Triple H breaks silence after WWE star loses his title before 2025 ends

WWE wrapped up the final episode of SmackDown of 2025 with a shocking title change. Ilja Dragunov is no longer the United States Champion, and Triple H has sent a message to the newly crowned champion.

During the December 26 edition of SmackDown, Ilja Dragunov granted Carmelo Hayes another shot at his title following their tag team win over #DIY last week.

The two men had a barnburner of a match on December 5th, but Tommaso Ciampa ruined things for Melo by causing a distraction. The two babyfaces ran it back tonight and had a clean finish.

In a shocking turn of events, Hayes dethroned Dragunov to end his 63-day reign. The match ended with Melo nailing The Mad Dragon with First 48, followed by Nothing But Net to pick up the biggest win of his career.

In the post-match, Dragunov put Hayes over by strapping the United States Championship around his waist as a tremendous show of respect.

After the show, Triple H took to his X (formerly Twitter) to upload a video of himself congratulating Carmelo Hayes backstage. The Game also shared a photo with the babyface star with his signature finger-pointing pose.

In the caption, Triple H said big things are in store for Carmelo Hayes heading into 2026.

You can check out his tweet below:

What's next for Carmelo Hayes as WWE United States Champion?

Later in the show, Carmelo Hayes was ambushed by Johnny Gargano during his interview with Cathy Kelley.

After what went down backstage, it's safe to assume that the DIY member is next in line for a shot at the WWE United States Championship.

Will Melo carry on John Cena's legacy and continue the open challenge? Only time will tell when SmackDown moves to three hours starting January 2nd next year.

Read all the hottest WWE news from Sportskeeda by choosing us as your preferred source. Click HERE.

Edited by Sidharth Sachdeva