Logan Paul Defeats Rey Mysterio To Win First Title

Logan Paul, the social media megastar, is the new WWE United States Champion after defeating the legendary Rey Mysterio—with an assist from a pair of brass kunckles—at Crown Jewel 2023.

Mere weeks after his latest high-profile boxing match against MMA fighter Dillon Danis, Paul stepped into a different type of squared circle to challenge Mysterio for SmackDown’s US title. No surprise here: Paul, arguably the most impressive celebrity wrestler ever, put on another show against Mysterio.

And now, Paul can finally call himself a champion in WWE.

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Paul’s win over Mysterio and first-ever WWE title win was actually long overdue, too. A proven draw in the world of combat sports, Paul has made a virtually seamless transition from YouTube to boxing to WWE, where he almost instantly established himself as an elite level performer despite having next to no experience.

Boasting nearly 24 million YouTube subscribers and 27 million Instagram followers, Paul is the perfect star for WWE at a time when the company is attempting to expands its reach into pop culture. What’s more, Paul has adapted so well to the scripted world of sports entertainment that he comes across as a 10-year veteran rather than a green rookie.

At Crown Jewel, Paul demonstrated yet again that—if he focused exclusively on pro wrestling—he could be among the best wrestlers in the world. He and Mysterio, perhaps the greatest luchador ever, delivered a strong showing, adding another notch on Paul’s belt of memorable in-ring performances.

Given the way WWE’s roster is currently constructed with Roman Reigns essentially being a part-time world champion, it’s unlikely that Paul was going to be positioned to win a world title anytime soon. However, thanks in part to Gunther’s greatness as Intercontinental Champion, the importance and prestige of WWE’s midcard titles are on the upswing once again.

While Paul may not be everyone’s cup of tea, two things are undeniable. One, he will continue to steal the show with main event-caliber matches. Two, he is one of the best villains in all of pro wrestling.

That makes Paul such a welcome addition to the WWE roster, where he has countless great babyfaces to feud with and can generate the massive amount of heat that helps transforms those fan favorites into even bigger stars. Isn’t that the purpose of utilizing a star like Paul? In a word, yes.

Sure, there will always be hardcore pro wrestling fans who are opposed to the idea of someone like Paul—not a full-time star or classically trained wrestler—doing anything substantial in WWE, but that’s an antiquated outlook, especially given that Paul has been a rousing success inside the squared circle.

Along with Dominik Mysterio, The Judgment Day and The Bloodline, Paul has emerged as an upper echelon heel, only further solidfying himself as such by defeating Mysterio in cheap fashion at Crown Jewel.

Now, the true fun begins, with the egotistical Paul poised to be a wildly entertaining heel champion heading into WrestleMania season.