Finals Set For US Title Contender’s Tournament On WWE SmackDown
The eight-man WWE SmackDown tournament to crown the next challenger for the US Title has come down to two men in the finals.
Logan Paul won his first championship in WWE at the Full Gear Premium Live Event on November 4th when he defeated Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio to become the United States Champion.
It was a tainted win for Paul since he used brass knuckles to knock out Mysterio.
The semifinals of the tournament took place on WWE Smackdown from Green Bay, which aired on tape on December 22nd. In the first match of the night, Kevin Owens overcame his right hand injury to beat NXT’s Carmelo Hayes. Owens won clean with a Stunner. After the match, Owens picked up Hayes and shook his hand as a sign of respect.
There was a controversial finish to the second US Title Contender’s Tournament match. Santos Escobar had a tough test against former two-time WWE Champion Bobby Lashley. Toward the end of the match, the former NXT tag team of Angel Garza & Humberto Carrillo attacked Lashley’s friends The Street Profits (Montez Ford & Angelo Dawkin) at ringside. That distracted Lashley, so Escobar hit him with a chop block along with a rollup pin while holding the tights to keep the big man down for a three count.
When Will The Finals Of WWE’s US Title Contender’s Tournament Take Place?
The finals of the US Title tournament will take place on the first Smackdown episode on January 5th, which the company is calling Smackdown New Year’s Revolution.
At Smackdown New Year’s Revolution, Kevin Owens will face Santos Escobar in a match where the winner gets a shot at the US Title held by Logan Paul.
While WWE has yet to announce when Logan Paul will actually defend the US Title, it will happen at the Royal Rumble on January 27th.
There is a spoiler on who will likely be Paul’s opponent at the WWE Royal Rumble.