New WWE SmackDown star to win United States Championship: Two fresh candidates to dethrone Trick Williams

WWE

This Saturday, we will see Trick Williams get a chance to ascend to WWE’s world title picture when he competes in the men’s Money in the Bank ladder match.

Whether Trick wins the briefcase or not, it’s evident that he’s not long for the mid-card, and will likely be taking that jump to the main event sooner rather than later.

While Trick has some viable contenders on SmackDown for his United States Title, the names could probably still be counted on one hand.

The blue brand is very top heavy, with the Undisputed WWE Championship having at least five potential contenders right now, so Nick Aldis should be looking to break out his check book and bring in some new talent to challenge Trick.

Here are two potential new WWE SmackDown stars to win the United States Championship

Tony D’Angelo

After losing his NXT Championship to Grayson Waller at Heatwave – and then failing to become the new number one contender for the title in the weeks that followed – it appeared as if Tony D’Angelo may finally have ran out of things to do in NXT after five years on the brand.

However it appears as if that is not quite true, as D’Angelo re-emerged to once again step up to Grayson Waller on the October 2 episode of NXT.

If D’Angelo gets past Myles Borne on next week’s show then he will get another chance at Waller, and given that Borne vs. Waller would be a heel vs. heel affair, you would fancy Tony D’s chances.

D’Angelo losing that subsequent NXT Championship opportunity should, surely result in him finally getting a move away from NXT, and if he does then SmackDown could be the perfect next step.

With Trick Williams and D’Angelo rising through NXT together there is already plenty history there to be tapped into, and WWE could also throw in fellow NXT 2.0. alum Carmelo Hayes into the mix to make things extra interesting.

Tony D will be needing something big to get established on the main roster, and a near immediate United States Title win would certainly be that.

Rusev

Rusev and the United States Championship used to go hand-in-hand, with the Bulgarian holding the title on three different occasions between 2014 and 2019.

His first run as champion famously came to an end at WrestleMania 31 when he lost to WWE’s “Greatest of All Time” John Cena, a feud that still stands as the most prominent of his career.

Since returning to WWE in April 2025, Rusev has been mostly always fixated on winning his first Intercontinental Title but has yet to get across the line.

His union with Ethan Page certainly brought him a lot closer to the title than he was on his own, but it always felt as if “All Ego” was the likelier of the two to claim the title.

Rusev has been out of action since July, but according to his wife CJ Perry he has been cleared for a return. While he will most likely return to Raw and resume his entertaining partnership with Page, there may be a more promising spot available to him on SmackDown.

With Trick without a heel challenger after knocking off Baron Corbin, Rusev could certainly fit in that spot as he aims to become a four-time US Champion.

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• wwe
• Smackdown
• Trick Williams

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