MVP Names Himself WWE's United States Champion After Apollo Crews Forfeit

MVP defeated Apollo Crews at WWE Extreme Rules on Sunday to become a three-time United States champion, although he did so by declaring victory via forfeit:

That declaration certainly didn't go unnoticed by Crews:

The long-running rivalry between the two men figured to come to a head at the pay-per-view, as MVP tried to win back the title he once held for an astounding 343 days after Crews rebuffed numerous attempts to recruit him alongside Bobby Lashley.

Following another of the many instances in which Crews turned MVP away, MVP defeated Crews in a non-title match on the June 29 episode of Raw thanks to interference from The All Mighty. Due to that win, MVP was given a title opportunity at Extreme Rules.

The next week, MVP and Lashley unveiled a newly designed United States Championship belt, which was somewhat presumptuous since MVP hadn't yet beaten Crews for the title.

While MVP has largely worked in a managerial role since linking up with The All Mighty, he has wrestled a decent amount as well. Although he may not be the same in-ring performer he once was now that he's 46 years of age, he can still handle himself well.

Also, from a storyline perspective, MVP remains a major threat due to the constant presence of Lashley outside the ring.

In addition to helping MVP beat Crews in a non-title match on Raw last month, The All Mighty put Crews on the shelf for a week by locking him into his devastating Full Nelson, which is something that had to be in the back of the champion's mind entering Extreme Rules.

Sunday's match was an unpredictable one for many reasons, including the fact that fans were left wondering if the new title belt would play a role in the result.

One school of thought was that MVP would win and immediately start using the new title, while another pointed to Crews winning and potentially delaying the use of the new belt until SummerSlam should someone beat him there.

MVP's win means the new title is officially in use, but given how well Crews has been utilized over the past few months, it is entirely possible he could recapture the gold come SummerSlam on August 23.

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