Rey Mysterio’s WWE Hall of Fame career continued on last week’s Friday Night SmackDown when he beat Austin Theory to become the new WWE United States Champion. The win not only kicked off Mysterio’s third reign as US Champ, but it gave him a unique spot in WWE’s record books. As pointed out by the Twitter account @WWEStats, Mysterio joins Bill Goldberg as the only men who were on the WCW roster in the 1990s to win singles championships in WWE in the 2020s. Goldberg briefly held the Universal Championship back in 2020 when he beat “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt at that year’s Super ShowDown event, then dropped it to Braun Strowman at WrestleMania 36.
Mysterio will appear on this week’s Friday Night SmackDown on The Grayson Waller Effect. Between Waller, Theory’s attempts at getting revenge and the possibility that Santos Escobar might want vengeance over Mysterio taking his spot in the title match, how long will Mysterio’s reign last? Tell us your predictions in the comments!
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Goldberg on WWE Fan Backlash
Goldberg would get three more world title shots until his WWE contract expired at the start of 2023. While fans of his initial WCW run would continue to support him, there was plenty of pushback from fans who were angry over him ending Wyatt and Kevin Owens’ Universal Championship reigns and consistently getting title opportunities over full-time wrestlers. He addressed the backlash to the Wyatt match in an interview with Ryan Satin in early 2021.
“You know, again, at the end of the day, Ryan, I do a job, right? I’m asked to go out and perform, and I don’t pass judgment on it,” Goldberg said. “I don’t worry about a finish. I don’t worry about who’s winning. I don’t worry about who’s losing. At the end of the day, I’m there to provide a service, and I do it with a smile on my face either way. And I’m not a booker. I don’t make the decisions. I really don’t. I just come in and provide “that guy,” and the only thing I can do in a situation like that is be the best package that they remember.”
“Yeah, there’s no question I always have a feeling,” he said. “I’m a psychology major, man. I have an opinion about everything, and it’s when to vocalize it and when not to. It’s when to elocute your feelings and when not to. It’s when are you out of place, when is it not your job to voice an opinion? I’m a soldier. I’m not the general.”
WWE’s Premium Live Event Schedule for The Rest of 2023
WWE has four pay-per-views left for the remainder of 2023. That list includes Payback at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh (Sept. 2), Fastlane at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis (Oct. 7), a yet-to-be-named Saudi Arabia show on Nov. 4 and the annual Survivor Series show at Allstate Arena in Rosemont (Chicago), Illinois on Nov. 25.
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Samantha Irvin ring announcing for WWE.
