6 Ups & 1 Down From WWE SmackDown (24 Oct - Results & Review)

3. Ilja Dragunov Continues The Trend

The theatre of pain persists.

It looks for all the world like we’ll be treated to weekly Ilja Dragunov bouts for a while now he’s United States Champ. No arguments here! Dragunov is fabulous inside the ring. He maybe needs a few more reps on the mic, because his promo before the match threatened to dip and lose the crowd, but he’s hardly experienced with this kind of spot. The crowd responses will come the more feisty matches Ilja has.

That's his true strength. His intensity is almost unmatched. He was even shaking and grunting his way through a backstage promo with Sami Zayn (who put him over as “the guy”, for the record) before making his way to the ring for this 'Open Challenge'. After thanking the fanbase for their continued support as he rehabbed a serious injury, Ilja got his head in the game for a scrap with Aleister Black.

The 'Downs' section already questioned whether or not it was the right decision to put Black in this spot, but nobody can claim the bout itself sucked. It was high quality throughout. Some of the kicks and strikes these guys traded were thunderous. Somewhere, Gunther would've been looking on with a sneering smile across his chops. This was the 'Ring General's' kind of wrestling match.

It's lovely to see someone with the passion and intensity of Ilja get a push. Personally, this fan would've built things up between he and Aleister a little longer, but they still had a great match that's well worth watching. Put it near the top of your priority list. The 3-minute YouTube highlight reel WWE put out doesn't do it justice.