AJ Styles has had one of the best debut years in WWE history and it will come full circles at the 2017 Royal Rumble. Styles has proved all of his doubters wrong, ascending from the upper-midcard to becoming the face of WWE SmackDown Live and winning the coveted WWE Word Championship.
Many, including myself, never thought that we’d get the chance to see Styles compete inside a WWE ring let alone become a WWE World Champion and one of the top stars in the company. Styles has taken to the WWE like a fish takes to water and has definitively proven himself to be one of the top performers in the world today, even at the age of 39.
Styles beat Dean Ambrose at WWE Backlash earlier this September and has since then cemented himself as SmackDown Live’s top star, especially in the absence of John Cena. With TLC now over, AJ Styles needs an opponent for the Royal Rumble and in this article, we take a look at 5 dream opponents for him at the January PPV.
5: The Miz
The Miz has always been gold on the mic and one of the most genuinely hated heels in the WWE. He has always had a penchant for getting visceral reactions from the WWE Universe and in 2016, he took his game to a entirely new level – both on the mic and inside the ring.
Miz won the Intercontinental Championship from WWE resident ‘bro’ Zack Ryder on the night after Wrestlemania 32 and has since raised his game with his wife Maryse by his side. He’s held onto the championship for a large part of 2016, briefly losing it to Dolph Ziggler for a few weeks in-between, and his rivalry with SmackDown Live GM Daniel Bryan has captivated WWE fans.
With the Miz hitting new heights in his career, the Royal Rumble could be a great opportunity to give Miz another shot at being a headliner with a champion vs champion match at Royal Rumble against AJ Styles. It could also be a great opportunity to turn Styles babyface again.
4: The Undertaker
The Undertaker re-emerged on the 900th episode of SmackDown Live to announced that he would be more active on the road to Wrestlemania this year, which would definitely entail a match for the ‘Deadman’ at this years’ Royal Rumble.
With the WWE looking to fill the 60,000 seater Alamodome, a headline match involving the Undertaker is just what the doctor ordered and Styles is the perfect opponent for him. As one of the best in-ring performers in the world today, if not the best, Styles can have an outstanding match with Taker and bump around for him like a boss while overshadowing Undertaker’s lack of mobility as his age creeps up on him.
Styles has had one of the best debut years in WWE history since debuting at last year’s Royal Rumble. He has since faced Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania, finally making his presence felt on the ‘Grand daddy of them all’ before finally winning the WWE Championship at Backlash earlier this year. What better way could there be for AJ to cap off his phenomenal debut year in WWE than defending his championship at the Rumble against a living legend like the Undertaker.
3: Samoa Joe
According to backstage reports Samoa Joe is set to make his main roster debut at the Royal Rumble, if not a couple of weeks earlier. With SmackDown Live’s roster lacking star power, Joe should definitely join the blue brand instead of Monday Night Raw and instead of debuting Joe in the Royal Rumble match itself where he could get lost in the shuffle, WWE could instead set his debut as a match for the WWE Championship against AJ Styles with Joe going over as the monster heel and AJ turning babyface heading into Wrestlemania season.
Joe has proven that he has what it takes to headline big shows with some stellar performances down in NXT and he could be WWE’s next monster heel if built up correctly ala Umaga, and the first step in his path of destruction could be at this year’s Royal Rumble.
Joe and Styles already have a history in TNA, which WWE could play upon without mentioning those three ‘dreaded’ letters. Styles and Joe will be sure to tear the house down at the rumble as they did in the X-Division.
2: Kevin Owens
Champion vs Champion at the Royal Rumble. The idea sells itself. The match will obviously not be for the championships but for bragging rights between the brands on one of WWE’s biggest nights of the year.
Owens and Styles know each other well from the indies and with Owens eliminating Styles at the Royal Rumble last years, the seeds for this story are set if WWE chooses to use it.
Owens’ championship run hasn’t been the best so far with him being made to look weak repeatedly instead of being a no-nonsense heel like he was as Intercontinental Champion and a showcase match against the blue brand’s champion would be a great chance for him to prove that he’s still at the top of his game.
Regardless of who wins this match, it would tear the house down on the night.
1: Shawn Michaels
The rumours of AJ Styles taking on Shawn Michaels started last month and were only further fueled by AJ Styles’ comments afterwards.
With the 2017 Royal Rumble taking place in Michaels’ hometown of San Antonio, Texas, this is the perfect opportunity for WWE to book a match that will truly be as big as the Rumble itself, if they can convince Michaels to take part in one more match.
There is no doubt that Michaels and Styles would put on an amazing match and with the plaudits regularly coming in for Styles with some even comparing him to Michaels, this could be the chance to push Styles to the Stratosphere.
A heel Styles beating a returning legend like Shawn Michaels in his hometown could cement Styles as WWE’s top heel.
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