10 Potential Opponents for AJ Styles at SummerSlam

Following yet another triumphant WWE Title defense against ‘The Bulgarian Brute’ Rusev at this past Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view, current WWE Champion AJ Styles is now in need of a brand new title challenger who is worthy enough of stepping up to the plate and challenge ‘The Phenomenal One’ for the prestigious championship in all of WWE at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view.

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Styles, who is currently in his second reign as WWE Champion, recently also surpassed the 250-day mark as World Champion and over the course of these past six and a half months, ‘The Phenomenal One’ has successfully defended his WWE Title against some of WWE’s most talented men in the form of Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Shinsuke Nakamura, and even against his arch-rival John Cena at Fastlane.

SmackDown General Manager Paige also announced on this week’s edition of SmackDown Live that the new No.1 contender for AJ Styles’ WWE Championship will apparently be confirmed on next week’s episode of SD Live and considering the current state of the SmackDown Live roster, there are several top names who could potentially have the opportunity of sharing the ring with ‘The Phenomenal One’ at The Biggest Event of The Summer.

With that being said, here are 10 top superstars whom AJ Styles could potentially face at SummerSlam:

#10 Randy Orton

After being sidelined due to an injury for the past several months, ‘The Viper’ Randy Orton returned to the WWE with a fresh new persona this past Sunday at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

And upon his return, Orton immediately cemented his place as the brand new heel on the blue brand of SmackDown Live as he attacked former WWE US Champion Jeff Hardy, following his title loss against Shinsuke Nakamura.

A heel Orton is definitely going to be a major threat to Styles’ WWE Championship and with Styles currently being portrayed as the top babyface of SmackDown Live, a one-on-one WWE Title match between the two men is certainly expected to play out in a very smooth manner.

Both Orton and Styles have previously shared the ring with each other on a few occasions, however, this time the roles have been reversed and with Randy Orton portraying the gimmick of a sadistic heel, we can certainly expect a solid WWE Title match between ‘The Viper’ and ‘The Phenomenal One’ and at SummerSlam.

#9 Eric Young

Will Eric Young bring the WWE Title to SAnitY?

Since his arrival to the WWE in 2016, former Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion Eric Young has made a tremendous amount of impact starting from his initial days in WWE’s developmental brand NXT and on the main roster as well.

The major reason behind Young’s success in the WWE so far has definitely been the support of his crazy, maniacal led faction SAnitY.

During their stint in WWE NXT, SAnitY was a force to be reckoned with and absolutely destroyed every single challenger who dares step up in their path and since their official call-up to SmackDown Live, the trio of Young, Dain, and Wolfe have already scored a huge win over The New Day at the Extreme Rules pay-per-view as well

However, it is now indeed time for the former NXT Tag Team Champions to look forward to the bigger picture here and what better way to start other than challenging for the most prestigious prize in all of WWE?

To some fans, SAnitY leader Eric Young might not be the favourite challenger for the WWE Title, but being a former Impact World Champion Young has all the experience in the world and certainly deserves a shot at the WWE Championship as well.

If booked right, a feud between Styles and Young could do wonders and it also gives us the hope of witnessing a potential dream six-man collision between SAnitY and The Club at some point down the line as well.

#8 Killian Dain

...or will it be his stablemate Killian Dain?

Now for anyone who has been following SAnitY’s journey on NXT might be pretty familiar with the fact that during the group’s run initial run in WWE’s developmental brand, the NXT creative team definitely favoured Irishman Killian Dain as the faction’s standout performer over Young and Alexander Wolfe.

Labelled as ‘The Beast of Belfast’, Dain is no stranger to triumphant championship victories having previously won the ICW World Title, WCPW World Title, and even XWA British Heavyweight Championship during his days on the Independent circuit.

Weighing in at a massive 396 pounds, Dain is arguably one of the agilest and athletic big-man in the wrestling industry today and is almost capable of putting together a must-see match against any particular superstar he steps into the ring with.

Therefore, a match between the massively talented Dain and WWE Champion AJ Styles is surely going to be yet another exciting clash with an additional ‘David vs Goliath’ flavour to it as well.

#7 Jeff Hardy

Will Jeff Hardy be World Champion in 2018?

Following his US Title loss to Nakamura at Extreme Rules, Jeff Hardy now finds himself in the middle of a heated feud against the returning Randy Orton and as per expectations, both Hardy and Orton are likely to face-off against each other at SummerSlam.

But, WWE could potentially pull-off a big swerve here by booking yet another match between Styles and Hardy and it is almost guaranteed that the two men will put together another instant classic, much like every other previous occasion when they have gone on to share the ring with each other.

Another major possibility could be a triple threat WWE Championship match at SummerSlam between Styles, Hardy, and his newest arch-rival Randy Orton.

#6 Big E

Big E is capable of causing a lot of trouble to AJ Styles

There is certainly no doubt to the fact that all three present New Day members in the form of Kofi Kingston, Xavier Woods, and Big E are insanely talented in-ring singles competitors, however, as many would agree, former WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E has always been a tad bit better performer than both Kofi and Woods.

The New Day, meanwhile, is currently without a proper sort of storyline and are definitely in need of something fresh and new and I certainly think that it is about time that either one of New Day’s any three members step up to the plate and finally challenge for a WWE World Championship after all these years.

On paper, Styles vs Big E definitely does seems like a mouthwatering clash and in the build-up to this feud we can also possibly witness a few back-and-forth tag matches between The Club and The New Day as well.

#5 The Miz

Let’s be completely fair and honest here, in the past several months, or to be exactly precise, ever since The Miz jumped ship to SmackDown Live as part of the 2018 WWE Superstar Shake-up, the eight-time WWE Intercontinental Champion’s momentum hasn’t been the same as it used to be in 2017.

The Miz’s rivalry against Daniel Bryan hasn’t exactly clicked with the WWE creative so far and the two men haven’t really engaged in a heated feud against each other so far, however, all of that could eventually change within the blink of an eye, if The Miz somehow manages to get a shot at Styles’ WWE Championship at SummerSlam, ahead of Bryan.

I mean, for over the years The Miz has had the reputation of being one of the most cunning superstars in the WWE and imagine ‘The A-Lister’ using that to his advantage and eventually outsmarting Bryan in the run to subsequently get a shot at AJ Styles’ WWE Championship at SummerSlam.

#4 Cesaro

'The Swiss Superman' is certainly capable of being WWE Champion

Since being drafted over to the blue brand of SmackDown Live as part of the Superstar Shake-up, The Bar hasn’t really been on television in recent weeks and as of right now, the best possible way to re-introduce the duo of Sheamus and Cesaro on TV is by letting either one of them break out as a singles superstars for a particular amount of time.

Personally, I feel that having Cesaro challenge for AJ Styles’ WWE Championship at SummerSlam is definitely going to be a major step forward in the career of ‘The Swiss Cyborg’ and by having Sheamus in his corner, the former WWE US Champion could actually jeopardize the current WWE Title reign of ‘The Phenomenal One’ at SummerSlam.

Nevertheless, there is definitely no doubt in the fact on how talented Cesaro is inside the squared-circle as a singles performer and booking a one-on-one WWE Title match between him and AJ Styles almost guarantees an instant classic.

#3 Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan and AJ Styles will look to settle their differences in the ring

After unsuccessfully challenging for the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships at Extreme Rules, the recently medically cleared Daniel Bryan will be in pursuit of his next big challenge in the WWE and have him challenge for Styles’ WWE Championship at the second biggest WWE pay-per-view is certainly going to send the entire WWE Universe and the IWC into an hectic frenzy.

Since his return to in-ring competition several months ago, the possibilities of several dream matches involving ‘The Leader of The Yes Movement’ is apparently all coming true one after the another and despite having faced-off against Styles in a singles match on an episode of SmackDown Live in the past, I’m pretty sure of the fact that the entire WWE Universe would absolutely love to witness yet another clash between Bryan and Styles, this time with a proper finish to the match, unlike the last time.

#2 Andrade “Cien” Almas

During his run as NXT Champion, Andrade “Cien” Almas was at the top of his game in WWE’s developmental brand, where he was busy putting together some absolutely spending matches against the likes of Johnny Gargano and Aleister Black. However, since his call-up to SmackDown Live, Almas hasn’t exactly been capable of creating the similar buzz he initially had around himself in NXT.

Despite losing to WWE Champion Styles on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live, it is now pretty likely that Almas might actually be in contention of challenging for Styles’ WWE Title at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view and if that is indeed going to be the case, then the WWE Universe should prepare themselves from beforehand for a match which is certainly going to be capable of getting a five-star rating from The Observer’s Dave Meltzer.

#1 Samoa Joe

Will Samoa Joe be the one to dethrone Styles?

Since capturing the WWE Title in December of 2017, Styles has gone on to share the ring with several of SmackDown Live’s top superstars, however, one of the most anticipated clashes that fans have been patiently waiting to witness for a long time is a dream match between Styles and his former TNA rival Samoa Joe.

Having previously faced-off against each other in TNA, Styles and Joe are certainly no strangers to each other inside the ring and having both former TNA World Champions collide against each other in SummerSlam (if presumably in the main event), then WWE can certainly guarantee a successful SummerSlam 2018 PPV.

However, regardless of that, a potential WWE Title match between AJ Styles and Samoa Joe is indeed going to be absolutely amazing and might as well be a Match of The Year contender as well.

Who do you think should face Styles at Summerslam? Sound off your opinions in the comments section below!

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Edited by Alan John