5 reasons why R-Truth won the United States Championship
R-Truth defeated Shinsuke Nakamura on SmackDown Live to become the new United States Champion. While the win seemed controversial at first, the replay clearly showed that Nakamura didn't lift his shoulders on time.
To add to that, Rusev came out and immediately challenged R-Truth for the title, seemingly turning heel again in the process. R-Truth put away Rusev in no time, and this has to go down as one of the best nights in his career, as he defeated two elite-level competitors back to back.
It seems like the title win was long overdue for the veteran, and you might be surprised to learn that this is the first time in seven years that R-Truth has even held a championship in WWE.
Now, why did R-Truth win the championship just two days after Nakamura won it back from Rusev? Here's why the shocking title change happened.
#5 To compensate for the Royal Rumble fiasco
This one is a no-brainer. R-Truth straight up said that because of what happened at the Royal Rumble match, the McMahon's compensated him with a United States title match.
In case you're not aware, R-Truth had the guaranteed #30 spot due to winning the Mixed Match Challenge. However, when he made his entry, he was attacked by Nia Jax of all people, who subsequently took his spot and eliminated Mustafa Ali before getting eliminated herself.
The Royal Rumble match is a big one for every participating superstar, and since Truth didn't enter, the whole point of the Mixed Match Challenge seems completely lost. However, granting him a United States title match at least made it worth something, and he would end up capitalizing on the opportunity and beat the 2-time Champion Shinsuke Nakamura clean as a whistle. Who would have seen that coming?