Trick Williams Moves Past Corbin — Who Challenges Next?

Trick Williams has closed the book on his lengthy feud with Baron Corbin, picking up a steel cage victory over him on WWE SmackDown. The win puts an emphatic stamp on a United States Championship program that had dragged on for more than two months, and it opens the door for a new contender to step into the picture once Money in the Bank has come and gone.

The most obvious name is Carmelo Hayes. His own reign as U.S. Champion ended shortly before WrestleMania 42, when Sami Zayn took the title from him and later defended it against Williams himself. Since then, Hayes has been circling the division without ever getting a clean one-on-one shot at his former Toxic Attraction and NXT tag partner. He did get a crack at the belt during Corbin’s reign, but that ended in defeat, and Hayes has been absent from television for over a month. Given the history between the two — allies turned rivals turned something in between — a straightforward Hayes-Williams program feels overdue and would carry real emotional weight given how intertwined their careers have been.

Damian Priest is another logical candidate. After spending the last couple of years as a babyface, Priest has slid back into a heel posture, most notably by turning on his former tag team partner R-Truth, attacking him during a SmackDown episode in September and again at the WWE Performance Center. Once that story plays out, Priest looms as a credible physical threat who could match Williams’ size and intensity. The catch is timing and freshness — after months of Williams trading blows with the bruising Corbin, another program built around a hard-hitting heel might feel like more of the same unless WWE finds a distinct angle for it.

Then there’s Tony D’Angelo, whose stock has quietly been rising even as his path to the main roster has stalled. The former NXT Champion has spent roughly five years developing in the black-and-gold brand, watching contemporaries like Williams graduate ahead of him. With his NXT title reign over and a rematch bid falling short, D’Angelo appears to be out of runway on the developmental brand. Slotting him into the U.S. Title conversation would give him an immediate main-roster focus rather than risking him getting buried in a crowded midcard scramble.

Whichever direction WWE chooses, the larger point is that the U.S. Championship has become a genuine focal point on SmackDown, and Williams has emerged from the Corbin feud looking like a fighting champion worth building around. Hayes offers the most obvious storyline continuity, Priest brings size and edge, and D’Angelo represents a fresh face with untapped upside. Expect clarity on the direction sooner rather than later as WWE’s Money in the Bank build ramps up and the roster reshuffles around it.

Damian Priest attacked R-Truth at the WWE Performance Center! 👀:

"Understand me now Truth. No more buddies, no more jokes.

"I should be a champion instead of wasting my time with you. Go bother somebody else."pic.twitter.com/EZToDdVw7F

— WrestleTalk (@WrestleTalk_TV) September 24, 2026