WWE Money in the Bank: 5 Reasons why Rey Mysterio became US Champion in under two minutes

By Riju Dasgupta
Modified May 20, 2019 06:27 IST
And ladies and gentlemen, we have a brand new champion
And ladies and gentlemen, we have a brand new champion

WWE Money in the Bank is underway and it's been a newsworthy show already. Bayley is Miss Money in the Bank for the year 2019 and the night promises to have many more surprises in store.

The first Championship switch of the night has happened already and it seemed to happen in no time at all. Rey Mysterio is the United States Champion, a title that came to WWE from WCW, the promotion where he first became a household name and he achieved this in 1.40 minutes.

But why did WWE decide to cut the reign of Samoa Joe short and put the title around Mysterio's waist? In this article, we explore 5 reasons why the title change could have potentially happened.

As always, I invite your thoughts and views in the comments below.

#5 The unfortunate mid-match botch

In case you watched the match, you certainly know that Samoa Joe possibly broke his nose in the middle of the contest.

Of course, Samoa Joe is tough as nails and I am pretty certain that there was no way that he would have willingly brought the match to an early finish. But there is a protocol to be followed in WWE and I'm guessing injuries are a major convern.

And therefore, the match may have been brought to an early finish. This is a shame in itself because the two men involved in the match are both veterans and could have torn the house down, if they were allowed to tell a story. But then such accidents are a part of the business and the feud is clearly far from done, right now.

Samoa Joe may not be the Champion anymore after Money in the Bank. But he is very much in the title picture.

#4 Long term storyline with Dominick

It is pretty clear at this moment that Dominick will be entering the ring soon as a competitor. He certainly has the genes to become a top-tier star and moreover, he has been training against one of the greatest of all time, Lance Storm. The amount of screen time he's received in recent times is more than stars like Rusev and Liv Morgan have.

So WWE probably put the title around Mysterio's waist for the storyline with Dominick to play out. Apparently, the plan is for Mysterio to surrender his mask soon. And it will be his son who will follow in his able footsteps.

Will Dominick go on to have the same level of career that his father has enjoyed in the professional wrestling business? If he gets a chance to make an instant impact like this and possibly even win the US Title in due time, there's no reason why he cannot.

#3 Disputed finish so the feud will continue

Corey Graves pointed out the fact that Samoa Joe's shoulders were not on the mat when the count was made. This was not the only referee botch of the night as the referee counted a rope break during a cage match, during the Shane McMahon vs. The Miz contest.

The only reason the match ended in such a manner is that it is bound to continue, certainly to Super ShowDown and maybe even beyond the pay-per-view. I would certainly like to see the next chapter in this rivalry because Samoa Joe can make things very personal.

And with Dominick involved, there's always a chance that the storyline could become one of the best in WWE history. Samoa Joe is the master of mind games and with the current build, there's a chance that the feud will only become better.

Maybe Samoa Joe wins it back down the line.

#2 To make Rey Mysterio a Grand Slam Champion

To become a Champion in WWE indicates that you are part of a very exclusive club of top stars. But then there is a special club among the Champions in WWE known as 'Grand Slam Champions'. To be a part of this club, you have to be World Champion of your brand, an Intercontinental Champion, the US Champion, and a Tag Team Champion too.

There are only a handful of Superstars in the company that have achieved this feat. Rey Mysterio takes his rightful place in this league of extraordinary gentlemen with this unexpected win over Samoa Joe. All of this is certainly a setup for his inevitable WWE Hall of Fame induction in due course of time.

Maybe Samoa Joe will get to this exclusive club himself. But it's hard to imagine him teaming up with anyone at all to win the Tag Team titles down the line.

#1 Storyline comes full circle

I'm sure all of our readers watched WrestleMania 35. And they must certainly be aware that when Rey Mysterio squared off against Samoa Joe at the 'Show of Shows', Joe choked him out in no time at all.

And now, in the next pay-per-view, the roles have been reversed as it was Mysterio who scored the pinfall. Both matches have gotten over in absolutely no time and this could be the theme that runs through the whole feud.

As has been mentioned already, I'm sure that this feud is far from over at this point in time which essentially means that there will be a rubber match for the title somewhere down the line. And whoever wins the match will go on to feud with the next challenger for the US Championship.

Or maybe the match got over in no time at all because there are far too many matches in the card.