WATCH: Ilja Dragunov returns to WWE in nearly a year; wins United States Championship against Sami Zayn on SmackDown

In one of the most shocking moments in recent memory on WWE SmackDown, Ilja Dragunov returned to the promotion in nearly a year due to a knee injury before defeating Sami Zayn to win the United States Championship. On the latest episode of SmackDown from SAP Center in San Jose, California, Dragunov answered the US Open Challenge from Zayn this week and got the better of the fighting champion in an intense physical battle.

After kickstarting the US Open Challenge with the blessings of John Cena, who did it first in 2015, Sami Zayn managed to defeat five different challengers, including names like Carmelo Hayes, Rey Fenix, Je’Von Evans, Aleister Black, and Shinsuke Nakamura. But the surprise factor ultimately caught up with him this week on SmackDown

against Ilja Dragunov, who is touted as one of the most exciting superstars in WWE today.

During the United States Championship match, Sami Zayn and Ilja Dragunov pulled out all the stops, executing some of their greatest hits with precision but still, they found it tough to put each other away. When Solo Sikoa, the patriarch of the MFTs, appeared on the stage in the latter stages of the contest, it distracted Zayn just enough to take the eye of the ball for a split second, allowing Dragunov to take advantage with a Torpedo Moskau and following it up with the H-Bomb to pin the champion and win his first major title in WWE.

Sami Zyan and Ilja Dragunov were attacked by the MFTs at the behest of Solo Sikoa after title match

In the immediate aftermath of the contest, the MFTs hit the ring and attacked Zayn and Dragunov before Rey Fenix tried to save them, only to eat a chokeslam from Talla Tonga for his troubles. Sikoa and Zayn have quite a big history between each other, starting from their time together in the Bloodline before the Underdog from the Underground defeated the MFT leader for the United States Championship two months ago.

When Solo Sikoa took the ring and declared his intention to make his MFT brethren champions in WWE, a Bo Dallas vignette aired on the titantron before the members of the Wyatt Sicks stalked them from the ring apron.