Rey Mysterio Beats Austin Theory To Become New United States Champion

A shocking title change took place last night on WWE SmackDown, as Rey Mysterio defeated Austin Theory to become the brand new WWE United States Champion.

Going into SmackDown, the scheduled match was Austin Theory vs. Santos Escobar, but throughout the show Theory laid out an assault and an attack on Escober, rendering him unable to compete in the match. Thinking he was in the clear of a defence, Theory was met with the news that Escobar’s Latino World Order stablemate Rey Mysterio would step in to challenge him for the gold, which he would ultimately win after hitting two 619s to score the victory.

This marks Mysterio’s third reign as the United States Champion, and it brings an end to Theory’s long run of 258 days, which has seen him outlast the likes of Seth Rollins, Bobby Lashley, John Cena, Edge, and Sheamus. Mysterio last won the belt back in 2019 when he beat AJ Styles on an episode of Raw, which would also mark the last time he won a singles title full stop.