5 reasons why AJ Styles retained the United States Championship against Cedric Alexander

AJ Styles and Cedric Alexander have given us quite a few matches between them, and the two have shown great chemistry in the ring which has resulted in some great matches.

This week on RAW, Alexander once again got an opportunity to claim the United States Championship title from AJ Styles in a one-on-one match. Even though the match went all the way down to the wire, Cedric was unable to finish strong and lost the match, which could also have been his last US Championship shot for some time.

While fans had been rooting for the underdog to win for some time, it came as little surprise that the company decided to book the match in a way that their more popular Superstar comes out on top.

At this time, it seems like WWE is set on allowing The Phenomenal One to carry to US Title for months to come. Keeping that in mind, we will take a look at the five reasons why the company booked the match in a way to allow Styles to retain the United States Championship.

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#5 To continue building the Championship’s value

Only a few Superstars have managed to up the Championship's value recently

While we talk a lot about how WWE has not stressed enough on the RAW Tag Team Champions over the past year and a half, we pay little focus to how the United States Championship has also suffered over the past two years.

At the turn of 2018, Bobby Roode won the title and held it for almost two months before losing it to the ever-so-deserving Randy Orton. Orton’s reign was cut short by Jinder Mahal, who held the title for just a week before losing it to Jeff Hardy.

Hardy was arguably the last United States Champion who increased the Championship’s value for three months between April and July 2018 before Shinsuke Nakamura took the title away from him and held it for almost five months but did not defend it regularly.

This significantly impacted the title’s value, and we then started to see the Championship jump waists regularly, from Nakamura to Rusev, to back to Nakamura and then to R-Truth.

Samoa Joe then held the title for some time and feuded over it with Rey Mysterio and then Ricochet. Now that the title is in AJ Styles’ hands, he seems like the perfect Superstar who can wear it around his waist for a long time and defend it regularly. Since Styles shows up every night, the value of the title is sure to increase for as long as it stays with the Phenomenal One.

#2 To give Cedric Alexander more chance to build

Alexander needs some more main roster victories before gaining momentum

There is no doubt that Cedric Alexander is one of the top Superstars in the business today, and is someone who has achieved a lot both outside and inside WWE.

As a former Cruiserweight Champion, there is no doubt that Alexander has the talent and the charisma to carry a major Championship belt and make it seem bigger than it actually is. However, he is still relatively new to the main roster and has had to deal with a lot of mixed bookings that have come his way.

The company is always on the lookout for a Superstar who gives their best to defend their title and maintain an upper hand. WWE is yet to build on that aspect of Alexander’s main roster career, and they must focus on that before crowning him a mid-card champion.

Taking the United States Championship from Styles would seem like a great opportunity for Alexander, but the chance of losing the title at every match he’d compete in as a champion would always be high.

He’s had mixed bookings in his previous rivalries, and Vince McMahon doesn’t seem to be too high on him at the moment. Keeping all that in mind, it makes perfect sense that WWE should build on the Superstar for some more months before handing him the title.

#3 To have a big Championship match at Crown Jewel

Last year, AJ Styles defended his WWE Championship at the event

Crown Jewel is just on the horizon, and WWE decided to build on the event starting from this week, even though there is still a month to the event’s October 31 date.

The first big match for the event was announced on the season premiere of RAW, as fans in the Kingdom will witness Team Hulk Hogan take on Team Ric Flair in a 5-on-5 star-studded match. This will prove to be a high-profile non-title match, and WWE will be looking to book some high-profile title matches for the event too.

With Hell in a Cell on the horizon, we are still not sure who will challenge AJ Styles for the US Championship, or whether the title will be on the line at all.

However, WWE will likely want to have AJ Styles defend his title at the event as he is one of the bigger names in the company and Saudi Arabia will most likely want to see him compete there. AJ Styles defended his WWE Championship against Samoa Joe at the event's previous edition.

With that in mind, it’s likely that WWE will keep the title on Styles till Crown Jewel at least where he could face a major opponent for the title in a big match. With the WWE Draft coming up soon, there are a lot of Superstars who could make their way to RAW and challenge The Phenomenal One for the title.

Will we see Finn Balor return to challenge Styles for the title at Crown Jewel? Or will The Miz have his eyes on the belt next? We'll have to wait to find out!

#4 To allow more young Superstars to rub shoulders with AJ Styles

AJ Styles has helped many young Superstars in WWE

It’s always great to have some experienced and talented Superstars in the roster who are always ready to help the new guy out and get them on their feet.

For years, we have seen Superstars such as Daniel Bryan, John Cena, and Randy Orton put some newer faces up in order to give them the push that they deserve. In doing so, the company also gives the newer Superstars a chance to battle one of the top guys and learn from the experience.

Styles is one man who is never afraid to put new talent over, and recently he has shown that by getting pinned by Ricochet and Cedric Alexander. Both men benefitted from the result, even though they lost their next few matches but still managed to get into a better position than they were in prior to the feuds.

Currently, WWE is trying to build some new stars and top babyfaces. Chad Gable, Ali, Buddy Murphy, and Ricochet are a few of the many Superstars who are looking for greater opportunities in the mid-card and having Styles hold the mid-card title of RAW is the best thing that can happen to them at the moment.

Moving on from Alexander, WWE could push up Gable or Ali into the United States Championship picture next and have them compete against Styles for some time. Not only will this give the next Superstar something major to do, but also gain a lot of experience from working with Styles in the mid-card, who is nothing but a star player.

#5 To keep The O.C. relevant

The O.C. needs something to stay relevant on the Red Brand

The O.C. was formed when AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson decided to rejoin forces and make yet another dominant stable.

The three were very successful right after teaming up, and AJ Styles won the United States Championship quickly while Gallows and Anderson won the RAW Tag Team Championships. While they held three of the top titles of the flagship brand, Styles continued to feud with Universal Champion Seth Rollins, constantly making fans wonder whether the trio will hold all four Championships of the Red Brand together.

However, Gallows and Anderson’s reign as the RAW Tag Team Championships did not last too long, and the duo lost their titles to the unlikely team of Braun Strowman and Seth Rollins.

Since losing the titles, the heel team has been on a losing spree and could not do much in the tag team gauntlet match, nor could they defeat The Viking Raiders last week and this week on RAW. Keeping their fortunes in mind, the heel trio must have at least one Champion among them so that they remain relevant and threatening.

Winning the US Championship and RAW Tag Team Championships immediately and getting in the Universal Championship picture, and then losing it all fairly quickly would have surely dented their overall impact and their image.