Leon Slater Appears On WWE Smackdown, Battles For US Title

Leon Slater made an appearance on this week’s WWE Smackdown, as he answered Carmelo Hayes’ United States Championship open challenge. Friday night’s show saw Hayes host the latest edition of his open challenge. He was answered by the TNA star.

Hayes and Slater battled back and forth in a high-flying battle. The match went just a little bit under 12 minutes and saw Hayes sell his leg, which Slater targeted a bit. Hayes went for the First 48 at one point but the hurt leg meant he couldn’t get the full three-count.

Hayes was ultimately able to pick up the victory when he countered a superplex into a cutter off the top rope. You can check out some highlights from Friday night’s US Title match below.

Slater was originally supposed to defend the TNA X-Division Championship on both this week’s TNA Impact and again at Genesis. However, visa issues led to Slater not being able to perform for the shows. Slater was back home in the UK as a result, and TNA allowed WWE to use Slater to compete on tonight’s show.

Hayes’ US Championship reign stands at 22 days. He won the title from Ilja Dragunov on the December 26th, 2025 episode of Smackdown.

.@LEONSLATER_ has answered @Carmelo_WWE's Open Challenge! 👏 pic.twitter.com/hlBxlsJLMn

— WWE (@WWE) January 17, 2026

.@LEONSLATER_ has answered @Carmelo_WWE's Open Challenge! 👏 pic.twitter.com/hlBxlsJLMn

— WWE (@WWE) January 17, 2026