After nearly a year on the sidelines, Ilja Dragunov has made his return to WWE. The "Unbesiegbar" superstar appeared on the October 17 episode of Friday Night SmackDown at the SAP Center in San Jose, California, making an immediate impact by answering an open challenge for the United States Championship. Dragunov had been out of action since September of last year with a significant knee injury, and his return provides a major boost of intensity and star power to the SmackDown roster.
The show featured a segment where United States Champion Sami Zayn, frustrated with not having a scheduled match, came to the ring and issued an open challenge for his title. His challenge was first answered by The Miz, who complained about the prevalence of open challenges. However, before The Miz could officially accept, he was run off by Carmelo Hayes.
Just as it seemed Hayes might be the challenger, Ilja Dragunov’s music hit, and he made his way to the ring to a loud reaction. The match was made official, marking Dragunov’s first televised appearance in almost a full year. Dragunov’s last run on the main roster before his injury saw him come up short in key opportunities. He competed in a fatal four-way match on Raw to determine the number one contender for the Intercontinental Championship but was defeated. Later that month, he unsuccessfully challenged GUNTHER for the World Heavyweight Championship at a live event shortly before being sidelined with his injury.
In his return match against Sami Zayn, Dragunov went over to win the United States Title.
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