This week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown emanated from the OVO Arena in London, England the WWE United States Championship Open Challenge continued.
Carmelo Hayes made his way down to the ring and his opponent was revealed to be none other than current TNA Wrestling X-Division Champion Leon Slater who got a big reaction from the London fans.
The title bout was action packed from bell to bell as Slater and Hayes were evenly matched and maintained a fast pace throughout. The fans showed support for both Leon Slater and Carmelo Hayes as they tried to defeat one another.
Carmelo Hayes started selling a knee injury early on in the match. Near the end of the match Hayes hit Slater with First 48 and he continued to sell the knee injury as he limped to the corner. Hayes was on the ropes in the corner when Slater tried to hit him with a superplex, but Hayes reversed it into a cutter in mid air then pinned Leon Slater to retain the WWE United States Championship.
After the match Shinsuke Nakamura was shown watching the match when Tama Tonga approached him. Tama told Shinsuke that he had his chance to win the belt and he blew it. He declared that he’ll be chasing the gold and told Shinsuke to stay out of his way.