Ilja Dragunov successfully defended the United States Championship against Tommaso Ciampa on tonight’s episode of WWE SmackDown in a physically intense matchup that highlighted Dragunov’s resilience and Ciampa’s tactical aggression.
From the opening bell, the match was a hard-hitting exchange of chops and forearms. Ciampa quickly established a strategy of targeting the champion’s knee, utilizing a dropkick to the knee, dragon screws, and driving Dragunov’s leg into the ring steps and mat. Despite the focused attack, Dragunov fought back with his signature intensity, delivering multiple German suplexes and a missile dropkick, though his injured knee frequently gave out during offensive bursts.
The action escalated with high-impact moves, including Ciampa delivering an Air Raid Crash on the apron and a Super Air Raid Crash from the turnbuckles for near falls. Dragunov responded with a wrist-clutch exploder suplex and a flurry of Kobashi-style chops in the corner.
The closing moments saw interference from Ciampa’s #DIY teammates. Johnny Gargano jumped on the apron to distract the official, allowing Candice LeRae to drop Dragunov on the top rope. Ciampa capitalized with a running knee but could only secure a two-count. When Ciampa attempted the Fairy Tale Ending, Dragunov countered with a back body drop and bridged into a pin to secure the three-count and to retain his championship.
Following the match, Ciampa and Gargano immediately attacked Dragunov. The beatdown continued until Carmelo Hayes rushed to the ring. Hayes cleared Gargano and Ciampa from the ring and helped the United States Champion to his feet to close the segment. If you didn’t watch SmackDown, you definitely should check out this match.
.@UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR isn't giving up yet! 👊@CiampaWWE pic.twitter.com/bt9bqiVEww
— WWE (@WWE) December 13, 2025
How did @UNBESIEGBAR_ZAR kick out after all that?! @CiampaWWE @JohnnyGargano @CandiceLeRae pic.twitter.com/Go2yejlAw0
— WWE (@WWE) December 13, 2025
.@Carmelo_WWE got his payback 👊 pic.twitter.com/ygpX0XIONC
— WWE (@WWE) December 13, 2025
