10 Worst WWE United States Title Matches Of The Modern Era
9. Kalisto Vs. Ryback (Payback 2016)
There's a fair chance that Kalisto will never be handed a major singles title run again in his WWE career. To say he flopped as United States Champ would be unfair to the masked man, as he wasn't really ever put in a position where it felt like management were fully behind his cause.
Shockingly beating Alberto Del Rio for the gold, Kalisto then traded the title with his fellow Mexican. Finally, WWE settled on Kalisto as champion, but repeatedly undermined him with uninspiring 'he's an underdog' booking against guys like Ryback. During the WrestleMania 32 pre-show though, Kalisto and Ryback actually had a tidy little contest.
Around one month later, they were asked to do the exact same thing during Payback's Kickoff portion. Whilst the bout may have been decent fare for a show like Superstars or Main Event, it was seriously lacking in terms of interest going in.
This was a low period for the WWE United States Title, one that didn't really follow on from the work John Cena had done with the belt in 2015.