Andrade Beats Humberto Carrillo, Retains United States Title at WWE Royal Rumble

Andrade beat Humberto Carrillo at the WWE Royal Rumble in Houston on Sunday night to retain the United States Championship.

Carrillo attempted to hit a hurricanrana, but the titleholder countered into a modified sunset flip for the pin.

It was a fitting end to a match in which both wrestlers relied on counters and counters to those counters, such was their in-ring knowledge of one another.

The title match between Andrade and Carrillo wasn't booked until the go-home episode of Raw on Monday, when Carrillo returned after a ladder match between the champion and Rey Mysterio to save Mysterio from getting DDT'ed on the cement floor.

Andrade put Carrillo on the shelf with that same move several weeks earlier, but he refused to let his idol suffer the same fate.

Prior to the injury angle with Andrade, Carrillo was picking up a ton of steam. The young Mexican Superstar beat Andrade on an episode of Raw and then defeated him again on the TLC pre-show, which led to Andrade and Zelina Vega devising a plan to get him out of the way.

With Carrillo, 24, out of the picture while injured, Andrade beat Mysterio for the U.S. title at a Madison Square Garden live event in New York City, marking El Idolo's first championship win on the main roster.

Andrade continued to feud with Mysterio after beating him for the title, and he beat The Master of the 619 on multiple occasions thanks largely to interference from Vega.

While Andrade was able to keep the title away from Mysterio, a new challenger quickly emerged in the form of Carrillo, and he was out for revenge after what his rival did to him previously.

In the matches they had prior to the Royal Rumble, Andrade and Carrillo proved they had great in-ring chemistry. That was the case again Sunday, which created the feeling they may be battling each other for many years to come.

Both Andrade and Carrillo have the in-ring ability, look and natural charisma WWE wants in a star, and they seem to be making strides with their promos as well.

The future is bright for both Superstars, but with Andrade retaining at the Royal Rumble, it seems as though there are bigger plans in place for him leading up to WrestleMania 36.

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