The December 26 edition of WWE SmackDown features Ilja Dragunov continuing his open challenge run as WWE United States Champion. This episode is taped, and spoilers have long come out that Carmelo Hayes is set to win the title in this match. This is a big moment. One that is long overdue. Hopefully, it is the start to Hayes getting the strong singles run that fans have wanted to see since he joined the main roster.
Carmelo Hayes’s booking on the main roster has been one of the most controversial topics online in 2025. Fans have pointed out Hayes’s booking compared to the others who’ve come up from WWE NXT in the same draft and since then. Several others have held titles and experienced important storylines, while Hayes has remained stuck in meaningless angles with The Miz or taking several losses. The moment has come, and how WWE handles Carmelo Hayes as United States Championship will set the tone when it comes to battling narratives about the company and its booking.
What happens next with Carmelo Hayes is just as important
When December 26 ends Carmelo Hayes will officially be the WWE United States Champion. Fans have long pushed for this moment, and it has finally come. Hayes represents something important on the main roster, and everything that happens with him is heavily scrutinized. Now that he has the US title, fans will be watching closely to see what happens next.
First things first, Carmelo Hayes can’t have a run as champion that is akin to what Shinsuke Nakamura experienced. Nakamura captured the US title in 2024 and held it for 90 days. During that run, he defended the title one time, winning by DQ over LA Knight. All of that only to lose the title to LA Knight a few months later. There was no thought or care put into Nakamura’s third run as United States Champion and that cannot be the case with Carmelo Hayes.
Continuing the Open Challenge run that Sami Zayn started would be interesting, but WWE should go another route with Hayes as champion. Dragunov had some great matches as champion, but notice none of them were on WWE PLEs. Not being included on those shows adds fuel to the fire to the idea that WWE doesn’t have any long-term plans for that championship or the men involved. WWE needs to do something different with Hayes. Giving him a long run with important stories involved will help elevate him and build some investment in fans who’ve started to shun the product.
The blueprint is right there. Look at how GUNTHER was built as the Intercontinental Champion. He had a lengthy run that had stories mixed within it. That formula worked to build him as a main event star today, with or without a championship. Now, this doesn’t mean Hayes needs to have a run that lasts hundreds of days, but he needs to have a run that has meaning. That is what fans want to see, something with meaning.
Carmelo Hayes is walking into 2026 as a champion, finally capturing a singles belt on the main roster. WWE has to treat his first title run with care, because anything less will be closely scrutinized and at this point, the company would deserve it.