10 Great WWE United States Championship Matches You Completely Forgot About

10. Carlito Caribbean Cool Vs. Rey Mysterio - SmackDown, October 14 2004

SmackDown was live from Manchester, and Carlito Caribbean Cool was into his second week as a superstar for the blue brand.

Not only that, but Carlito was also into his second week as United States Champion, after winning the prestigious title in his debut match by beating John Cena of all people. Winning a title in your first match is rare, but doing so as pretty much an unknown and upending one of the most popular stars in the company in the process is practically unthinkable.

Rey Mysterio won a battle royal earlier in the evening to become the number one contender, and Carlito goaded Rey into the match that night via his classic 'Apple Spitting' move. The match was on, with Carlito hoping to benefit from the fatigued Rey having wrestled twice in one night.

2004 was a very different time. New talent frequently arrived on the main roster, but developmental was nowhere near as well-known as it is now. As such, new wrestlers would take a while to get moving on the main roster, as opposed to coming in with huge momentum from NXT. The crowd wasn't really into Carlito as a result, and this hurts the match for sure.

Still, Rey bumps his little booty off and, a slow middle section aside, this is a really fun match that would have benefited from a hotter crowd. One thing that is often forgotten about Carlito is how good he was at selling a near fall, and towards the end of this match there are some beautiful 2.999's for Rey, with an Asai Moonsault bringing one close one in particular.

Carlito survives, however, using his smarts and a hand on the rope to retain his title and pick up another win over an established name.