After having established himself as one of the greatest pro-wrestling superstars in the world through his work with promotions like TNA, Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling, AJ Styles signed up with the WWE earlier this year.
In the nearly 11-month period since making his WWE debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble, Styles made rapid progress and is currently on top of the ladder as the WWE Champion. When the brand split between Raw and SmackDown happened a few months ago, ‘The Phenomenal One’ was drafted to the blue brand.
AJ Styles was quick to gain a foothold over SmackDown Live by getting the better of perhaps the biggest superstar on the show, John Cena, multiple times. As a result, Styles proclaimed himself as ‘The Face That Runs The Place’, a nickname previously used for addressing Cena.
However, of late, there have been rumours that AJ may soon be making his way to the WWE’s flagship show, Raw. The reason being provided for the likely switch is the fact that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is highly impressed with ‘The Phenomenal One’ and wants to see him work with the red brand.
This move, if it happens, will open up a plethora of new opportunities for the current WWE champion and also allow him to engage in feuds with the biggest names on the Raw roster.
Here’s a look at 5 superstars from Raw who could have potential feuds with AJ Styles:
#5 Roman Reigns
AJ Styles and U.S. Champion Roman Reigns have shared a bit of history with each other prior to the brand split between Raw and SmackDown. At the time when Reigns was the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, ‘The Phenomenal One’ challenged him twice for the title.
They came face-to-face for the first time during the Payback pay-per-view, where ‘The Big Dog’ emerged victorious despite the match having been restarted twice thereby retaining his title. Styles and Reigns met once again for an Extreme Rules match at the eponymous pay-per-view, where the latter picked up yet another win.
Perhaps the only other time these two superstars competed against each other was at Survivor Series as they represented their respective brands in a 5-on-5 traditional tag team match. During the match, Roman Reigns and his former Shield buddies, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins, power bombed AJ Styles through the announce table to bring about his elimination.
With the U.S. Champion having had the upper hand over the WWE Champion in their previous meetings, Styles certainly has some unfinished business with Reigns. So there is a high possibility of a feud taking place between them if 'The Champ That Runs The Camp' switches over to Raw.
#4 Chris Jericho
Perhaps one of AJ Styles’ biggest feuds ever since he joined the WWE came against Chris Jericho. After Styles beat Jericho at the Fastlane pay-per-view in February this year, the two superstars formed an alliance named Y2AJ and defeated the Tag Team Champions, The New Day’ in a couple of non-title matches.
This led to them earning a shot at the title held by the trio on Raw but they failed to win this time around. Post the match, Y2J proceeded to attack ‘The Phenomenal One’, kickstarting a feud between the duo which led to their match at Wrestlemania 32.
While Jericho emerged victorious at the iconic pay-per-view, the following night on Raw saw AJ Styles pin him to win a Fatal Four-Way match to determine the #1 contender for Roman Reigns’ World Heavyweight Championship, putting an end to their feud.
The only other time that these two superstars faced off against each other was during the Raw vs SmackDown 5-on-5 men’s tag match at the Survivor Series. Even though Styles got eliminated during the match, his team picked up the victory on the night.
Both AJ Styles and Chris Jericho are easily among the best in-ring performers in the WWE at present and also boast of huge fan bases. It would be great to see them lock horns all over again in a bid to prove who the better man is.
#3 Sami Zayn
Sami Zayn is easily among the most talented superstars on the WWE roster at present and just like AJ Styles, he has done a lot of work with other pro-wrestling promotions like Ring of Honor and Pro Wrestling Guerilla before making it through to the WWE.
While Zayn and Styles have not had much of a rivalry during their time together in the world’s most popular pro-wrestling venture, they did come face-to-face on one occasion. The two of them battled to determine the #1 contender for WWE World Heavyweight Championship on Raw earlier this year.
Although it was an evenly contested match, ‘The Phenomenal One’ managed to pick up the victory over ‘The Underdog From The Underground’. Sami is another Raw superstar who could have a potential feud with Styles if the latter moves to the red brand.
Zayn is yet to get his hands on a championship belt since joining the main roster and so they could feud over the WWE Championship, provided AJ Styles still holds the title by that time.
#2 Kevin Owens
Both Kevin Owens and AJ Styles are the men to beat in the WWE at present as they hold the two top prizes in the business, the WWE Universal Championship and the WWE Championship, respectively. Although they haven’t exactly had a proper feud during their time together in the business, the two of them have crossed paths quite a few times.
It started off with Styles’ debut appearance in the WWE in the 2016 Royal Rumble match, where Owens eliminated him after he had lasted in the ring for a little under 29 minutes. Other than that, they have competed in two singles matches on Raw and SmackDown prior to the brand split with the ‘Prizefighter’ winning on both occasions.
However, on the post-Wrestlemania episode of Raw, ‘The Phenomenal One’ won a Fatal Four-Way Match involving K.O., his future ‘best friend’ Chris Jericho and Cesaro to become the #1 contender for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
At Survivor Series, AJ Styles and Kevin Owens were seen in opposite corners during the Raw vs SmackDown 5-on-5 men’s tag match and the WWE Universal Champion was eliminated by disqualification after attacking Styles with ‘The List of Jericho’.
Though we are not sure if the two superstars will have their titles intact if and when the WWE Champion’s move to Raw materialises, a feud between them is surely something that the entire WWE Universe will be looking forward to.
#1 Seth Rollins
There is little doubt about the fact that Seth Rollins and AJ Styles are among the best performers in the pro-wrestling business at present. Considering this, it really comes as a surprise that ‘The Face That Runs The Place’ and ‘The Architect’ have still not faced off against each other in a one-on-one match so far in the WWE.
They did share ring space for a while during the Survivor Series 5-on-5 tag match between Raw and SmackDown but it was for a very brief duration. Later on in the match, Rollins combined with former mates, Roman Reigns and Dean Ambrose, to put Styles through a table thereby causing his elimination from the match.
The battle between these two immensely talented performers has always been looked at as a dream match by the WWE Universe and both superstars have expressed the will to have a go at each other at some point.
If the WWE does decide to give AJ Styles a run on Monday Night Raw, a feud between him and Seth Rollins becomes almost inevitable. Whenever that happens, things could get even more interesting if either of them holds a championship belt over which they feud.
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