Ilja Dragunov Returns On SmackDown, Wins United States Title (WWE News)
Sami Zayn's WWE United States Title reign is over. New champ crowned on SmackDown.
Ilja Dragunov is back on WWE screens, and he's the brand new United States Champion.
The former NXT workhorse returned on Friday's episode of SmackDown as a surprise challenger for Sami Zayn's belt. This was the latest chapter in Zayn's US 'Open Challenge' gimmick, and it was expected to be a hard fought but largely routine win for the popular babyface. Not so fast. Dragunov won out following a fab 19 minute bout, and he looked super-emotional as referee Charles Robinson raised his hand in triumph post-match.
This marked Ilja's first match since a house show loss to then-World Heavyweight Champ (and old NXT UK/NXT rival) Gunther on 28 September 2024. Since then, Dragunov has been on the bench recovering from a nasty ACL tear. It didn't take him long to make an impact on the blue brand, but obviously the real work starts now - it also remains to be seen whether or not Ilja will continue Sami's 'Open Challenge' format.
There are worse ideas than sticking him in lengthy matches every week, let's be honest!
Solo Sikoa did come out to watch a portion of the scrap, which is interesting. It seemed like he'd ultimately challenge Zayn for the belt on PLE at some stage, but now Sami has dropped his prize. His reign ends at 49 days after winning the title from Sikoa in late-August.
Solo and his MFT group attacked both men after the bell.
This is clearly a huge show of faith in Dragunov from Triple H and the WWE creative team at large, not least because it really seemed like Sami was going to enjoy a longer run as champ heading into the new year.