Nathan Frazer put up a big fight, but "The Mad Dragon" Ilja Dragunov is still United States Champion after a hard-fitting, high-flying match on "WWE SmackDown." Frazer's chance at the title was almost interrupted byTomasso Ciampa, but Dragunov proclaimed that even though the United States Championship open challenge is open to all competitors, Frazer was there first.
Frazer immediately rocked Dragunov with a huge knee to the head to start off the match, knocking the champion to the outside where he hit him with a suicide dive. The pair battled back and forth until Frazer went to hit a springboard off the ropes, but was intercepted by Dragunov with a kick that sent him face-first off the commentary desk.
Frazer regained momentum quickly and hit a running shooting star press on Dragunov for a near fall. He attempted another springboard, but ran right into a right hand from the champion. Dragunov went up top, but Frazer got out of the way and got on the top rope himself and hit a frog splash for a near fall. Dragunov looked for a power bomb on the ropes, but Frazer countered with a hurricanrana and hit a Phoenix Splash.
In the end, it was Dragunov to get Frazer up for a power bomb and he followed it with an H-Bomb for the victory. The champion showed the challenger respect after the match, raising his hand and hyping him up, but when Frazer was back on the outside, he was blindsided by Ciampa.
When the show came back from break, the tag division was seen brawling, with Fraxiom taking on #DIY, with Dragunov in the middle of it all. When the men were separated, Tama Tonga was seen holding the United States title, and the MFT member stared down Dragunov.
