Carmelo Hayes Wins WWE US Title On WWE SmackDown
Carmelo Hayes captured the WWE United States Championship on the December 26th episode of WWE SmackDown.
Hayes defeated Ilja Dragunov after answering the open challenge.
The finish saw Carmelo counter a top rope dive by Ilja with a codebreaker and then follow up with the Nothing But Net for the victory.
— Just put the clips in the bag. (@ShootOrWork) December 27, 2025
After the bout, Ilja showed his respect to Carmelo by strapping the championship around his waist.
This is the first US Title reign for Carmelo Hayes. Dragunov held the title for 63 days (from when the episode was taped). He made seven successful title defenses. He held an open challenge for the title on a weekly basis, defeating the likes of Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, Axiom, JD McDonagh, Aleister Black, and more.
Fans can find results from WWE SmackDown here. Check out the post-show podcast for a full review here.
