As we’ve noted, next week’s episode of SmackDown Live was pre-taped last night after this week’s episode. A big title change went down during the tapings for next week’s episode. It turns out, Rusev defeated Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE United States Championship from the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California.
The episode will air on Christmas Eve Tuesday night. Rusev won his third United States Title from Nakamura, who had won the title from Jeff Hardy back at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view (PPV) on July 15th. Check out some photos from the match here:
New US Champ! Rusev pic.twitter.com/kiHe3G1Sie
— BIGTONYLX (@THEBIGTONYLX) December 19, 2018
And the NEEEWWWW United States Champion #SmackdownLive Rusev Day pic.twitter.com/IUatVXQaRL
— Luis Barajas (@WoahItsLuis) December 19, 2018
