Baron Corbin has put an end to The United States Championship Open Challenge. The United States Championship Open Challenge has been a staple of WWE television on and off for years now. John Cena introduced us to the concept when he held the star-spangled title, giving up and coming Superstars the chance to prove themselves and a platform for them to perform against one of the greatest wrestlers the business has ever seen, all while giving them the opportunity to possibly become a champion in WWE.
Cena's time with the belt saw it rise to prominence and the weekly challenges quickly became must-see television. What proved difficult was keeping the US Title as relevant as it was in John's hands when it was around the waist of somebody else. In an attempt to do just that, AJ Styles reintroduced the US Open Challenge when he had the title and it resulted in a feud between himself, current champion Baron Corbin, and Tye Dillinger.
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Well, the aforementioned US Champion Baron Corbin is not exactly the giving type, and on SmackDown Live this week, he declared that there will be no open challenges while he has the title in his possession. The Lone Wolf asked the crowd on Tuesday night whether they thought he should make his imminent match with Sin Cara a title match, only to inevitably shoot down their cheers. Corbin believes title matches should be earned instead of being handed out willy nilly.
If Corbin put his gold up for grabs on SmackDown Live this week, then turns out he actually would have been fine. Not because he picked up a win over Sin Cara though. No, the high flying abilities of his luchador opponent proved to be too much for Corbin to handle and after being knocked loopy the champ was counted out, a stipulation that would have seen him keep his title had it been on the line.
This week's SmackDown Live wasn't the first time Corbin has turned his nose up at the concept of an open challenge for his United States Championship. Shortly after he won the title at Hell In A Cell, Corbin dismissed the idea of ever continuing the novel idea that helps keep the belt relevant. Ironically though, the champ's constant referral to the potential of an open challenge only to shoot it down may also help keep the belt prominent as fans continue to hope that one day Corbin may cave and be forced into bringing the idea back.
While the open challenge made the United States Championship more prevalent than it has been in decades while in the capable hands of John Cena, it doesn't mean that it should be done with everyone who has the belt. Cena is a wrestler capable of having a great match with anyone, not something that everyone can do. Corbin dismissing the idea is perfect for his character and something that he should continue to do.