Who Became The #1 Contender For Bobby Lashley's WWE U.S. Title?

As noted earlier, a unique series of matches were scheduled for tonight's "WWE Raw" episode to determine who the next #1 contender would be to Bobby Lashley's United States Championship. The concept began with two triple threat matches — AJ Styles vs. The Miz vs. Ali, which Styles won, and Chad Gable vs. Tomasso Ciampa vs. Dolph Ziggler, which Ciampa won. The winners, Styles, and Ciampa, then competed in a singles match near the conclusion of "Raw" to establish who would go against Lashley on the 8/8 edition of the red brand.

When the dust finally settled, and the two competitors expended almost their entire arsenals of moves, Ciampa was declared the winner following his signature Fairytale Ending maneuver. This wouldn't have come as a big surprise to people keeping up with some of the news reported earlier today, as it was noted that Ciampa would be put in more matches to "showcase his abilities" as a standout talent. There has also been talk of returning the former NXT World Champion to his well-known NXT theme, "No One Will Survive," but no plans have been carried through quite yet.

Ciampa has recently been acting as muscle for The Miz, accompanying the Miz and Maryse to the ring for "The A-Lister's" match with the YouTuber-turned-pro-wrestler Logan Paul at WWE SummerSlam on July 30th. Longtime fans of "WWE NXT" will recall how close Triple H and Ciampa were during his run through the developmental brand, even embracing him after NXT Stand and Deliver this past April when Ciampa was moving on to the main roster. Now that Triple H is in charge of all things creative in WWE, it is clear that he wants to allow fans of the main roster to see what Ciampa is capable of as a character and in-ring performer.

Full results from WWE "Raw" are available at this link!