ilja and more in tune with what Hayes was doing on NXT before moving up to SmackDown in the 2024 Draft.

What did you think of this week's WWE SmackDown? For more wrestling, check out 10 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE SmackDown From 2008 and 8 AEW Nightmares That Could Come True In 2026!

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Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.