Sami Zayn reflects on WWE United States title run

Sami Zayn believes his run with the United States Championship is some of the best work he’s ever done in WWE.

At the end of August, Zayn became U.S. Champion by defeating Solo Sikoa for the belt. His reign lasted less than two months, but it was a memorable run with Zayn having weekly open challenges on SmackDown. He faced John Cena, Rey Fenix, Carmelo Hayes, Je’Von Evans, Aleister Black, and Shinsuke Nakamura before dropping the title to Ilja Dragunov.

Zayn posted a tweet today looking back on his time as champion.

“Been reflecting on my run as US Champion. One of my favorite things I’ve done in WWE,” he wrote. “8 weeks, 8 very different opponents, 8 bangers in a row. It’s hard to do something great. In the age of content, it’s even harder to do something memorable. It felt like this was both. Grateful.”

Dragunov spent more than a year out of action with a torn ACL before returning against Zayn on the October 17 episode of SmackDown. As champion, Dragunov continued the open challenge series last week by retaining against Black.

Zayn having weekly open challenges was a nod to Cena, who did the same when he held the U.S. title in 2015. It was a way of giving young talent high-profile matches against a top star — and Zayn was one of the people who challenged Cena during his run.

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Joseph Currier
Joseph Currier

Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.

In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.