Why Ilja Dragunov-Sami Zayn SmackDown Classic Made WWE Hall Of Famer Happy

The Ilja Dragunov return match with Sami Zayn on SmackDown left one WWE Hall of Famer very happy.

For the past two months, Sami Zayn has willingly defended the United States Championship in an open challenge every week on WWE SmackDown.

After beating the likes of Carmelo Hayes, Aleister Black, Je’Von Evans, and Rey Fenix, Zayn was going to face The Miz until Carmelo Hayes attacked him. That led to the return of Ilja Dragunov, who had missed over a year of action after tearing the ACL in his right knee when he was on the Raw brand.

In a match that went about 20 minutes and was heralded as one of the better WWE TV matches of the year, Ilja Dragunov defeated Sami Zayn to win the US Title, which is Dragunov’s first time holding a singles title on the WWE main roster. Dragunov is also a former NXT Champion and NXT UK Champion.

The finish of the match saw Zayn set up in the turnbuckle, but Solo Sikoa appeared in the aisle. Zayn was distracted by that, Solo went to the back, and Zayn hit an Exploder Suplex into the turnbuckle. However, Ilja was back up with the Torpedo Moscow shoulder/headbutt, and Ilja hit the H-Bomb forearm to the jaw for the pinfall win.

Following the match, Ilja Dragunov celebrated with the US Title. Sami Zayn stood in the middle of the ring looking for a handshake, but the MFTs went into the ring to attack Zayn and Ilja. The MFTs, led by Solo Sikoa, destroyed Zayn, Dragunov, and Rey Fenix, who tried to help.

WWE Hall Of Famer Mark Henry Praises Ilja Dragunov And Sami Zayn For SmackDown Performance

While speaking about the title change on Busted Open Radio, Mark Henry had a lot of good things to say about the Ilja Dragunov/Sami Zayn match.

“I’m so happy that Dragunov was able to get a major title in the WWE. I was not expecting Sami Zayn and Dragunov to be what it was. We hold Sami Zayn as such a high regard. We have the guys where we automatically see their name and we go, ‘Oh well he winning…not tonight. Dragunov did everything that you should aspire to do when you have a championship match. He was able to absorb a real, real strong ass whooping.

This is about the most aggressive I’ve seen Sami Zayn since him and Roman Reigns went at it. They made it memorable. You remember Sami Zayn and Roman Reigns. You remember Dragunov and Gunther. I’m gonna remember the night that Dragunov won the title.”

The Roman Reigns-Sami Zayn match that Henry is referencing is from WWE Elimination Chamber 2024 in Zayn’s hometown of Montreal in front of a raucous crowd.

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