3 Reasons why the US Title was handed back to Samoa Joe
Former United States Champion Rey Mysterio had to relinquish the championship on Raw due to the separated shoulder he sustained during his match with Samoa Joe at Money in the Bank.
Mysterio had won the title from Samoa Joe at MITB, defeating the Samoan Submission Machine in 1 minute and 39 seconds. Joe would dish out a post-match beat down on Rey Mysterio, and that is where it’s said Mysterio injured his shoulder.
Mysterio walked out to the ring and said that he had been a champion on many occasions in his career through pain and injuries. He said if he could do that, he can also be a man who sets the right example and relinquished the US title back to Samoa Joe.
BuSamoa Joe attacked Mysterio from behind and locked him up in a Coquina Clutch until the officials had to break the hold. Joe walked to the back with the US title lifted high and with a huge smirk on his face.
But the biggest question here is why was the title handed back to Joe? WWE Could've had announced the title as vacant and had Samoa Joe compete in a match to reclaim the title.
Let's take a look at three reasons why Rey Mysterio relinquished the US title to Samoa Joe.
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#3 Because of the botched finish at Money in the Bank
Samoa Joe's shoulders were off the mat when Rey Mysterio rolled him up for the pin, but the referee never saw that and went ahead with the pinfall. Mysterio became the United States Championship for the first time in his career and also became a Grand Slam champion in the process.
Joe has been complaining about this for the past two weeks, and when WWE announced Rey Mysterio would relinquish the title on tonight's Raw, Joe asked Mysterio to do the right thing and hand the title back to him.
With Rey Mysterio's history as a babyface, WWE could've decided to have Mysterio leave with some pride and set the right example by relinquishing the title back to Samoa Joe.