A jackass ruins the latest U.S. title open challenge in WWE
Cain A. Knight is a longtime, data-driven observer who has covered professional wrestling for Cageside Seats since 2014, tracing his fandom back to the 1980s.
Since Ilja Dragunov captured the United States Championship, he’s made a habit of labeling Tommaso Ciampa a jackass and consistently skipping over him in the weekly US title open challenges.
On tonight’s SmackDown (Dec. 5), Carmelo Hayes joined the joke, telling Ciampa that he’s actually next in line for a title shot against Dragunov. Hayes did a quick look at Ciampa’s “Don’t Call Me A Jackass” shirt, then labeled him a jackass at the end of their exchange.
The Dragunov vs. Hayes title bout followed later in the show, with WWE announcers noting that Carmelo Hayes has never held a championship on the main roster. Tragically for Hayes, that drought persisted in this match because of interference from a jackass. In the chaos, Dragunov didn’t realize Ciampa had helped him retain the title.
That jackass’ strategy apparently paid off, as Dragunov, upon realizing Ciampa’s role, demanded that Nick Aldis set up a title rematch for next week. In an instant, Ciampa gets what he’s been after. Tama Tonga stood nearby, locking eyes with Dragunov and hinting that the gold could be headed his way after Ciampa.
Will any of these men dethrone Dragunov? Share your predictions in the comments below, Cagesiders.
Catch up on all SmackDown results in our live blog here: https://www.cagesideseats.com/wwe/401781/wwe-smackdown-results-live-blog-dec-5-2025-the-last-time-is-now-tournament-final
