WWE SmackDown Grades: Kevin Owens Crashes The Party

3. R-Truth vs. Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade

One of the more surprising results in the WWE so far in 2019 has been R-Truth capturing the United States Championship.  The charismatic veteran won the gold on the SmackDown after the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, but since then, he hasn’t been on TV much.

Truth won the title at the expense of Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura, who both attacked Truth in the process.  That could have been the kayfabe reason why Truth wasn’t on TV for a few weeks, but last night saw the U.S. Champion on TV issuing an open challenge in honor of his hero, John Cena.  Truth would get a response to this challenge, but it wouldn’t stop with just one.

Andrade came out to answer the challenge, but he was quickly swiped from behind by recent rival Rey Mysterio.  The two both came into the ring and asked for a U.S. Championship match, which led Truth to accepting a Triple Threat Match with the title on the line.  The action in this match was stellar from start to finish, and that is to be expected when Mysterio and Andrade are involved.  Truth showed out himself as well, more than holding his own.

Just when it looked like Mysterio was going to win the match with a 619 on Andrade, Truth countered it into a roll-up on Mysterio which was enough to get the win and retain his title.  It felt like Truth was going to lose this match, but seeing him win was a pleasant sight.  These three could realistically still remain in the U.S. Championship picture in the coming weeks.

It wasn’t a 30-minute marathon, but this match was high-quality throughout with three talented performers vying for the U.S. Championship.

Final Grade: B+