Spoiler: Member Of Raw Roster To Challenge Ilja Dragunov On Tonight's WWE SmackDown

Despite a change in hands, the United States Championship has consistently remained up for grabs through a series of open challenges. That trend will reportedly continue tonight when its current holder, Ilja Dragunov, defends it against a star from the "WWE Raw" roster on "WWE SmackDown."

According to BodySlam+, The Judgment Day's JD McDonagh is slated to answer Dragunov's open challenge on "SmackDown," emanating from the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado. Dragunov and McDonagh share some history heading into their reported title clash as they both previously wrestled under the "WWE NXT UK" banner prior to its disbanding in 2022. Most notably, Dragunov defeated McDonagh in a NXT UK Championship match in May 2022, with the added stipulation that McDonagh would have to leave the "NXT UK" brand. This following month, vignettes for McDonagh's United States arrival in "WWE NXT" began airing. Dragunov later moved to the "NXT" brand as well in September of the same year.

Nowadays, McDonagh and Dragunov are both members of WWE's main roster. In Dragunov's case, he resides on WWE's blue brand after marking his in-ring return last month. In it, Dragunov dethroned Sami Zayn as WWE United States Champion. McDonagh, on the other hand, is aligned with the likes of Finn Balor and Dominik Mysterio as a part of The Judgment Day on "Raw."

Since unseating Zayn, Dragunov has successfully defended the US Title against Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano, and former NXT Tag Team Champions Axiom and Nathan Frazer. His reign currently sits at 35 days.