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Sami Zayn reportedly pushed for Ilja Dragunov to beat him for the United States title

Aaron Rift

As seen during the October 17th, 2025 edition of WWE SmackDown, Ilja Dragunov defeated Sami Zayn to become the new United States champion in his first match since September of 2024. Dragunov is officially on the Smackdown roster moving forward.

According to Bodyslam.net, Sami Zayn personally chose Dragunov as the wrestler to dethrone him. Zayn, who has been vocal about wanting to elevate the U.S. title, reportedly felt that Dragunov could benefit from the rub and carry the momentum forward.

Bodyslam also noted that Dragunov was originally set to return in September on the RAW brand. However, WWE decided to move him to SmackDown after some felt the show needed a shakeup.

After the match, former NXT wrestler Jin Tala wrote the following message via Twitter/X…

“Honored & upheld your decision to stay radio silent on socials til this day came, and man, it was 100% worth it. Watched you do everything in your power to stay ready while you recovered. Polished prowess, I’m so proud of you 🥹.”

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