Sami Zayn defended the United States Championship on the September 26 edition of WWE SmackDown, defeating NXT’s Je’Von Evans. The bout took place at the Kia Center in Orlando, Florida, after Evans answered Zayn’s open challenge for the title.
Zayn announced the challenge earlier in the night, noting that he had received permission from John Cena to continue the tradition. Evans, who has a championship opportunity scheduled at NXT No Mercy against Josh Briggs the following evening, stepped forward to accept. Briggs was shown in the crowd, watching the action from the FTL War Memorial in Fort Lauderdale.
The match gave Evans a major main roster spotlight. The Orlando crowd erupted with “this is awesome” chants as the two traded offense. Early on, Zayn connected with an exploder suplex to gain momentum.
Evans rallied, countering a Helluva Kick and delivering his trademark OG Cutter, scoring a near fall that brought the audience to its feet. The sequence highlighted Evans’s resilience and ability to push the champion to the limit.
In the end, Zayn regained control. He landed a decisive Helluva Kick followed by a Blue Thunder Bomb to secure the pinfall and retain the United States Championship. After the bell, Zayn showed respect to the NXT contender, acknowledging the effort in the hard-fought contest.