Sami Zayn Reflects On “Great” United States Title Run

Sami Zayn has been in a reflective mood.

Two nights before Clash In Paris, Sami Zayn beat Solo Sikoa to win the United States Championship for the first time.

In the weeks that followed, Zayn paid homage to the famous John Cena open challenge by facing anyone who wanted the gold on SmackDown. This saw Zayn beat Cena himself, Rey Fenix, Carmelo Hayes, Je’Von Evans, Aleister Black, and Shinsuke Nakamura.

Unfortunately for Zayn, his dream run came to an end on October 17 when he was beaten by the returning Ilja Dragunov. The Russian star had been missing for over a year with a serious knee injury.

Sami Zayn Is Proud Of His Work

In a post on social media, Zayn took time to look back on his 49-day run with the championship. He said that in 2025 it’s often hard to do something great and memorable, but he felt he’d achieved that.

Been reflecting on my run as US Champion. One of my favorite things I’ve done in WWE. 8 weeks, 8 very different opponents, 8 bangers in a row.

It’s hard to do something great. In the age of content, it’s even harder to do something memorable. It felt like this was both.

Grateful.

Ilja Dragunov made the first successful defence of the United States Title on the October 24 edition of SmackDown, beating Aleister Black. The champion grabbed the win following a distraction by Damian Priest, who was looking for revenge on Black.

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