AJ Styles immediately made an impact in the WWE after being the third entrant in the 2016 Royal Rumble, lasting nearly 30 minutes in his debut Rumble match. Since January, Styles has been involved in a number of significant feuds to become one of the top stars in the company. His series of matches with Chris Jericho, championship matches against Roman Reigns, and grudge matches against John Cena have significantly increased his stock as a top player for the company. Last week, Styles defeated Dolph Ziggler to become the number one contender to the WWE World Heavyeight Championship, currently held by Dean Ambrose. While his WrestleMania match with Chris Jericho appeared to be the plan from the beginning, former WWE Intercontinental Champion Ryback revealed in his latest podcast, Conversation with the Big Guy, that he was the original opponent scheduled for Styles for WrestleMania 32.
Ryback stated on his podcast that he was supposed to be the number one heel in the company at one point in time and was lied to on numerous occassions regarding the promises given to him from a creative standpoint. He also stated that he was told by Vince McMahon that he was going to squash AJ Styles in their scheduled WrestleMania match, cemeting his role as a top heel. Instead, he was in a pre-show match against then-United States Champion Kalisto. Not only did he lose his match against Kalisto after having a decent build up as a heel, but his match was presented to a half-empty stadium with the crowd having trouble entering the arena at the time, making his appearance even more deflating. Styles, on the other hand, lost his match against Chris Jericho but was put in a marquee spot on the card. In what is an even bigger blow for Ryback, Styles is one of the faces of the company now – something that he allegedly was promised.
There is no doubt that AJ Styles has proven himself to be a worthy contender to lead the SmackDown brand. Every match he has shown since his debut in January has been one of the best on the program, and his resume leading to his WWE debut has proven that he should be in the current state he is in now. Interestingly, this information shared by Ryback does raise the question of where Styles would be now if the original plans would have happened. Seemingly, he would have been just another midcard talent trying to ascend the ladder.
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