Every now and then, WWE manages to deliver a genuine surprise, and tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown decided that just one surprise wasn’t enough. Instead of just a long-awaited return from an injured superstar after more than a year out of action, the blue brand went one step further and crowned that newly returned superstar the company’s newest Champion, creating one of the most unforgettable comebacks of the year.
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WWE SmackDown delivered a major shakeup to the roster during tonight’s episode, and it’s all thanks to Sami Zayn’s open challenge for the WWE United States Championship. While The Miz came out first (we’ll table that part for later), he was replaced by The Mad Dragon himself, Ilja Dragunov, who made his return after a year sidelined from a torn ACL. Somehow, the night got better though, as Dragunov accomplished what many others could not and took down Zayn to become the new United States Champion.
Ilja Dragunov Returns To WWE In Rare Form And Is Once Again A Champion
Zayn has been the epitome of a fighting Champion since winning the United States Championship, and to this point has battled some heavyweights for the Title, including John Cena. Tonight, his challenge was answered by someone not too happy with these open challenges, and that would be The Miz, but Miz didn’t get a chance to actually compete.
That’s because before he even made it all the way down the ramp, Carmelo Hayes ran down and slammed him in the back to the floor, and then he proceeded to drag him back up the ramp and throw Miz into the LED wall before the fight was broken up by security.
With Miz out of commission, Zayn was shocked to hear Dragunov’s music, who hadn’t been in the ring since September 29th, when it was announced that he had experienced an ACL tear. The injury occurred shortly after Dragunov had been called up from NXT to Monday Night Raw, and while he had a few promising matches on the red brand, he didn’t really get the chance to make a huge impression before he was sidelined.
Now that all changes, as Dragunov is now a SmackDown superstar, and is instantly making an impact by defeating Zayn. The match was a signature Dragunov match with hard-hitting offense, including a brutal moment where Dragunov took a vicious boot to the shoulder and side of his face from Zayn in mid-air.
The MFTs would make their pretense known and throw Zayn off just enough for Dragunov to capitalize, and even though the first attempt didn’t go well, Dragunov hit the Torpedo Moskau on Zayn soon after and then followed up with an H Bomb to seal the win. Dragunov is now your new United States Champion, and his return run is already off to an immense start.
The celebration didn’t last long though, as the MFTs came back in the ring and took out everyone in the ring and those who ran to help, leading to a confrontation with the Wyatt Sicks. Things are going to get quite interesting from here, but regardless of what happens next, it’s fantastic to have Dragunov back in the ring.
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