WWE News: Plans For United States Championship At ‘Survivor Series’

The current plan for WWE United States champion Alberto Del Rio is to defend his championship at Survivor Series against Jack Swagger, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (via Ringside News).

On the most recent edition of Monday Night RAW, former Money in the Bank holder, United States, and World Heavyweight champion Jack Swagger confronted his former manager Zeb Colter about his new allegiance with Del Rio.

When Del Rio made his return to WWE a few weeks ago at Hell in a Cell, the “Mexican Aristocrat” arrived with Colter. It was a surprise to many, considering that Colter and Swagger were once a united front against Del Rio on television, with both men running down Del Rio’s Mexican heritage. However, Colter’s new mission is to “unite two great countries,” as he said on RAW. Therefore, the new “MexAmerica” vision continues.

But Swagger, who is known as “The All-American American” on television, has been rarely seen in recent months. The last time Swagger was in a meaningful feud on television was when he feuded with “The Bulgarian Brute” Rusev over the United States champion last year.

The rivalry lasted for a few months and Swagger was on the losing end of each encounter. At one point, Rusev assaulted Colter, officially writing him off WWE television and for all intents and purposes, ending the Swagger/Colter on-screen relationship.

Ever since then, Swagger has been relegated to losing all of his matches on shows like WWE Superstars and Main Event.

With his current lack of a defined role in WWE, there were reports claiming that Swagger was unhappy with his role in WWE and could be leaving the company soon, per Cageside Seats. The reports circulated in late-June and up until this point, there have not been any rumblings about Swagger being used in a more prominent role.

For what it’s worth, Swagger did wrestle a match a Main Event match at Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown tapings, according to Daily Wrestling News.

But a feud with Del Rio would be a significant step up for Swagger and something he’s done before. In the buildup to Wrestlemania 29, Swagger was brought back to television with a returning Zeb Colter, f.k.a. Dutch Mantel. His new gimmick was geared towards his storyline “anti-immigration” beliefs. The Mexican-born World Heavyweight champion at the time, Alberto Del Rio was the “good guy” fighting for the pride of his country.

Just prior to Wrestlemania 29, Swagger was arrested after a WWE SmackDown taping for driving under the influence and possessing marijuana, via TMZ. The arrest was viewed by many as Swagger’s downfall, as he was reportedly set to defeat Del Rio for the title at Wrestlemania 29. But the company changed its mind after the arrest and Swagger’s descension began.

As for Del Rio, he’s only been back with the WWE for a few weeks. He was fired from the company last year after slapping a WWE employee for using a racial slur against him. After his dismissal, Del Rio appeared for several independent promotions in the United States and Mexico. He also made appearances for Lucha Underground, AAA, and more. In fact, he’s still the holder of the AAA Mega Championship.

However, since he defeated John Cena for the title on the night of his return, Del Rio has not had any meaningful matches to this point. Therefore, starting a feud over his United States championship with Swagger would be his first meaningful title defense since returning.

Outside of their match at Wrestlemania 29, Del Rio and Swagger have fought in several follow up matches, including a No-Disqualification match on WWE SmackDown and an I Quit match at WWE Extreme Rules 2013. Thus, both men have a history of working together if the WWE decides to go down that route again.

[Images by Steve Haag/Getty Images, Mark Suleymanov, WWE]