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This week on RAW, the biggest announced match will take place for the United States Championship between AJ Styles and the new Champion, Rey Mysterio, which will mark Mysterio’s first title defense after he won the US Championship on the November 25th episode of RAW.
While fans can’t wait for the action to take place inside the ring, it is interesting to note that Styles is getting a rematch for the title he lost two weeks ago. While he did pin Ricochet in the six-man tag team match last week, is that reason enough for a title match to take place?
In this article, we will take a look at the 5 possible reasons why AJ Styles is taking on Rey Mysterio for the United States Championship this week on RAW.
#5 To hand Rey Mysterio a convincing victory
Rey Mysterio tried his best to capture the WWE Championship at Survivor Series, but ‘The Beast’ Brock Lesnar proved too much for the little man.
Mysterio then got an opportunity to win take the United States Championship from AJ Styles, which he did in a not-so-convincing fashion. Even though a victory is a victory, it was an RKO assist from Randy Orton that may have helped Mysterio pin Styles for the title.
The first time Mysterio won the US Championship was in May at Money in the Bank 2019 when he pinned Samoa Joe for the title. However, he did not pin Joe cleanly, and that became a topic of discussion which later led Mysterio to relinquish the title back to Joe after an injury.
With that in mind, the company would be thinking of making Mysterio look like a true Champion this time around by allowing him another match against Styles.
Mysterio may be able to get a clean victory over Styles this time, which would allow him to silence the critics while being a successful Champion.
#4 To put the title back on Styles
While this seems like an unlikely reason, for now, we can never be too sure what the creatives have up their sleeves for us.
Rey Mysterio’s first reign as the US Champion lasted only 15 days, after which he handed the title back to Samoa Joe. Post that loss, Mysterio was out of the US Championship picture, and immediately won the title when he returned to challenge for the belt again.
Being pulled from the brink of retirement by his son has given Mysterio hope, and he may aim for the top once again. On the other hand, The O.C. require at least one Championship belt to remain threatening on RAW, and the company may just hand that to them once again.
While Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are the 'Best Tag Team in the World', they need something more to pose as a real threat along with Styles. RAW may be planning another short run for Mysterio as the Champion to get back in the groove and could allow Styles to win the title once again on RAW.
This would allow The O.C. to gain back their status while giving Mysterio a chance to get back in the mid-card scene. Styles could then go on to battle with someone like Randy Orton for the Championship.
#3 To allow Mysterio’s friends to help him out again
Rey Mysterio has found some babyface friends to support him in evening out the odds on RAW against The O.C.
Mysterio, who was a lone ranger since his return to the company, was helped by Humberto Carrillo and Ricochet last week in order to turn the tides on The O.C. Even though the babyfaces lost the match in the process, it was good to watch the babyfaces put up a fight against the veterans.
AJ Styles pinned Ricochet during the match to seal the victory and in the process earn a shot at the US Championship, and we can safely say that Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson will try to do everything to ensure their leader becomes the Champion once again.
This could lead to a possible disqualification, or even without one we could watch Carrillo and Ricochet come out to help Mysterio even out the odds and reduce the distractions.
Since RAW is trying to build both Carrillo and Ricochet, it will be good to watch them step up to the heels once again and remain relevant on RAW’s midcard while doing so.
#2 To set up a six-man tag team match for TLC
TLC 2019 is less than a week away, and WWE is trying its best to develop some interesting rivalries so that the matches at the event don’t fall behind in terms of quality.
Recently, Ricochet, Humberto Carrillo, and Rey Mysterio have all have an engaging rivalry with The O.C. one after the other. This has allowed all three men to work well on the mid-cards, apart from giving Carrillo a chance to grow.
At TLC 2019, the company will be looking to have at least a few of the stars feature at the event, and a six-man tag team match could allow all of them to step up.
The O.C. is RAW’s premier faction, and they should feature at the event. If Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson do influence the outcome of the match in any way, the company will likely set this match up.
Whether Styles wins the match thanks to Gallows and Anderson, or Mysterio retains his title with the help of Carrillo and Ricochet, it will provide RAW just enough content to push a six-man tag team match at the event.
A match between these six men is sure to give fans something to look out for, especially if a stipulation is attached to it.
#1 To give The Viper a chance to turn full face
Randy Orton has been teasing a face turn for a while, and it’s likely the company will turn him face just before the start of the new decade.
Orton seemed to be getting in a rivalry with top babyface Ricochet before he had a change in character. For the past several weeks, we’ve seen him go after AJ Styles instead. Mysterio’s Championship victory also came owing to an RKO from Orton to Styles.
Now that Styles is in a position to face a major Superstar in non-title or Championship matches, Orton seems to be the perfect man who can counter him.
We could watch Orton once again help Mysterio retain the title, or come to his aide during a beatdown. This would confirm Orton’s turn while giving Styles some more heat and the fans something to look out for.
While TLC 2019 seems too close to have a good match between the two, we could watch them compete for the next several weeks before one of them progresses to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship down the line.
Will we finally watch Randy Orton turn face at the end of RAW this week? We can’t wait to find out!
