Rey Mysterio relinquishes WWE United States title to Samoa Joe

Samoa Joe is again the United States Champion.

Going into tonight’s Raw, WWE advertised that Rey Mysterio would make an appearance and relinquish the United States title. That ended up happening, with Mysterio giving the championship back to Samoa Joe.

Mysterio spoke on the microphone on Raw and said he was there to do the right thing as a man and as a champion. He went to say that he was going to relinquish the title due to his shoulder injury, but Joe interrupted him. Joe said the reason Mysterio is giving up the title is because Mysterio never really beat him.

Mysterio said he’s won championships through pain and injury his entire career — and if he’s man enough to do that, he’s man enough to do what he came here to do. Mysterio officially announced that, due to his shoulder injury, he was relinquishing the U.S. title to Joe. Joe then locked Mysterio in the Coquina Clutch as he tried to leave the ring.

Mysterio won the U.S. title from Joe at Money in the Bank on May 19. Joe’s shoulder was up when he was pinned, and Mysterio suffered a legitimate shoulder injury at the pay-per-view.

On May 23, Mysterio posted an Instagram video of himself receiving platelet-rich plasma treatment for the injury. Mysterio confirmed that he separated a bit of his AC joint.