LA Knight earns future United States title match on WWE SmackDown

LA Knight has firmly established himself as the number one contender to the United States title.

Knight earned the opportunity to face Shinsuke Nakamura in a rematch for the United States title after winning a three-way match involving Carmelo Hayes and Jacob Fatu on SmackDown. The finish had Fatu hitting a swanton bomb on Hayes but as he was going for the cover Knight dragged Fatu out of the ring then covered Hayes to win the match.

Originally, Knight was advertised to face Nakamura on Friday in a title match. Just hours before the show went on the air, however, GM Nick Aldis announced on social media that while LA Knight believed he was the number one contender, champion Nakamura did not A three-match mini-tournament took place instead where the three winners later faced off in a triple threat match. Knight defeated Santos Escobar, Fatu (who replaced Solo Sikoa) defeated Andrade, and Carmelo Hayes defeated Braun Strowman by DQ to advance to the number one contendership match.

Nakamura defeated Knight to win the title back at Survivor Series. He is now in his third reign as United States Champion.