Ilja Dragunov Retains U.S. Title Against 7-Time WWE Champion On SmackDown

Ilja Dragunov successfully defends the United States Championship again on WWE SmackDown.

On October 17, the Russian star made his return after about a year of absence to end Sami Zayn’s United States Championship reign on SmackDown.

The 32-year-old has since continued the U.S. Title Open Challenge tradition, defending his title twice against Aleister Black and Nathan Frazer.

Tonight on SmackDown, Dragunov headed to the ring for another open challenge. DIY’s Tommaso Ciampa came out to answer the challenge, recalling the champion brushing him off last week.

Ilja Dragunov Defeats Johnny Gargano On WWE SmackDown

Responding to Tommaso Ciampa, Ilja Dragunov admitted that the former WWE Tag Team Champion was right. Hence, he would accept the challenge, but not from him. Instead, the United States Champion decided to put his title on the line against Ciampa’s DIY partner, Johnny Gargano.

Despite Gargano’s efforts and Candice LeRae’s interference, Dragunov succeeded in defeating the 38-year-old former NXT Champion to retain the title.

.@UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR is UNREAL 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/OmHFkhtxfn

— WWE (@WWE) November 8, 2025

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