Kalisto (Samuray del Sol) Says He Found Out Last Minute About Winning WWE US Title In 2016

In 2016, Kalisto won the WWE United States Championship on two separate occasions. 

The first came on the January 11, 2016 episode of WWE Raw when he defeated Alberto Del Rio. The reign only lasted one day as he lost the belt back to Del Rio the following night on WWE SmackDown. Kalisto would go on to regain the title at WWE Royal Rumble. 

Speaking on The Pain Clinic Pro Wrestling Talk Show, Kalisto reflected on winning the title. 

“I found out last minute, maybe like an hour before the show started. With WWE, you have to be ready for anything. Always stay ready, no matter what, because something can come up real quick. ‘Hey, you have a segment with John Cena.’ ‘Oh, okay, what are we doing?’ They tell you what you’re doing and it goes from there. ‘You have a match.’ ‘Alright cool.’ They don’t tell you until the very end. Right before curtain, they could tell you. You have to think on the fly, hearing the crowd, feed off them. When I won the title, it was well worth it because I was working with one of the best out there. Alberto Del Rio, he took me to another level that I didn’t even know I could reach. There are so many eyes, and Vince [Vince McMahon] watching me from the back, directly, to see if I could hang with the sharks or not. That day, I did. It was one of the best moments of my life. I didn’t believe it, at first, until I got the title in my hand. That’s my true feelings. I never, in a million years, thought I’d be hanging on to the same title that Eddie Guerro held, the US Championship. It was one of my dreams, and now it was in my hands. I didn’t even sleep that night. My wife didn’t expect it, nobody in my family knew, I didn’t know until last minute, but it was one of the best moments of my life. I’m very grateful because of my fans. I wanted to quit so many times, but hearing my fans made me want to come back so much,” said Kalisto. 

After winning the title at WWE Royal Rumble, Kalisto would hold the belt for 119 days before losing it to Rusev (Miro in AEW) at WWE Extreme Rules. 

Kalisto currently competes as Samuray del Sol on the independent scene and has made appearances at IMPACT Wrestling and CMLL. 

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