Alberto Del Rio Loses Title, Then Gets It Back

The United States Championship has gotten a lot of attention this week. Kalisto won the title from Alberto Del Rio on Raw. On Smackdown, Del Rio won the title back from Kalisto.

Looking at how some fans reacted after Kalisto won the title, I think they overreacted. They jumped to conclusions. They expected this to be the start of some big push for Kalisto. I didn't immediately jump in to give my thoughts on Kalisto's title win. Wait a while to see what direction the WWE is going. This is a company that has not been good with the midcard in a while. It is true that a lot of stars are out. I would say the WWE isn't using this as an opportunity to build new stars all across the board. Roman Reigns is obviously being developed as a new star. On the other side of that, there are just some people that are getting pushed that feel like filler. If the WWE wants someone as a star, they do not just dump a title in their lap. Kalisto was not being pushed too well until a few months ago. His partner, Sin Cara, got injured. Winning the United States Championship will likely be the highlight of his push. It turns out he held that title for even less time than Zack Ryder.

I have seen some fans suggest that Del Rio might just drop the title back to Kalisto. I see no point in that. It appears the WWE's plan was just to create some drama with a title change. Have the title even change hands on Smackdown. It is rare to see a title change on Smackdown. Del Rio is no stranger to winning a title on Smackdown. With the WWE switching networks for Smackdown, they have to start doing more exciting things to help their numbers. And they did just that. Title changes fall in that category.

Think back at some other short title reigns. Daniel Bryan had some short runs with the WWE Championship that fans were not satisfied with. Christian won the World's Heavyweight Championship and dropped it on a Smackdown to Randy Orton a few days later. That left a sour taste in the mouths of many fans. This booking decision by the WWE will likely not be criticized as harshly. I see some fans upset about it. Kalisto was not a veteran of the business or too popular, so I do not expect too much backlash. The whole situation was just meant to create some drama with some title changes. Nothing suggests that the WWE "screwed" Kalisto.