4 Possible directions for AJ Styles after Money in the Bank 2019

This year's Money in the Bank pay-per-view featured several ups and downs and was full of major surprises. With Brock Lesnar winning the Money in the Bank briefcase and Bayley capturing the SmackDown Live Women's Championship, the night was certainly filled with astonishing results that the WWE Universe weren't expecting.

Nonetheless, one of the major highlights of an eventful evening in Hartford was the Universal Championship match between current champion Seth Rollins and challenger AJ Styles. Prior to heading into this match, there was a lot of expectations on both of these men and as expected, the two men delivered on the big stage with a match full of high-flying back-and-forth action.

On Styles' behalf, this was indeed the very first time 'The Phenomenal One' challenged for the Universal Championship and despite failing in his first attempt, the former two-time WWE Champion won the hearts of the WWE Universe, as usual.

With Styles now all set to move on by putting this loss behind him, the majority of the WWE Universe isn't really sure what 'The Phenomenal One' is going to be doing next. Will he challenge Rollins to a rematch? Or will he set his sights on a different championship?

Let us take a look at all the possibilities for AJ Styles following Money in the Bank:

#4. A rematch with Seth Rollins

As aforementioned, AJ Styles and Seth Rollins put an instant classic at Money in the Bank in their very first ever clash in a WWE ring. With Styles and Rollins exceeding all expectations, there is certainly no doubt in the fact that fans definitely wouldn't mind seeing the two men go at it once again.

Therefore, a rematch between Styles and Rollins in the foreseeable future will once again put the fans on the edge of their seats and is something the WWE Universe wouldn't mind seeing at all. So, yeah, bring on Styles vs Rollins II.

#3. A fresh new feud

AJ Styles challenging for the Universal Championship at Money in the Bank was definitely amazing, considering this was the very first time 'The Phenomenal One' stepped into the ring with Seth Rollins.

However, if you look deep into it, Styles challenging for Rollins' Universal Championship in his very first feud on Raw definitely did feel a bit rushed. I mean if you were going to have someone of Styles' caliber lose in his first feud on Raw, then why have this certain storyline in the first place?

For his first feud on Raw, Styles could've easily gone head-to-head with another top star from the brand and having him face-off against Rollins at some point down the line, would've been equally amazing (and who knows maybe even having Styles dethrone Rollins wouldn't have been so bad after all).

Nevertheless, what's done is done and now having Styles shift his focus towards someone like Roman Reigns (with whom 'The Phenomenal One' has a lot of history with), Bobby Lashley, or even the rumored feud with Drew McIntyre will be fine in order for the former WWE Champion to get back on track after this recent loss.

#2. A heel turn!

Back in 2016, following AJ Styles' feud with Chris Jericho, 'The Phenomenal One' immediately put himself in WWE Title contention when he challenged Roman Reigns for the world championship in two back-to-back pay-per-views and ended up losing both matches in dramatic fashion.

Following Styles' loss, the former leader of The Bullet Club turned heel for the very first time in his WWE career when he welcomed back John Cena to the WWE, only to spoil his returning party with a typical beatdown with the help of the rest of The Club.

During his run as a heel, Styles used all sorts of shenanigans in order to win matches, including outside interferences from Gallows and Anderson and even a low-blow which led to his first WWE Championship win against Dean Ambrose.

Safe to say that as a heel Styles has always been more ruthless and has tasted more gold as well. So, maybe a heel turn is exactly what the former WWE Champion needs right now.

#1. A move back to SmackDown Live

AJ Styles could move back to the blue brand

With the wildcard rule officially in action now, AJ Styles is allowed to back to SmackDown Live on particular occasions, despite being an official member of the red brand of Monday Night Raw.

However, following his defeat to Seth Rollins at Money in the Bank, Styles might be considering a permanent move back to the blue brand of SmackDown Live, where he could possibly step up as Kofi Kingston's next potential challenger. After all, for the two years, SmackDown Live has been the 'House That AJ Styles Built' and with Kingston at an all-time high following his successful title defense against Kevin Owens, maybe former WWE Champion might have a thing or two to say to the current champion of the company.

The possibilities of dream feuds on SmackDown Live are endless for AJ Styles, given that the likes of Kevin Owens, Finn Balor, Andrade, Roman Reigns and Kofi Kingston are all part of the SmackDown Live roster right now. Maybe, a move back to SD Live is for the best after all.