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WWE United States Champion Austin Theory has a stern message for his new challenger Santos Escobar.
Escobar collided with his LWO mentor Rey Mysterio in the finals of the United States Championship Invitational tournament on SmackDown. However, the match had to be stopped when Rey got injured and couldn't compete. Santos was declared the winner and the new challenger for the US title.
Speaking with WWE correspondent Kayla Braxton on SmackDown Lowdown, Theory mentioned that although Escobar defeated him earlier, that win did not matter because the title was not on the line. He made it clear that he would be at his best during their next encounter in a couple of weeks.
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"Maybe Santos Escobar has a victory over me. There's an issue there. This right here wasn't on the line - the United States Championship. And when the United States Championship is on the line, that is when you get the greatest United States Champion of all time. And Santos, you're not ready for that at all." [From 0:50 - 1:10]
You can watch the full video here:
Austin Theory blamed Santos Escobar for Rey Mysterio's injury
During the same conversation, Austin Theory confessed to being shocked by how aggressive Santos was with his mentor. He suggested that the LWO member came into the match with vicious intent and injured the legendary Rey Mysterio.
"I'm shook. You know, I thought I had this figured out. I went out there, I enjoyed my popcorn, but I didn't get to finish it. I thought, LWO, not just friends, family. Rey Mysterio and Santos Escobar, they are family. But they didn't take it easy on each other. That's what I thought, but what happened? Santos Escobar just knocked out Rey Mysterio, my childhood hero. Do you know what that means? Santos Escobar, he's a bad guy."
The two stars will collide in two weeks for the United States Championship on SmackDown.
Do you think Austin Theory will retain the US title against Escobar? Let us know in the comment section below.
If you use the quotes from this article, please credit WWE and add a H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcript.
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