It was a Merry Rusev Day on Tuesday's edition of SmackDown Live as Rusev defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to win the US Title.
The bout was a back-and-forth contest, but Rusev eventually put the King of Strong Style away with a Machka Kick. The victory marks the third time Rusev has captured the United States Title. His last title reign came in 2016. Nakamura had been the champion since July's Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
Along with being Christmas, it is also Rusev's 34th birthday.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
— WWE (@WWE) December 26, 2018
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
HAPPY RUSEV DAY!#SDLive @RusevBUL @LanaWWE pic.twitter.com/thKqGdSCTb
RUSEV DAY! RUSEV DAY! RUSEV DAY! RUSEV DAY! RUSEV DAY! RUSEV DAY! RUSEV DAY! RUSEV DAY! RUSEV DAY! RUSEV DAY! RUSEV DAY! RUSEV DAY! @RusevBUL is your NEWWWWW #USChampion on #SDLive! pic.twitter.com/ExKh7mxBaT
— WWE (@WWE) December 26, 2018
These two men are giving THEIR ALL as @RusevBUL & @ShinsukeN battle over the #USTitle on #SDLive! @LanaWWE pic.twitter.com/kZnBiq7kXG
— WWE (@WWE) December 26, 2018
If you missed anything from the Christmas edition of SmackDown Live, check out Fightful's full report. And tune in to the post-show podcast featuring reviews of both Raw and SmackDown
