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During this year's 30-man Royal Rumble match, AJ Styles suffered a shoulder injury that has forced him out of in-ring action for an indefinite time period. After taking a spear from the returning Edge, Styles picked up a nasty nag and was eliminated early from the Rumble match itself, as well.
Since then, 'The Phenomenal One' has been seen enjoying his time-off from in-ring competition. He was recently spotted in a Bullet Club reunion, while New Japan Pro Wrestling superstars made the trip to the United States of America as part of the recently concluded New Beginning tour.
Additionally, the former two-time WWE Champion was also spotted alongside former NJPW foe and veteran, Yuji Nagata and it seems like the former is certainly doing quite well on his road to recovery.
On the recent edition of Monday Night RAW, WWE announced the return of AJ Styles, as it was revealed that WWE will be holding the first-ever Tuwaiq Trophy Gauntlet Match at the upcoming Super ShowDown event in Saudi Arabia.
Styles will once again be returning to action alongside reigning WWE United States Champion, Andrade and the likes of Bobby Lashley, Rusev, and Eric Rowan will all be a part of the match, as well. However, for a superstar of AJ Styles' caliber, WWE has to come up with an unique storyline for the former WWE Champion on the Road To WrestleMania 36.
That being said, here are 5 possible directions for 'The Phenomenal' AJ Styles upon his return to WWE on the Road To WrestleMania 36.
#5 Sets up a 'Mania match with Edge
The returning Edge is currently in the middle of a blood-thirsty rivalry against former Rated RKO tag team partner Randy Orton. Having made his return at this year's Royal Rumble, it seemed like WWE was all set to reunite the duo once again on the following episode of Monday Night RAW, however, that wasn't the case to be.
With Orton brutally attacking Edge on RAW, a WrestleMania 36 match between the pair is bound to be in the works, but AJ Styles himself has his reasons to challenge 'The Rated R Superstar', given that the latter forced Styles out of in-ring competition and shattered his dreams of challenging for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 36.
Since making his return, Edge is yet to compete in a singles match and having him square-off against Styles would certainly be a dream match come true.
#4 Leads The OC into war against Seth Rollins and his disciples
Having recently beaten The Viking Raiders on RAW, the duo of Buddy Murphy and Seth Rollins stunned the WWE Universe when they captured the RAW Tag Team Championships, as the majority of the people were hoping that it would be AOP who would win the tag titles for the faction instead.
With Seth Rollins and co. currently, in a feud against the likes of Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, and co., WWE could book an impromptu tag team match between the two teams for the upcoming Super ShowDown event in Saudi Arabia and eventually conclude the on-going feud.
From there onwards, having AJ Styles and his crew start a feud against Seth Rollins and his group would certainly be a feud that fans would be invested in. After all, Gallows and Anderson won the 'Best Tag Team In The World' trophy and having them challenge Rollins and Murphy for the RAW Tag Team Championships would be the right call.
This would also open-up the possibility of potential clashes between AJ Styles against Buddy Murphy/Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 36.
#3 Answer Aleister Black's challenge
Since moving up to the main roster, Aleister Black has had a few memorable feuds and has pretty much delivered in every match he has competed in. His feud against Cesaro on SmackDown Live truly lived up to all the hype and his recent matches against Buddy Murphy have proved that Black has all the potential to hang in with the very best inside the squared circle.
There is no surprise to the fact that since his feud with Murphy came to a conclusion, Black hasn't done much on Monday Night RAW, whereas, Murphy instead went on to align himself with Seth Rollins and is one half of the current RAW Tag Team Champions.
On the other hand, Black has been squashing the likes of Akira Tozawa. So having the former NXT Champion engage in a feud against the returning AJ Styles would be perfect at this moment, I feel. With Black looking for competition on RAW and with AJ Styles also set to make his return, the two men could engage in a feud that could eventually lead-up to a WM 36 match between the pair.
#2 Sets up an NXT Championship match against Adam Cole
At WrestleMania 36, Adam Cole (or whoever is NXT Champion by then) is expected to defend the NXT Championship for the first time at The Grandest Stage of Them All and WWE would certainly be hoping for a memorable bout contested over the NXT Title.
Having successfully defended the NXT Championship against some of the biggest names in the WWE roster including the likes of Johnny Gargano, Pete Dunne, and Finn Balor, Adam Cole has certainly been enjoying a legendary reign as NXT Champion.
As NXT Champion, Cole has also faced-off and defeated the likes of Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan and therefore, a match against AJ Styles at The Grandest Stage of Them All would be no less than legendary.
Cole and Styles also have a long history with each other and prior to signing with WWE, the two men have squared-off at Ring of Honor on previous occasions, as well. The two men also had minor beef against each other in the lead-up to Survivor Series 2019 when The O.C. attacked The Undisputed Era and invaded NXT.
In a recent interview, Cole also expressed his wish of facing Styles at 'Mania 36. A match between the two former Bullet Club members is inevitable.
#1 Call out The Undertaker
'The Phenom' vs 'The Phenomenal One' definitely has a nice ring to it and a match between AJ Styles and The Undertaker at The Grandest Stage of Them All would be a dream come true for wrestling fans of several generations, to say the least.
For years now, fans have been hoping to witness The Undertaker square-off against the man who has competed all over the world for promotions including TNA, ROH, and NJPW. Throughout his illustrious career, Styles has shared the ring with some of the biggest names in the business and it would only be fitting for the former to face one of the biggest legends of the business in the form of The Undertaker.
There is no surprise to the fact that The Undertaker could possibly retire within a few years down the road and with Styles being in his 40s, WrestleMania 36 seems like the only viable option for a match between 'The Phenom' and 'The Phenomenal One'.
A recent report also suggested that The Undertaker could possibly face AJ Styles at The Grandest Stage of Them All and at this point, we can only hope its true.
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