United States Championship Match Official For First WWE Raw Of 2023

Rollins, Theory set to fight for US Title in two weeks.

by Scott Carlson
Seth Rollins Austin Theory
WWE.com

Seth Rollins might have gotten laid out by Austin Theory in his home state Monday night, but he'll get his shot at Theory's prized possession in a couple of weeks.

Rollins, the #1 contender for Theory's United States Championship, will challenge for the title on the 2 January episode of WWE Raw. The two have been sparring back and forth for quite some time, with Theory winning the title by pinning Rollins in a triple threat match at Survivor Series last month.

During Raw Monday night, Theory confronted Rollins and told him that he was going to pass the torch to him, or Austin was going to pry it out of his hands. Seth put over Theory's recent maturity, ditching the selfie gimmick or being beholden to an authority figure, but noted that the kid isn't on his level. This prompted Theory to call Rollins the "third most successful member of the Shield."

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Before things came to blows, the Usos approached the ring, but rather than standing alongside Seth, Theory slid out of the ring. He'd return later, during Rollins and Kevin Owens' tag match against the Usos. Theory would lay Rollins out with a belt shot from behind the barricade, coming out of the audience to assault the Visionary.

This could be a tell-tale moment for WWE. Theory has undergone a character revamp and reboot of sorts, but Rollins could be the guy to carry the US title into WrestleMania as a prize to defend. The outcome in two weeks could give some insight as to which way things could be headed.

Contributor
Contributor

Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.