Last Friday night on SmackDown, Rey Mysterio shocked viewers when he walked away from the show with the United States Championship, defeating Austin Theory in the process. Mysterio, 48, is considered by some as the greatest Latino wrestler of all time, and by some, he's considered the greatest of all time.

Now it looks like Mysterio has been given the task to once again elevate future talent, whether that be his LWO cohorts or that of enhancing talent like his opponent on Friday, Theory. Regardless, it further proves that Mysterio is an elite talent that, not only can't be mimicked but is completely irreplaceable.

WWE has been looking for the next Rey Mysterio

It's hard to argue the kind of talent that Mysterio possesses. For a smaller-stature wrestler, he comes across as larger than life. He's done things that most critics thought could never be possible, whether that was making it as a masked wrestler in the United States or overcoming “land of the giants” in WWE.

Mysterio has become a household name. To borrow a moniker from Rob Van Dam: He's one of a kind.

Don't think WWE hasn't tried to find his replacement. They've been looking for their next great Latino wrestler for maybe a decade now. They tried with Sin Cara, tried with Kalisto and the Lucha House Party. They've even tried with Mysterio's own son Dominik.

While it looks like Dominik could have a promising career, it remains to be seen what his life will be like post-The Judgment Day. Regardless, WWE is essentially looking for a needle in a haystack in looking for the next Rey Mysterio. And whenever they have tried to find his replacement — usually in some form of masked Latino wrestler — it turns into another failed experiment.

So it should come as no surprise that Mysterio was given the U.S. title over his LWO partner, Santos Escobar.

WWE wants to use Rey Mysterio to elevate Austin Theory

This past Friday, Mysterio won his 26th title between WCW and WWE, marking his third reign with the U.S. title. It came off as nothing short of a surprise, given that Theory, who had held the title for 258 days and defeated John Cena at WrestleMania, seemed to be in the middle of a push. However, it seems that Theory has still yet to connect with the audience the way WWE would have liked.

They tried giving him the Money in the Bank last year. They tried feuding him with Bobby Lashley. Then, of course, they gave him Cena in the opener at WrestleMania. Nothing has worked as WWE had hoped.

You can tell they see great potential in Theory. He has the chiseled physique, the cocky attitude, and is solid in the ring. But something is missing. Enter Rey Mysterio?

The way that Mysterio has still been able to perform in the ring is remarkable. He's proven he can still hang with anyone in WWE currently. But his greatest strength is that he can also be the ultimate babyface to a nasty heel.

Now that Mysterio is in the twilight of his career, his job from here on out is to elevate future talent like Theory. He did it for his son Dominik at WrestleMania in what was one of the most highly anticipated matches on the show this year. It's time for him to try to do the same for Theory.

It must have been concerning for WWE officials that Theory couldn't capitalize on what should have been considered a huge victory over Cena at WrestleMania. But it seems that's all forgotten now. Mysterio has to be Theory's last hope if he wants to solidify himself as one of the top talents that WWE has to offer. If Mysterio can't get him over, then at this point, no one will be able to.