WWE Raw: Making Samoa Joe US Champion again was for the best

On Monday night, Rey Mysterio relinquished the United States Championship to his rival, Samoa Joe. It was a curious decision, but it was probably for the best.

Last week, WWE announced Rey Mysterio must vacate his newly won title. Most fans probably assumed Samoa Joe would play a part in the segment, but as a twist, Rey just handed the championship back to him. In short, it seems lazy but it was probably the best way to salvage this program at the last minute.

Mysterio has been United States Champion for about two weeks. He won the title in dubious fashion when he rolled up the Joe to defeat him via pinfall at Money in the Bank. Match didn’t even last two minutes and Joe’s shoulders were clearly up during the three count.

To add to all this confusion, it seems the match was cut short due to a legitimate busted nose. Joe was bleeding profusely from his nose and Mysterio suffered a shoulder injury sometime during the post-match beatdown. It’s unclear if WWE planned for Rey to win the title but it’s safe to assume that wasn’t intended finish. If the plan was for “The Destroyer” to drop the title, this all becomes even more of a head-scratcher.

The United States Championship has been a bit of a mess since Kevin Owens dropped the title to AJ Styles in July of 2017. At the time, Owens had an entertaining heel champion gimmick going, as “The Face of America.” Owens debuted the variation of a foreign US champ after he defeated Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 33. His promos alone were worth the price admission and he put on some good matches in the accompany open challenge.

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Unfortunately, it seemed like it didn’t get enough time to become something special because he and Styles kept ended up in a convoluted feud where the title was constantly changing hands. That would become a pattern over the next year.

There hasn’t been a noteworthy United States Champion since. That is until Samoa Joe won the title in a fatal four-way on an episode of SmackDown back in March. The Destroyer only held the title for 75 days but in that time, it felt like we could finally see a dominant champion again.

Moreover, Joe was finally a titleholder again. Fans of his record-breaking run as ROH World Champion, or even his two tenures as NXT Champion, hoped to see him return to glory when he came to the main roster.

With that in mind, it seems odd that WWE would plan to have him drop the title so soon. One could argue this was a way to continue the ongoing feud with Mysterio. But that seems like more of the same booking that doomed the mid-card title in the first place.

If they want the United States Championship to feel relevant, the company must fully invest in someone as its emissary. At this point, who would be better than Samoa Joe?  He has the full package. He is one of the best talkers with the company and he’s exceptional in the ring.

Yes, the match at Money in the Bank and the segment this week were both unfortunate but putting the title back on Joe was probably the best-case scenario. It may have worked better if he had to regain it in a match or tournament. Nevertheless, the title needs an indelible flagbearer and Samoa Joe fits the bill.