5 reasons why AJ Styles abandoned Seth Rollins on Raw

In a matter of 2 weeks, the WWE Universe will witness one of the most anticipated matches in recent history. A bout that has been touted by many as a legit dream match. Seth Rollins is all set to defend his Universal Title against The Phenomenal One AJ Styles at the upcoming PPV, Money In The Bank.

Styles bagged the opportunity to face Rollins after winning back to back matches on a recent episode of Monday Night Raw. On tonight's edition, the two Superstars faced off against Baron Corbin and Bobby Lashley in a tag team match.

The final moments of the match saw Styles hitting the Phenomenal Forearm on Rollins in an unfortunate accident. Following this, AJ left the ring, abandoning Rollins and leaving him at the mercy of the dastardly villains. Corbin and Lashley ended up winning the match and Rollins wasn't too thrilled with what had just happened.

Let's take a look at 5 reasons why AJ Styles abandoned Seth Rollins on Monday Night Raw.

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#5 WWE is captalizing on the boos AJ received

AJ Styles

The writing's on the wall. During the contract signing last week on Monday Night Raw, one could clearly hear a string of boos geared towards The Phenomenal One. He went on to deliver a thunderous punch to Seth Rollins, which gave an indication that a heel turn was about to come sooner than we had expected, but that didn't end up happening.

Instead, both babyfaces traded blows with AJ coming out on top after a Phenomenal Forearm on Rollins, through the table. The boos AJ received must have been one of the primary reasons why he was chosen to be the one to turn on the other.

#4 Rollins is too big of a crowd favorite

Seth defeated Lesnar at 'Mania

There was no way WWE could even think of doing this angle any other way, especially the one where Rollins is the one to turn on Styles.

Remember the HUGE pop that Rollins received last year on the Raw after WrestleMania, where he won the Intercontinental Title? His popularity only grew from that point on. His win at the Royal Rumble, along with his eventual victory at WrestleMania 35 over Brock Lesnar, cemented the fact that he was possibly the most loved Superstar in WWE.

Additionally, the WWE Universe absolutely loves to chant "Burn it down", when his music hits. Making him turn on AJ would have wasted years of work that had been put in building him up as a legit crowd-favorite. Seth Rollins is bound to reign over Raw as a top babyface for years to come, and not turning him into a villain at this moment was the right decision.

#3 Babyface rivalries seldom work

A rare babyface rivalry with fans getting divided between the two stars

Except for extremely rare cases like Hogan vs Warrior, making babyface rivalries is one tough nut to crack. This is a completely different scenario, and is in contrast to the traditional tale of a good guy vs a bad guy. Superstars who have made babyface rivalries work can be counted on one's fingers.

Remember Shawn Michaels vs John Cena in 2007, or The Rock vs Stone Cold Steve Austin in 2001, or The Rock vs Hulk Hogan in 2002? One thing that's a constant with these three rivalries is the fact that all of these were babyface against babyface. This didn't stop from the fans to turn on Cena (who was already a polarizing Superstar, to be fair), and The Rock. The Texas crowd at WrestleMania 17 and the Toronto crowd at WrestleMania 18 booed The Rock out of the building.

Judging by the history of babyface encounters, WWE made the right decision here by kicking off the build to what possibly could be a much-awaited heel turn for Styles.

#2 Preparing Lashley and Corbin for something big?

Is Lashley being prepared for Goldberg

It's no secret that WWE is hell-bent on building Baron Corbin as a top heel on Raw. He regularly gets loud boos, and the fans erupt in unison when he is put down by the heroes. Although villains are meant to be put down to send the fans home happy, they need to win an occasional bout or two to cement themselves as top heels. Corbin's win over Kurt Angle at 'Mania was done for the same reason, though it didn't sit well with the fans one bit.

As far as Bobby Lashley goes, rumors have crept up that he could possibly be the one to face the returning Goldberg at the Saudi Arabia show, after his tweet geared towards the latter. A huge win over two top Superstars is the correct way to build up Lashley for Goldberg, even though it was a result of AJ turning on Rollins.

#1 A slow burn towards an eventual mega turn

AJ as a heel

You know it is coming!

Styles has shown his true intentions when it comes to the Universal Title and Seth Rollins. He respects the champion, but certainly doesn't want that to come between his eventual goal.

Styles abandoning Rollins is the first of multiple steps that would lead to The Phenomenal One turning into a full-fledged heel. We might see Styles turn on Rollins and kick off a dastardly attack on the champion on next week's Monday Night Raw. Or maybe the two Superstars forget what happened tonight and embrace, with Rollins beating AJ to retain the title at the PPV.

This leads to Styles turning heel on Rollins and destroying him to end the show, with a slight possibility of Drew McIntyre cashing in his contract on an unconscious Rollins, if he actually wins the briefcase earlier in the night.