Roman Reigns vs. Chris Jericho: Winner and Reaction from US Title Match on Raw

Roman Reigns successfully defended the United States Championship against Chris Jericho on Raw on Monday night.

WWE shared a GIF showing how the match ended:

Bleacher Report's Mike Chiari was not a fan of the way WWE booked the match:

Jericho received his shot against Reigns after Raw Commissioner Stephanie McMahon announced the match earlier in the night. McMahon also stipulated that Reigns would lose the U.S. title if he were to be disqualified or counted out, per WWE:

It was a rematch from Jericho and Reigns' bout on the Dec. 5 edition of Raw. Reigns prevailed after indirectly receiving a helping hand from Kevin Owens. Jericho and Owens began arguing, which allowed Reigns to recover and hit a Spear on Y2J.

Owens forfeited an opportunity to be there for Jericho on Monday night. He wrestled Seth Rollins in the first match on Raw, and the loser was barred from ringside for the United States Championship bout.

Owens was disqualified after using the ring bell on his opponent, courtesy of WWE:

Jericho may have a bone to pick with his best friend because of the way he lost to Rollins. Y2J could've used Owens to stave off defeat to Reigns.

Broadly speaking, the scenario was seemingly tailor-made for a title change, something the United States Championship desperately needs.

As Reigns has pursued Owens and the Universal Championship, the U.S. title has become an afterthought. Reigns hasn't defended the title on a pay-per-view since Hell in a Cell in October, and that stretch will continue through January unless he gets another match on the Royal Rumble card.

Jericho would've been an ideal transitional champion. He could've lost the belt to a younger Superstar in need of a boost without seeing his own stock drop much.

A Jericho U.S. title reign also could've ignited what is seemingly the inevitable feud between him and Owens. Jericho could have inadvertently cost Owens the Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble, and then Owens could have returned the favor, costing Jericho the United States Championship.

Instead, the title will almost certainly continue to be largely ignored until the Rumble, where the outcome of Reigns' match with Owens may shed light on the belt's future.