Austin Theory, the United States champion, may have insisted on a bout with Santos Escobar, only to regret it later.
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The Friday Night SmackDown telecast was one heck of a show with many surprising events followed one after the other. Rey Mysterio, Sheamus, Cameron Grimes, and LA Knight competed in a fatal 4-Way Match, and Mysterio won. Next week, Mysterio will face Santos Escobar. The winner of the contest between Mysterio and Escobar will face US champion Austin Theory in a title battle. Iyo Sky was defeated face-to-face by Charlotte Flair. After Flair had triumphed, Asuka attacked her. Austin Theory lost to Santos Escobar in a head-to-head contest. Against Butch, Dominik Mysterio successfully defended his NXT North American Championship.
Following his victory in a Fatal 4-Way Match to open Friday’s programme, Rey Mysterio will face off with his LWO teammate and protégé, Santos Escobar, for a crack at United States Champion Austin Theory. The WWE Hall of Famer defeated the immensely popular LA Knight, Sheamus, and Cameron Grimes in an action-packed match at the start of the programme after overcoming interference from the titleholder that nearly forced him out of the competition. It was a carefully planned match between two babyfaces that kept the audience interested despite never creating any prolonged heat phases or making any of the four combatants play the heel.
Although they consistently supported Knight, the crowd did not object to Mysterio’s triumph, which is evidence of how well-liked that renowned rival was among the spectators. However, it will be interesting to see how long the audience will put up with the creative team halting Knight’s momentum before rejecting any and all choices that do not result in victory. After the break, Theory demanded a match with Escobar (without the title), who jumped him after he tried to cost Mysterio the victory.
Austin Theory, the United States champion, may have insisted on a bout with Santos Escobar, but he ultimately came to regret it as the potential No. 1 challenger to his title defeated the brash young villain. Since WWE has deliberately shielded the future star, few have been able to pin the US champion cleanly in the center of the ring, but Escobar capitalized on the energy of his victory from a week earlier by doing so. Escobar has all too frequently suffered defeats despite having a bigger presence on television, so it was a refreshing change of pace.
These are the kinds of triumphs that will ultimately assist him in forging a bond with his viewers and, at least, give him the kind of credibility required to be perceived as a threat to any adversary he challenges. That includes his mentor Rey Mysterio, with whom he squares off on the show the next week for the chance to win Theory’s championship.
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