Logan Paul Announces Tournament To Determine Next US Title Contender On WWE SmackDown

Nothing that "a champion is only as good as his challengers," WWE United States Champion Logan Paul hit the ring on Friday's episode of "WWE SmackDown" to announce that he and General Manager Nick Aldis had agreed to an eight-man tournament, beginning next week, that will determine the next US title contender.

Participants in the tournament were revealed to be Santos Escobar, Dragon Lee, Karrion Kross, Bobby Lashley, Grayson Waller, Austin Theory, and Kevin Owens. Additionally, adding a bit of intrigue to the announcement, Paul noted that an unknown superstar from "WWE NXT" would also be joining the field — shortly thereafter, top "NXT" star Carmelo Hayes posted a photo of himself holding a variant US title belt popularized by John Cena. Lashley and Owens are both 3-time United States Champions, while Theory has held the belt on two occasions.

Paul defeated Rey Mysterio at Crown Jewel earlier this year to capture the US title, utilizing brass knuckles to secure the victory. He has not defended the belt to date, so his match against whomever prevails in this newly-announced tournament will be his first defense. Paul has never competed one-on-one against any of the eight participants, and had only so much as shared a ring with Escobar at Money In the Bank, and Theory in the Royal Rumble match, both earlier this year, before he was joined in the ring on "SmackDown" by Owens, who made it known that he intends to be the man who dethrones Paul.