A new WWE champion was almost crowned tonight on SmackDown, in her first-ever title defense. This match had been awaited for some time.Zelina Vega finally got the rematch against Giulia that she had been looking for. The match was a long time coming, with the new United States Champion not really getting into the limelight after winning the title. The star did not get that many opportunities to show what she could do, but she brought in Kiana James with her to act as her ally.Vega, meanwhile, has been waiting, angry, on the sidelines to get back her title. This week on WWE SmackDown, she got that very chance. Giulia and she met in the ring, with the champion dominating the match early on.Vega got back into the match and hit the moves that made it look like she had the chance to win the bout. She hit the Backstabber and went for a moonsault, but was slow and struggling at the time. It looked like the match was over as she had complete control in the end, and one more move would have put her opponent away. Unfortunately, it was not to be.Giulia fought back and got her knees up. She then hit the Northern Lights Bomb, and that proved to be enough for her to retain the title at the end of the night.She remained the WWE Women's United States Champion at the end of her first-ever title defense.