WWE RAW: 5 Reasons why Rey Mysterio beat AJ Styles to win the United States Championship

Rey Mysterio won the United States Championship for the second time this year on Monday Night RAW. He had to first go through three other men in Randy Orton, Ricochet, and Drew McIntyre before immediately challenging Styles for the title.

It almost wasn't to be. It was the Mexican sensation Humberto Carrillo who was in contention for the title, but The OC's pre-match attack ruled him out and the circumstances led to Mysterio getting a title shot and subsequently a title win.

Mysterio had a classic underdog babyface match, a role that he's the best at. Despite The OC being kicked out from ringside and returning when the referee was down to attack Mysterio, the ultimate underdog managed to pick up the win, thanks to a little assistance from Randy Orton.

Now many of you are probably wondering why WWE decided to put the title on Rey Mysterio. Here's why!

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#5 Reward for the incredible Brock Lesnar match

Rey Mysterio had a great match with Brock Lesnar

When you have a match so good, it often reaps its rewards. Rey Mysterio faced Brock Lesnar in what was only a seven-minute match, but not a second was wasted. It was the prime example of why Superstars like Lesnar don't need to have long, technical matches to have a classic and the involvement of Dominick added to the incredible storytelling.

WWE probably recognized how good Mysterio was in the match and remembered why he's such a legend in the first place.

There have been many cases before where a great match has led to a reward and even though he was never going to win the WWE Championship from Lesnar (though they made us believe that for a second), he certainly did good enough for the company to put another title on him.

#4 Post-Survivor Series buzz

Dominick came to celebrate

This is one of the biggest reasons why the title change happened and why most title changes on RAW's post-PPV happen in the first place. We mentioned in the Preview that RAW after PPVs are usually are the most exciting ones and it proved to be true in many cases this year.

Luckily, most PPVs haven't been bad this year - if anything, it's been the complete opposite. That was the case for Survivor Series as it was a great show, with Mysterio's match against Lesnar adding to that.

WWE knows that there are going to be a lot of eyeballs on the product after PPVs as big as Survivor Series and with the brand split being a lot more defined now that the Interbrand wars are over, this was the best thing they could do.

Moreover, AJ Styles had a good reign with the title and fans would always prefer watching Rey Mysterio win the United States Championship over Humberto Carrillo, who is still very green.

Now that Mysterio won the title, there has been a lot of attention already.

#3 To set up a champion vs champion match at Royal Rumble

This feud may not be done\

There have been rumors floating about that the World Championship feuds will spill over to the Royal Rumble. Brock Lesnar's next title defense will be at the Royal Rumble 2020 since he never wrestles at TLC and always appears for the Big 4 PPVs.

Mysterio presents a good opponent and fans won't have any problem with WWE running the rivalry back. Mysterio would most likely lose again if they faced off, but it would be interesting to see them have a rematch but with a whole different story.

If Mysterio is still United States Champion by January 2020, then it's perfect as it sets up a Champion vs Champion match. Having Mysterio as an active champion facing Brock Lesnar would sell the match more and perhaps generate even more hype than their match at Survivor Series had.

Royal Rumble doesn't seem like the place you would usually see a Champion vs Champion match, but it's fine since the United States nor Intercontinental Championship are regularly defended at the PPV.

#2 To make up for his short title reign this year

Rey Mysterio had to vacate the United States title earlier this year

Rey Mysterio was in the United States Championship picture from WrestleMania 35 till June of this year. In that period, he lost to Samoa Joe at the grandest stage of them all in just over a minute, but his feud continued.

At Money in the Bank, Mysterio ended up winning the United States Championship, but he suffered an injury around that time and he was forced to vacate the title almost immediately, giving it back to Samoa Joe.

WWE likely had plans for Mysterio as the United States Championship but that didn't work out, so it went from Samoa Joe to Ricochet to AJ Styles, who was the best man to hold the title in a few years.

His reign as United States Champion was good as part of The OC but ultimately, the original plan was for Mysterio to hold the title. We imagine he wouldn't have held it for very long in the first place, but this title win is probably a compensation for his last one that was cut short.

#1 Moving AJ Styles to the WWE title picture

AJ Styles proved why he's a great champion

AJ Styles has become WWE's Mr. Reliable for the past few years. When WWE needed someone to urgently take Bray Wyatt's place at TLC 2017, they gave AJ Styles the call and even when he was ill, he flew from South America to the United States and had a classic with Finn Balor anyway.

That resulted in them giving him the WWE title - a reign that lasted a year and set new records. AJ Styles proved to be Mr. Reliable again as he carried the United States Championship for 134 days. His reign was certainly better than Shinsuke Nakamura's as Intercontinental Champion and when AJ Styles holds a Championship, you won't hear any fan complain about it.

It's possible that him dropping the United States title was so that he can have a big step-up and challenge for the WWE Championship. Before you say he's a heel and so is Lesnar, do note that Lesnar is one of the rare characters who is beyond the entire heel/face dynamic. He has faced heels before as a heel (Samoa Joe in 2017) and it works well with anyone.