Backstage Reaction to Huge WWE Title Change (SPOILER)

There has been a huge WWE title change for an upcoming episode of SmackDown. The latest reports have revealed the backstage reaction to what happened.

Due to the holiday season, WWE taped the December 26 episode of SmackDown last Friday in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Spoilers ahead: there was a title match made by general manager Nick Aldis.

Ilja Dragunov defended the United States Championship against Carmelo Hayes after teaming up to beat DIY last week. After a back-and-forth matchup, Hayes beat Dragunov to become the new U.S. Champion, which was his first title in the main roster.

During a recent Q&A via Fightful Select, WrestleVotes reported that a lot of people were happy and excited for Carmelo Hayes after his title win. Hayes is well liked backstage, and the company sees a lot of potential in him. It seems like there's hype around the new United States Champ.

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Carmelo Hayes was called up to the main roster in last year's WWE Draft. He mainly wrestled against Andrade in a series of fantastic matches. He finally got his big break this year, winning the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in April.

After teaming up with The Miz for most of the summer, Hayes finally got his opportunity at the end of the year. He'll be entering the new year with gold around his waist in what might be an even better 2026.

Other spoilers for WWE SmackDown

In addition to Carmelo Hayes beating Ilja Dragunov to become the new United States Champion, there were three other matches on the December 26 episode of SmackDown. Joe Hendry beat The Miz in a Christmas Street Fight to open the show.

The second match featured Charlotte Flair getting the win over Lash Legend in singles action. Giulia and Kiana James teamed up in the last match of the night to face reigning Women's United States Champion Chelsea Green and Alba Fyre. It had a different dynamic since both teams were heels, but Giulia and James prevailed.

The main event segment was Drew McIntyre attacking Cody Rhodes before announcing that their match for the Undisputed WWE Championship on the January 9 edition of SmackDown will be Three Stages of Hell.

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Edited by JP David