Tag: us title

Trick Williams addresses whether he’ll continue WWE US title open challenges

Posted on April 20, 2026April 20, 2026 by Joseph Currier

Weekly open challenges have been a staple of the United States Championship, but it doesn’t sound like Trick Williams plans on continuing the tradition.

The United States title changed hands at WrestleMania 42 with Williams defeating Sami Zayn. Appearing on SportsCenter after his victory, Williams said he doesn’t know about defending the belt every single week. He wants it to be a big deal whenever he puts the championship up for grabs.

“That’s why Trick Williams, you know, I’m a superstar and I wear that very seriously,” he said. “So I don’t know about these free matches every single Friday night. When the people see Trick Williams, he’s going to be in the main event. It’s going to be a show when I defend this title.”

Zayn instituted weekly open challenges after winning the United States Championship in August 2025. Ilja Dragunov and Carmelo Hayes then picked up the mantle during their reigns before Zayn dethroned Hayes leading into WrestleMania.

In the SportsCenter interview, Williams said he’s on cloud nine after his first main roster title win. He’s grateful for how the fans have responded to him and thanks God every day for the position he’s in.

Williams, when asked about a potential title match against Hayes, did tell SportsCenter that he’s open to defending against all comers.

“Man, whoever wants some of Trick Williams, you better strap your boots on tight because you’re going to get the best version of Trick Williams,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who signs up.”

US title open challenge set for WWE SmackDown

Posted on January 15, 2026January 15, 2026 by Joseph Currier

Friday’s WWE SmackDown episode in London will see Carmelo Hayes make his third defense of the United States Championship.

WWE has confirmed that Hayes will have another open challenge on SmackDown this week, defending his belt against a yet-to-be-named opponent. Hayes became champion by defeating Ilja Dragunov at the end of 2025 and has already defeated Johnny Gargano and Shinsuke Nakamura during his reign.

Since Sami Zayn won the title in August 2025, United States Championship open challenges have been a regular fixture on SmackDown. Dragunov continued the tradition during his reign, with Hayes now picking up the mantle.

This is the first title that Hayes has held since being called up to the WWE main roster. For tomorrow’s match, he’s invited the best of the United Kingdom to step up:

Smackdown in London tomorrow night!

I want the best out of the UK that wants to step up, put on and tear the roof off that bih #USTitleOpenInvitation 🎯 pic.twitter.com/07WXWSpu9L
— Carmelo Hayes (@Carmelo_WWE) January 15, 2026

OVO Arena Wembley is hosting Friday’s SmackDown. Outside of the United States, the show will air live on Netflix. It will then be broadcast on USA Network in SmackDown’s regular time slot.

WWE SmackDown (Friday, January 16) —

New WWE Champion Drew McIntyre appears
SNME number one contendership qualifying match: Randy Orton vs. The Miz
SNME number one contendership qualifying match: Solo Sikoa vs. Damian Priest
SNME number one contendership qualifying match: Matt Cardona vs. Trick Williams
SNME number one contendership qualifying match: Sami Zayn vs. Ilja Dragunov
Carmelo Hayes United States Championship open challenge

The four qualifying match winners advance to a four-way bout at Saturday Night’s Main Event on January 24, which will determine McIntyre’s WWE Championship challenger for the Royal Rumble.

Shinsuke Nakamura wins United States title at WWE Survivor Series

Posted on November 30, 2024November 30, 2024 by Joseph Currier

Shinsuke Nakamura is now a three-time WWE United States Champion.

At Survivor Series: WarGames on Saturday, Nakamura pinned LA Knight to win the United States Championship. The title change comes just a couple of weeks after a repackaged Nakamura made his return to WWE programming, targeting Knight in the process. We’ve seen a more sinister version of the Nakamura character since then with changes to his look and entrance.

Nakamura raked Knight’s eyes near the end of the match and delivered a reverse DDT onto the steel connecting the two rings for WarGames. A Kinshasa then got the victory for Nakamura.

We have a NEW United States Champion at #SurvivorSeries! pic.twitter.com/9JtLLF0sYW
— WWE (@WWE) December 1, 2024

Knight had been U.S. Champion since dethroning Logan Paul at SummerSlam this August. The commentary team tonight pushed that Knight did not look right in the match because he was affected by Nakamura’s mind games.

Before this, Nakamura’s most recent title reign was a run with the Intercontinental Championship in 2021-2022. It’s been nearly six years since he last held the U.S. title.

Though he spent several months away from WWE television this year, the 44-year-old Nakamura still worked house shows during that period. He returned to TV on the November 15 episode of SmackDown.

Figure Four Weekly: Rey Mysterio’s US title win

Posted on December 4, 2019 by F4W Staff

For the PDF click here.

For the Epub click here.

After periods of not being used as well as he should have been, it seems like Rey Mysterio’s legendary career may get the dream final stretch that it deserves.

Mysterio was at the center of a great moment on last week’s post-Survivor Series edition of Raw. With Humberto Carrillo being attacked by The O.C. before his scheduled title shot, Mysterio won two straight matches to become United States Champion. He defeated Ricochet, Randy Orton, and Drew McIntyre in a number one contender’s fatal four-way match and then beat AJ Styles to win the US title.

Mysterio pinned Ricochet to get the immediate title shot against Styles. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson had interfered when Orton had the fatal four-way won, and Orton then helped Mysterio even the odds a bit when The O.C. got involved in the title match. Orton took out Gallows and Anderson, gave Styles an RKO after Mysterio hit the 619, and Mysterio followed up with a frog splash to win the title.

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WWE: Rey Mysterio to relinquish US title on Raw next week

Posted on May 28, 2019 by Joseph Currier

Going into this week’s Raw, WWE advertised that the status of the United States Championship would be addressed.

An announcement was made tonight, with WWE claiming that Rey Mysterio will appear on next Monday’s Raw and relinquish the US title. The separated shoulder Mysterio suffered at Money in the Bank was the reason given for why Mysterio will vacate the title.

Mysterio became United States Champion by defeating Samoa Joe at Money in the Bank, though Joe’s shoulder was up when the referee counted the pin. Mysterio suffered a legitimate shoulder injury at the pay-per-view.

Joe cut a promo on tonight’s Raw and mentioned Mysterio appearing next week. Joe said he’ll be waiting to take back the US title.

On Instagram last week, Mysterio posted a video of him receiving platelet-rich plasma treatment for his shoulder. Mysterio said he separated a little bit of his AC joint at Money in the Bank.

State of US title to be addressed on next week’s WWE Raw

Posted on May 21, 2019 by Joseph Currier

The status of the United States Championship will be addressed on next Monday’s episode of Raw.

That segment comes after the US title match at Money in the Bank ended in controversy. Rey Mysterio won the title from Samoa Joe at the pay-per-view, with Joe having his shoulder up while Mysterio pinned him.

Video of a promo from Joe aired on Raw tonight. Joe said he’d give Mysterio the opportunity to give the US title back to him. Joe called on Mysterio to be the man Mysterio wants his son Dominick to be, then ended the promo by threatening Mysterio.

Mysterio didn’t appear on tonight’s Raw after he was injured at Money in the Bank. Joe also hurt his nose at the PPV.

After Mysterio won the US title on Sunday, there was a post-match angle where Joe attacked Mysterio in front of Dominick.

The Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri is hosting next week’s Memorial Day edition of Raw. WWE is also hyping that Brock Lesnar will announce whether he’s going to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase for a shot at the Universal or WWE Championship. When and where Lesnar will be getting his title shot has yet to be revealed.

United States title changes hands on WWE SmackDown

Posted on March 6, 2019 by Joseph Currier

Samoa Joe has won his first title on the WWE main roster.

Joe won the United States Championship by defeating R-Truth, Rey Mysterio, and Andrade in a fatal four-way match on this week’s SmackDown. The match was set up by Joe, Mysterio, and Andrade all answering R-Truth’s open challenge.

After Mysterio hit the 619 and a frog splash on Andrade, Joe broke up the pin with a senton. The finish of the match was Joe pinning Andrade after hitting a uranage.

This was the second week in a row that there’s been a US title open challenge on SmackDown, with the story being that R-Truth wanted to be like John Cena.

Joe did a backstage interview after winning the US title. Joe said he isn’t one to come out and do dance breaks, he doesn’t pander to the masses of the unexceptional, and he surely isn’t a man who loves John Cena. Joe said all his opponents will find is disrespect.

WWE SmackDown video highlights: US title tournament begins

Posted on December 27, 2017 by Joseph Currier

The tournament to crown a new United States Champion began on SmackDown last night.

Daniel Bryan announced the tournament in the opening segment after last week’s storyline where Dolph Ziggler left the title in the ring and seemingly walked out. It will be single-elimination and will feature eight wrestlers, and Bobby Roode vs. Baron Corbin and Jinder Mahal vs. Tye Dillinger were the first two matches to take place.

Elsewhere on SmackDown, AJ Styles faced Kevin Owens in a non-title match that could have implications for Styles’ Royal Rumble direction, The Usos’ next challengers were decided, and The Riott Squad were outnumbered by Natalya, Carmella, Lana, and Tamina following Ruby Riott vs. Naomi.