A popular WWE RAW star is reportedly set to compete for a championship on Friday Night SmackDown. The upcoming edition of the blue brand airs from the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado, in a few hours from the time of writing.According to PWInsider, JD McDonagh will answer Ilja Dragunov's United States Championship Open Challenge. It will be The Mad Dragon's fifth title defense in as many weeks. The Judgment Day member will be the first RAW star to wrestle Dragunov for the gold.Ilja Dragunov returned from injury on the October 17 edition of SmackDown to answer Sami Zayn's United States Championship Open Challenge. He defeated the Canadian star to win his first title on the main roster and has continued Zayn's tradition of being a fighting champion.Wrestling veteran calls out Ilja Dragunov following a dangerous spot on WWE SmackDownIlja Dragunov's second championship defense was against Nathan Frazer. The two stars put forth a highly engaging contest. However, it also had a couple of scary spots.Stevie Richards shared his opinion on Dragunov hitting Frazer with a suplex on the outside. While speaking on his The Stevie Richards Show, the wrestling veteran noted that it reminded him of the infamous spot between Big E and Ridge Holland that ended the former WWE Champion's wrestling career. Richards opined that such spots are unnecessary."This here gives me vibes of Ridge Holland and Big E. Why are you giving any suplexes like this on the floor? Why? And he says nothing personal before he does it. There is no protection for this. This is a Benoit German Suplex. Now, he didn’t land him on top of his head, but it’s still a no-give, German suplex. Only this side of the audience here sees it. Now, for TV, it’s whatever, but you still have a live crowd," Richards said.WWE has been teasing Tommaso Ciampa challenging for the United States Championship for several weeks. It remains to be seen when the former NXT Champion finally gets his shot at the gold.