On the October 11th edition of WWE Friday Night SmackDown, LA Knight put his United States Championship on the line vs Carmelo Hayes. Hayes earned his opportunity on last week's edition of SmackDown after 'defeating' AJ Styles, who could no longer continue due to injury.

SmackDown on October 11 featured high-stakes matches and pivotal promos, including a Roman Reigns-Jimmy Uso confrontation and intense segments involving Kevin Owens, Cody Rhodes, and Randy Orton. Championship matches highlighted LA Knight retaining his title and Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill defending their WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship.