Bobby Lashley Beats Apollo Crews, Retains US Title at WWE Clash of Champions

Bobby Lashley beat Apollo Crews at WWE Clash of Champions on Sunday to retain the United States Championship.

The former titleholder matched The All Mighty throughout the contest but eventually succumbed to the champion's Hurt Lock finisher.

Crews has been a thorn in the side of Lashley and the rest of The Hurt Business for months, and it wasn't until one month ago that the stable truly got one over on him.

After Crews successfully defended the U.S. title against MVP several times, The All Mighty finally got his shot at Payback on August 30, and he used his devastating Full Nelson to take the title.

Lashley and Co. arguably took something even more valuable from Crews in the ensuing weeks, though, as Cedric Alexander turned on his friend and joined forces with The Hurt Business.

With Alexander joining Lashley, MVP and Shelton Benjamin, The Hurt Business became even stronger and put the babyface duo of Crews and Ricochet at an even greater disadvantage.

Despite the fact that the numbers game was against them, Crews and Ricochet continued to stand up to The Hurt Business, and Crews even managed to beat Alexander in a singles match a couple of weeks ago to cement his status as No. 1 contender for the U.S. title.

Crews has been a star on the rise since moving from SmackDown to Raw after WrestleMania 36, and he has developed into one of the top babyfaces on the red brand during that time.

Although he has taken some bumps and bruises from Lashley and the rest of The Hurt Business, he has improved his stock significantly and put the immense potential he always displayed to work.

Even so, he found himself in a difficult situation at Clash of Champions since Lashley has been on a roll and had the rest of The Hurt Business on his side if need be.

Lashley used all those factors to his advantage in retaining the U.S. title, and it may now be time for both him and Crews to move on and enter into new rivalries.

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