WWE SmackDown 5 Takeaways: US Championship Becomes Glorious

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2. Bobby Roode’s Win Over Mojo Rawley Sets Up Last-Minute, Spontaneous Championship Match

When the bracket was released to see which superstars would vie for a chance to win the United States Championship, it seemed likely two superstars were on a collision course for the finals.  And last night only helped to confirm that suspicion by most of the WWE universe.

Following Jinder Mahal’s win over Xavier Woods earlier in the night to advance to the final round, it seemed likely who his opponent would be between Bobby Roode and Mojo Rawley.  While Mojo has been slowly gaining momentum as a singles competitor, having a heel vs. heel match for the U.S. Championship didn’t seem likely.

Roode’s battle with Mojo went better than Mahal’s battle with Woods earlier in the night, but it still wasn’t an outstanding match in its own right.  Mojo, however, did display some great heel tendencies in the match which should only help out his character in the future.  But at the end of the day, Roode picked up the win that most everybody saw coming to advance to the final round.

But where the match was originally scheduled for next week between Mahal and Roode would drastically be changed.  Mahal cut a small promo on Roode, but in the midst of this, The Glorious One said they should have the match tonight rather than next week.  And GM Daniel Bryan obliged by making Mahal vs. Roode for the U.S. Championship in last night’s main event.

It came a bit out of nowhere, but a marquee championship match was set to take place in last night’s main event.