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Although it's not official yet, it's clearer than ever now that AJ Styles vs Randy Orton is happening at WrestleMania. The Phenomenal One challenged Randy Orton to a match at WrestleMania.
It's been teased over the last couple of months, with Randy Orton pinning AJ Styles on occasions such as Elimination Chamber. Then, when AJ Styles was interviewed and asked about Kofi Kingston, he felt he was deserving of a WWE Championship opportunity.
Also read: 3 WWE superstars who will miss WrestleMania and 3 who won't
Randy Orton, not impressed at all, questioned AJ Styles' desire, telling him that the fact that he was talking about someone else's opportunity explained why he took so long to get WWE. In the segment on SmackDown, they actually had quite some good banter, taking shots at one another.
It was a better promo than most people would have thought, and it ended with AJ Styles issuing a WrestleMania challenge and doing the traditional sign pointing (That's really as official as it can get). Here's why the blockbuster match is happening at WrestleMania.
#5. For the one spot that we all want
Could it be possible that WWE would make a match solely for one spot? For years now, we've all wanted to see Orton vs Styles solely to see the Phenomenal Forearm-to-RKO spot. It's one that's bound to happen, and they made sure to cleverly avoid it in their first meeting on SmackDown a couple of years ago.
They did tease the spot, but made sure that they reserved it for a bigger stage. Remember, WrestleMania isn't just about big matches, it's about big moments. There's no doubt that this could get a massive pop in front of over 80,000 people.
Last time they met, it was billed as the "biggest match in SmackDown history", and they did quite a good job, but it was clear that they didn't give a 100%, and it was for a day like WrestleMania.
#4. 2 years in the making
This is a match that's been held back for a long time. In fact, it's quite surprising that Randy Orton wasn't a challenger during AJ Styles' year-long title reign. The fact of the matter is that during his reign, he essentially cleared out the division of challengers until Daniel Bryan came along and turned heel.
Orton would have made for a good WWE title challenger, but somehow, WWE managed to keep AJ Styles and Randy Orton completely apart for over two years before deciding to go ahead with their match.
Perhaps it was the plan for a while and they purposely ensured that Orton wasn't a challenger for Styles during his title reign. Also, it's believed that Orton vs Styles was planned for WrestleMania 33, but WWE decided to go with Bray Wyatt instead.
If only Wyatt had won that match, things would have been so different.
#3. To add to AJ Styles' impressive list of WrestleMania opponents
When it's all said and done, AJ Styles' list of WrestleMania opponents is nothing short of impressive. His WrestleMania debut saw him face legend Chris Jericho, his second appearance saw him face Shane McMahon in what turned out to be a surprisingly great match, and his third was a marquee WWE title match against Shinsuke Nakamura, where he walked in and out of WrestleMania 34 still WWE Champion.
Randy Orton only further adds to his impressive WrestleMania resume, and years from now, fans will realize just how great his run with the company has been. He's always managed to be featured in a marquee WrestleMania contest, and a match against Orton is no less prestigious.
The good part is that it doesn't really need a championship on the line. When you look at it, the match seems like an instant WrestleMania classic.
#2. No other match available
The simple fact of the matter is that there's really no other option for AJ Styles and Randy Orton this year. Could they have inserted them in a mid-card title match or any other throwaway match? Sure.
But the two are bonafide top stars in SmackDown and all of WWE, and with no other plans for them and several marquee matches stacking the card, this is the best option for both of them.
On the SmackDown side of the card, it's looking quite stacked, with Shane McMahon vs The Miz, Daniel Bryan vs Kofi Kingston (potentially), Styles vs Orton, and The Usos presumably in a multi-man title match while Asuka will likely have an interesting opponent too.
It's crazy to think that they likely won't even be close to the main event. Don't be surprised if this match goes on second or even third on the card. It's just that stacked!
#1. WWE vs The independents
After the latest SmackDown promo exchange between AJ Styles and Randy Orton, it seems like the direction of the feud is going to be "homegrown WWE talent" vs "independent superstar". The argument from Orton was that he achieved far more at 24 than a lot of the current indie guys in WWE do all their career.
He took a shot at wrestling in bingo halls for 10$ in front of 12 people, while Styles retaliated saying that he's very proud of the background he comes from, and that people like Orton wouldn't last in "his world".
Moreover, he told Orton to take a look around, and that every superstar on the roster came from the independents. It's actually very true, going to show how WWE has aggressively poached many top independent superstars over the last few years.
Ultimately, the WWE vs. indies direction seems to be what they're going with in this angle.
