There’s nothing like giving pro wrestling and sports entertainment fans a surprise match as a gift for tuning in each week. This is why the open challenge is one of the best gimmicks ever in the business.
WWE SmackDown is a tough watch every week. The show seems to be cursed. It doesn’t matter who is booking it, SmackDown is the worst of WWE products put on television every week, and that includes WWE EVOLVE.
At least, that is until Ilja Dragunov’s theme music hits. The “Mad Dragon” is one of the most intense acts in wrestling and certainly one of the most enjoyable. He’s continuing the open challenge trend that Sami Zayn picked up when he held the WWE United States Championship. But that trend with that title goes back much further than just 2025.
Remember when John Cena was the WWE United States Champion and was putting on some of the best matches in the business. It was during this run that Cena gave Cesaro one of his best moments in WWE and helped kick off a fan movement to see him better utilized on the roster. Fans also saw Sami Zayn debut in a big moment with Bret Hart. Who could forget Kevin Owens coming up to the main roster with the NXT Championship to get a clean win over Cena. All those moments immediately come to mind when thinking about open challenges in professional wrestling.
It will be interesting to see how long WWE keeps up this gimmick with Dragunov. He’s been back in action for three weeks and has already put on some great showcases. His match against Nathan Frazer on October 31 was one of the best television matches of the year and yet another reminder that WWE has an amazing talent in Frazer. There are so many other surprise opponents who could walk through that curtain and give fans a match they didn’t know they needed. That is what is so fantastic about using the open challenge to rebuild the legacy of a midcard title.
Ilja Dragunov is killing it as the WWE United States Champion. This came on the heels of Sami Zayn winning the title and bringing back the open challenge. Using the open challenge to establish a star and make a title look important are big moves in any promotion, and two key reasons why the open challenge is the best match gimmick in professional wrestling.