SPOILER ALERT: Brand-New United States Champion Crowned on the 12/26 Pre-Taped Episode of SmackDown

WWE crowned a new United States Champion on the pre-taped edition of next week's SmackDown, ending Ilja Dragunov's incredible 70-day stint with the title.

SPOILER ALERT: Brand-New United States Champion Crowned on the 12/26 Pre-Taped Episode of SmackDown

SmackDown [via- WWE]

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WWE taped both of its Christmas week main roster shows this Friday. SmackDown next week will feature yet another open challenge from Ilja Dragunov for the United States Championship. Since that taping has already happened, the spoilers from the show are all over social media.

‘The Mad Dragon’ defended his title against Carmelo Hayes, as he answered the call to step up to ‘The Czar of WWE’. As is evident from the umpteen number of clips making rounds on the internet, Hayes has dethroned Dragunov to become the new United States Champion.

The crowd came unglued for the closing sequence, as one could see in the following video. It’s a mighty proud moment for the African-American wrestling lineage, as Hayes is the first black wrestler to hold the US title belt since Bobby Lashley in 2021.

The Massachusetts-born Hayes suffered defeat at the hands of Dragunov a couple of weeks ago on SmackDown when Tommaso Ciampa interfered. Dragunov, who had inadvertently taken advantage of Ciampa clocking Hayes, was furious at himself after seeing the replays on the big screen.

‘The Unbesiegbar’ consequently defended his gold against ‘The Sicilian Psychopath’ in one of the best WWE TV matches of the year.

After a busted-open Dragunov somehow rolled Ciampa for the pin, the Moscow-born wrestler got ambushed by Ciampa’s #DIY mate Johnny Gargano. Carmelo Hayes made his way out to even the odds for ‘The Mad Dragon’, and he turned the tide on Ciampa and Gargano.

This week on SmackDown, Dragunov and Hayes defeated #DIY in a tag team match. Even though WWE was clearly building Hayes as the next major contender for the US title, it just didn’t look like the company would belt him up this early, considering how subpar his booking has been in 2025. However, in hindsight, this year couldn’t have ended on a better note for the man who claims to be ‘H1M’.

What else happened on next week’s SmackDown?

One of the focal points about next week’s edition of SmackDown is going to be the ongoing rivalry between Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre. Earlier this week, ‘The American Nightmare’ invaded the Scot’s property and unleashed an all-out brawl with McIntyre. GM Nick Aldis had gone to The Scottish Warrior’s house to negotiate terms for reinstating him on the SmackDown roster.

Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre
Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre will have an in-ring segment on next week’s SmackDown [via- WWE]

‘The Chosen One’ demanded a WWE title rematch and made Aldis accede to the condition that Rhodes wouldn’t lay a finger on him until their match got underway. On this week’s SmackDown, Aldis confronted Rhodes in the ring and informed the WWE Champion about McIntyre’s terms and conditions. ‘The QB1’ snapped and told the SmackDown GM that he didn’t work for him but instead for the fans.

It came after Aldis threatened to strip Rhodes of the Undisputed WWE title if he attacked McIntyre anytime before their proposed world title rematch. Next Friday, the fans will witness a face-to-face segment with McIntyre back on the show and Rhodes being held back by Nick Aldis.

Rhodes, however, ended up hitting a back elbow on the general manager, allowing ‘The Scottish Psychopath’ to lay out the champ with a Claymore kick. These men will duke it out for the WWE title on the January 9 episode of SmackDown in Germany in a Three Stages of Hell match.

Other happenings on next week’s SmackDown include a Jingle Bells parody segment from Joe Hendry, where the latter mocked The Miz. Hendry would then defeat the former WWE Champion in a Miracle on 34th Street Fight. Charlotte Flair ousted Lash Legend in a singles match. Giulia and Kiana James beat Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre in some women’s tag team action.

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