Alberto Del Rio vs. Jack Swagger: Winner and Reaction from WWE TLC 2015

In his first title defense since shockingly defeating John Cena at WWE Hell in a Cell, Alberto Del Rio retained the United States Championship in a chairs match against Jack Swagger on Sunday night at Tables, Ladders & Chairs.

WWE captured a picture of the ending:

The match featured plenty of action involving chairs, as WWE Universe and WWE highlighted: 

Del Rio surprised WWE Universe by making his return to the company as a challenger to Cena in October behind the guidance of Zeb Colter. Not long after ADR won the U.S. title for the first time, Swagger stepped up as his main adversary.

Swagger, who had been managed by Colter, questioned the motivations of his former mentor and Del Rio with regard to their push for "MexAmerica."

Their feud was temporarily put on hold as Del Rio was placed in the tournament to decide a new WWE world heavyweight champion at Survivor Series, but it picked up afterward.

Swagger and Del Rio had issues in the past, as they faced each other for the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 29. The All-American American made it clear to his Mexican rival that their previous feud is still on his mind:

Swagger foiled Del Rio's plans to punish his opponents on multiple occasions, which prompted the former Lucha Underground star to take a shot at The Real American on Twitter:

Things got more interesting between Del Rio and Swagger on the go-home episode of Raw prior to TLC. After tripping on Colter's scooter and claiming he had embarrassed him, Del Rio denounced Colter and vowed to move forward on his own.

That blowup didn't seem to impact the new League of Nations member Sunday as he found a way to defeat Swagger and retain his title just as he did nearly three years ago at WrestleMania.

Del Rio and Swagger were in a difficult situation since a chairs match is an extremely tough stipulation to get over.

They have worked together so many times and have such strong chemistry in the ring, though, that they managed to put on a solid match that advanced the story between them and added some meaning to the United States Championship in the process.

Now that Del Rio has dispatched Swagger, WWE must figure out a way to build momentum with regard to the U.S. title.

One way to do that would be by having Cena challenge for the belt upon his return. The leader of the Cenation is due back soon, and it stands to reason that he will want revenge for the clean loss he suffered at Hell in a Cell.

Regardless of the opponent, WWE must show a commitment to the United States Championship, as it did when Cena held the title, and Sunday's match may have been a step toward that.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.