Former WWE Champion Busted Open During Title Match On SmackDown

Newly crowned United States Champion Carmelo Hayes was attacked by a former WWE Champion on the blue brand last week. Hayes defeated Ilja Dragunov to win the Championship on the final SmackDown episode of 2025.

However, after his match, he was interacting with Cathy Kelly in a backstage interview when he was jumped by a familiar rival in Johnny Gargano, who has been after the title for a while.

Johnny Wrestling tried to take the title from Dragunov as well during his title reign as well and made his intentions known to the new champion moments after he won the title.

Johnny Gargano left bleeding on WWE SmackDown

Gargano and Hayes wrestled an incredible and hard-hitting match and it became difficult to predict who would come out on top, before Hayes managed to retain the title.

NOTHING BUT NET 🫰@Carmelo_WWE retains the United States Championship! pic.twitter.com/5uItQ8h9XZ

— WWE (@WWE) January 3, 2026

However, during their bout, Gargano was hit in the face many times by the US Champion, which left him bleeding from his nose. During one of Johnny’s close up shots, his right nostril could be seen covered in blood.

Make TJR Wrestling your choice for news by clicking here.