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What's the story?
In the last first round match of the United States Championship Tournament, Mojo Rawley is set to take on Zack Ryder. The bout was expected to take place on this week's episode of SmackDown Live in Orlando.
The broadcast of the show did not see the match happen, and Wrestling Inc reported that Ryder and Rawley faced each other before SmackDown Live started.
In case you didn't know...
Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder were a tag team for a long time, but their lack of success drove them apart. Rawley turned on Ryder and betrayed him, beating him in the match that followed.
After Dolph Ziggler relinquished the United States Championship, it was made vacant. A tournament announcement was made to compete for the vacant title, with one of the first round matches featuring Zack Ryder facing his former partner, Mojo Rawley.
The heart of the matter
Mojo Rawley faced Zack Ryder in a dark match before SmackDown Live took place, and defeated him. Zack Ryder is yet to win a match against Mojo since the two went their separate ways.
During SmackDown Live, a promo aired, where Mojo let his former partner know that he would face him the next week and defeat him, putting him 'in the past'.
What's next?
Mojo Rawley is set to face his former tag team partner, Zack Ryder, in a first-round match of the United States Championship tournament on the next episode of SmackDown Live. If he wins, he will have to face Bobby Roode in the semi-final match of the tournament.
Author's take
Mojo Rawley won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royale match and was supposed to be one of the next big stars on SmackDown Live. So far, that has not rung true, and Rawley has not made an impact on the Main Roster other than his Wrestlemania win over Jinder Mahal.
Winning the United States Championship would do him a lot of good.
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