{"id":646435,"date":"2025-12-27T06:30:53","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T05:30:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/?p=646435"},"modified":"2025-12-27T06:30:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T05:30:58","slug":"carmelo-hayes-ends-ilja-dragunovs-title-reigns-becomes-the-new-wwe-united-states-champion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/carmelo-hayes-ends-ilja-dragunovs-title-reigns-becomes-the-new-wwe-united-states-champion\/","title":{"rendered":"Carmelo Hayes Ends Ilja Dragunov&#8217;s Title Reigns, Becomes The New WWE United States Champion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Carmelo Hayes defeated Ilja Dragunov and became the new United States Champion in a hard-fought match that should be a contender for the &ldquo;Match of the Year.&rdquo; This victory gives Carmelo Hayes is maiden title on the main roster and shifts the landscape in the blue brand of WWE. <\/p><p>Ilja Dragunov&rsquo;s 70-day title reign, in which he defeated Tomasso Ciampa, JD McDonagh, Aleister Black, Axiom, Johnny Gargano, and Carmelo Hayes himself, ended tonight. The match between Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes was part of the Open Challenge. The contrast in style was evident from the beginning, where the Mad Dragon Unbesiegbar persona clashed with the high-flying and agile Carmelo Hayes.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">HE DID IT!!!! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Carmelo_WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@Carmelo_WWE<\/a> beat <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR<\/a> for the United States Championship!! &#128079; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/n56mC6xVzE\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/n56mC6xVzE<\/a><\/p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/2004741364324429999?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>December 27, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A New Era Begins With Carmelo Hayes&rsquo; Title Reign<\/h2><p>The match was one of the most brutal and intense matches in WWE and took both superstars to their breaking point. The match reached a fever pitch when Ilja Dragunob attempted a high-risk Coast-to-Coast dropkick. Carmelo Hayes intercepted the flying champion mid-air and delivered a First 48 to shock the champion. <\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Nothing but respect between these two &#129309;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Carmelo_WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@Carmelo_WWE<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dY8PPHJ5Hz\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/dY8PPHJ5Hz<\/a><\/p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/2004741922342965588?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>December 27, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>Carmelo Hayes followed it up with a Nothing But Net to put down Ilja Dragunov, who was already gasping for air. The three-count by the referee officially made Carmelo Hayes the champion. The crowd erupted in support of Carmelo Hayes as he ascended to the turn buckle to acknowledge him. Ilja Dragunov, though devastated, showed why he was the most respected champion.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">AND NEW! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Carmelo_WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@Carmelo_WWE<\/a> is your NEW United States Champion! &#127942;&#128293; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sfpfXPtxUR\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/sfpfXPtxUR<\/a><\/p>&mdash; WWE (@WWE) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WWE\/status\/2004741661923147891?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>December 27, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>Ilja Dragunov took the belt from the referee and demonstrated great sportsmanship by wrapping the belt around the new champion&rsquo;s waist, hugging him, and announcing him as the new champion. This passing of the torch moment marked the end of the dominance of Ilja Dragunov and put Carmelo Hayes as the top-tier star heading into 2026.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The year isn&rsquo;t over until the bell rings&hellip; Congratulations <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Carmelo_WWE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>@Carmelo_WWE<\/a> on becoming the NEW United States Champion.<br><br>Big things on the horizon&hellip;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/SmackDown?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>#SmackDown<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lBTfMeQS2y\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>pic.twitter.com\/lBTfMeQS2y<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Triple H (@TripleH) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TripleH\/status\/2004743254689059190?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" class=\"trk-cta-link\" data-cta-trk='{\"ctaType\":\"Link\",\"ctaSubType\":\"main\"}'>December 27, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure><p>Image Credit: WWE.com<\/p>\n<div class=\"mm-layout mm-layout-type-post mm-layout-slot4\">\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Carmelo Hayes defeated Ilja Dragunov and became the new United States Champion in a hard-fought match that should be a contender for the &ldquo;Match of the Year.&rdquo; This victory gives Carmelo Hayes is maiden title on the main roster and shifts the landscape in the blue brand of WWE. Ilja Dragunov&rsquo;s 70-day title reign, in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":646443,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_mux_skip_reasons":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[438],"tags":[1129,10922,1484,10345,807,4300,9489],"class_list":["post-646435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wwe","tag-carmelo-hayes","tag-carmelo-hayes-vs-ilja-dragunov","tag-friday-night-smackdown","tag-ilja-dragunov","tag-wwe","tag-wwe-smackdown","tag-wwe-united-state-championship"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Carmelo Hayes Ends Ilja Dragunov&#039;s Title Reigns, Becomes The New WWE United States Champion - The Playoffs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Carmelo Hayes becomes the top-tier star, defeats Ilja Dragunov to become the new WWE United States Champion.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theplayoffs.news\/en\/carmelo-hayes-ends-ilja-dragunovs-title-reigns-becomes-the-new-wwe-united-states-champion\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Carmelo Hayes Ends Ilja Dragunov&#039;s Title Reigns, Becomes The New WWE United States Champion - 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