Following Dolph Ziggler's weird promo on Smackdown last week, the United States title is vacant.
Daniel Bryan made the announcement tonight on Smackdown. He mentioned that following Ziggler's promo on Smackdown that he tried to contact him, but Ziggler refused to answer any of his calls, so he considers the United States title vacant. In response, Bryan announced that a tournament to crown a new champion will take place, and it will start tonight on Smackdown.
Baron Corbin vs. Bobby Roode and Tye Dillinger vs. Jinder Mahal were the first two tournament matches, with Roode and Mahal advancing. It's not known how many people are in it or when it will conclude.
Ziggler won the title last week at Clash of Champions, defeating champion Baron Corbin and Bobby Roode in a triple threat match. On the Smackdown following the event, Ziggler showed a montage of all of his championship wins in the WWE. He said he was better than this, then seemingly relinquished the championship by putting it on the floor and walking away. It isn't currently known what Ziggler's status is other than he won't be on television for a while.
