Sami Zayn has finally done it! The Ultimate Underdog defeated Solo Sikoa in a sensational main event in Lyon on tonight's Friday Night SmackDown to become the United States Champion for the first time in his career.Among the multitude of reasons why Zayn won the title tonight in Lyon, one of the foremost reasons is steering SmackDown into a new direction, with a key part of that process being the elevation of mid-card and upper mid-card talent and stories, and making them feel important and special.Sami Zayn has the unique ability to elevate talent and stories through his craft of subtle and simple yet effective narratives. As an incredible bell-to-bell wrestler, he is capable of extracting great matches from almost anybody, as evidenced by tonight's main event.Honorary mentions for the Honorary Uce include a whole lot of talent, even on the babyface side, who could mix it up with Sami Zayn in open challenges and make for exciting opponents. For instance, the likes of Andrade, Rey Fenix, Axiom, Nathan Frazier, Jimmy Uso, and The Miz.With that said, in this article, we shall discuss four prospective serious challengers for the United States Championship in the near future.#4. & #3. Johnny Gargano and Tommaso CiampaWhile Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano are a major part of the SmackDown tag team division as DIY, this often makes fans forget just how good they are as singles wrestlers and how popular they were as singles superstars in their heyday.Their NXT runs primed them for superstardom, but it all eventually fizzled out, as it did with many in their generation and the following one, whether due to extended NXT runs caused by COVID, releases, underutilization by Vince McMahon, or simply newer talent taking over.However, they are still two of the greatest NXT Superstars of all time, and if Sami Zayn goes on an open challenge sort of run, Ciampa and Gargano could have the freedom to go out and do their thing, creating incredible matches and possibly a chance for something bigger down the line for themselves, perhaps a proper feud and actual run with the US Title.#2. Carmelo HayesFollowing tonight's episode of SmackDown, it became clear that The Miz and Carmelo Hayes are slowly inching towards a breakup, and from the looks of it, Hayes will likely stay a heel. After he moves on from The Miz, Carmelo Hayes could provide both a challenge and a proper feud for Sami Zayn.Hayes needs to continue to be featured prominently on TV, and if WWE can craft a compelling enough story and epilogue, then Carmelo Hayes being the man who dethrones Sami Zayn for the United States Championship could be a brilliant pick as well.However, even if Hayes does not become the next United States Champion, just mixing it up with Sami Zayn could provide him exposure and allow him to shine as a character and on the mic, while delivering crisp matches against Zayn. In doing so, he could also begin to hone his in-ring style as a small guy, learning the intricacies of how Zayn himself has been able to work matches, win matches, and succeed in WWE despite his size.#1. Aleister BlackThe problem with SmackDown's mid-card has not been a lack of talent or depth, but a clear lack of creative direction and interesting presentation, and a clear case and victim of this unfortunate truth has been Aleister Black. After almost four years in AEW, Aleister Black returned to WWE with a bang, but despite his strong and engaging character and familiarity with the WWE Universe, he wasn't elevated the way he could have been.Black could be an extremely compelling feud for Sami Zayn, and as a heel, he could force Zayn to confront the evils within, building up on what Karrion Kross did with the new United States Champion. There is room to craft a masterpiece in psychological storytelling with Zayn and Black, and in this case, Black can back it up in the ring and then some, which had always been the primary concern with Kross.Much like Carmelo Hayes, Aleister Black would also be a viable pick to dethrone Sami Zayn, and given his stature and experience, a main roster title run is certainly long overdue when it comes to the former AEW star. There's a case to be made for both Black and Hayes when it comes to who eventually dethrones Zayn, and that is what makes Sami's title win so exciting.