Sami Zayn is grateful for what he accomplished with his recent United States Championship run.
After winning the United States Championship on the August 29, 2025, episode of SmackDown in France, Sami Zayn brought back the open challenge. In his 49-day run with the title, Zayn defended it against John Cena, Rey Fenix, Carmelo Hayes, Je’Von Evans, Aleister Black, and Shinsuke Nakamura before dropping to Ilja Dragunov.
Taking to X/Twitter, Sami Zayn reflected on his US Title run and stated that it accomplished two important goals. He said he faced eight different opponents and had great matches against all of them. He also said that while it’s hard to do something great, it’s even harder to do something memorable in the current age of content, and that he feels he achieved both.
“Been reflecting on my run as US Champion. One of my favorite things I’ve done in WWE. 8 weeks, 8 very different opponents, 8 bangers in a row. It’s hard to do something great. In the age of content, it’s even harder to do something memorable. It felt like this was both. Grateful.”
Ilja Dragunov Is Continuing What Sami Zayn Started
Ilja Dragunov returned after basically a year-long absence on the October 17, 2025, episode of SmackDown and defeated Sami Zayn to win the United States Championship.
Following his victory, Ilja Dragunov announced that he would continue what Sami Zayn started and started implementing his own US Title open challenges.
He held his first open challenge on the October 24, 2025, episode of SmackDown and successfully defended the title against Aleister Black. Sami Zayn himself told Ilja Dragunov that he was the right person to continue the legacy of the open challenge before the match.
READ MORE: Update on John Cena’s Retirement Match — Report
What do you make of Sami Zayn’s overall comments? Did you enjoy his US Title Open Challenge run? Let us know your overall thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
