LA Knight retained his United States Championship over Andrade in the opening match of Friday's "WWE SmackDown." Andrade was making a go of becoming a two-time US Champion against Knight, after the reigning "WWE Speed" Champion bested Carmelo Hayes in a best-of-five series culminating during last week's show.
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The match itself saw the challenger come close on several occasions, dropping the champion with both his signature spinning back elbow and improvised moonsault but ultimately failing to deliver the final blow. Andrade sought to finish things with The Message off the top rope like he had done with Hayes but Knight squirmed out of it and found himself knocked off of the ropes, allowing the opening for the champion to connect with the BFT and win via pinfall. Following the bout, Andrade forced Knight to shake his hand, making his way to the back where he would come across Hayes once again. The pair brawled before being separated, suggesting they will continue their feud.
With his victory, Knight made it three title defenses since defeating Logan Paul for the title at SummerSlam in August, extending his reign beyond 49 days.
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