Carmelo Hayes shocked the WWE Universe by winning the WWE United States Championship this past week. That win also marked some big history for the belt itself
Hayes’ win over Ilja Dragunov to win the title not only gave the WWE a new champion. It also was the first time a black superstar had won the title since 2022. The last time this occurred was in 2022, when Bobby Lashley was the reigning champion.
The finish of Friday’s match saw Hayes hit Dragunov with Nothing But Net to score the pinfall victory and win the championship. It was the same move Melo was set to hit Dragunov with last time before Ciampa got involved. On the flipside of the match, the loss ended Dragunov’s reign as United States Champion. The Mad Dragon racked up seven successful title defenses before the loss to Hayes.
Following the match, Cathy Kelley caught up with Hayes backstage to talk about his big win. Unfortunately for Melo, he couldn’t speak much about it. The star was attacked by Johnny Gargano, who is now clearly looking to establish himself as the next challenger for the United States Championship.
READ MORE: Carmelo Hayes Captures United States Championship On WWE SmackDown
