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

Joe didn't really lose the match

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.

#2 The Mid Card Superstars are busy chasing the 24/7 Championship

Oops!

Ever since Mick Foley unveiled the 24/7 Championship, WWE has been putting all their mid-carders in pursuit of the title, and there are seemingly no plans for the US title.

R-Truth is already a 3-time 24/7 champion within three weeks since the title's inception. There have been five different champions starting from Titus O' Neil to Jinder Mahal.

All this emphasis on the new title is making it more relevant than the other two mid-card titles on Raw and SmackDown Live. It left the WWE with no choice but to put the title back on Samoa Joe.

But they could've at least had Joe compete in a match to reclaim the US title instead of just handing it over to him. Or are they planning for someone to challenge Joe by calling him out on being handed the title?

#1 To insert Ricochet into the title picture

Will Ricochet challenge Joe for the title?

WWE posted the following on Twitter asking the fans on who should be the next US Champion. The image included Ricochet and Cesaro as potential superstars to win the US title apart from Samoa Joe.

Should @WWECesaro @SamoaJoe @KingRicochet or______________ be the next #USChampion? pic.twitter.com/9hDcoQ8iJt

— WWE (@WWE) June 2, 2019

Cesaro and Ricochet have been feuding for the past three weeks and trading victories over each other. Ricochet picked up the win over Cesaro on tonight's Raw, getting the Swiss Cyborg's number by beating him two weeks in a row.

Judging by WWE's tweet, it's clear the company wants to insert Ricochet in the United States Championship picture. So we can expect Ricochet to call out Samoa Joe on being handed the United States Championship on next week's Raw to kickstart their feud.

What is your take on Samoa Joe being handed the United States Championship? Sound off in the comments below.