Former WWE NXT and WWE NXT UK Champion Ilja Dragunov made his highly anticipated return to the company after a lengthy injury absence.
Friday night on SmackDown, he defeated Sami Zayn in an open challenge, claiming the United States Championship in a surprising upset.
WWE.com is now officially listing Dragunov as part of the SmackDown roster, according to Fightful.com. He was previously drafted to the RAW roster in April 2024 during that year’s WWE Draft but was sidelined in September 2024 due to a torn ACL.
His victory on Friday marks his first singles title on WWE’s main roster.
