5 reasons why Seth Rollins teamed up with AJ Styles on Tribute to the Troops

On the 2018 episode of WWE Tribute to the Troops, the Kingslayer Seth Rollins formed a dream tag team with the Phenomenal AJ Styles to take on the team of the Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose and the WWE Champion, the new Daniel Bryan. Now, WWE Tribute to the Troops is an event which Vince McMahon and co. organize for the US Army during the Holidays season.

The 2017 edition of the show had the team of Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn take on the trio of AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton which saw the faces overcome the heels. This episode also had the faces' hands raised at the end of the show as AJ and Rollins defeated Ambrose and Bryan to win the match.

Well, the fans certainly do not know why AJ and Rollins formed a tag team and here are the 5 possible reasons why this happened:

#5 Because Tribute to the Troops always features a dream segment/match

Who can forget this epic face-off which took place at Tribute to the Troops in 2016

The Creative team often tends to give the fans a dream match/segment during the episode of Tribute to the Troops. The 2016 edition had a backstage face-off between 3 of the greatest factions in WWE history in the Club (AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson), the New Day (Xavier Woods, Big E and Kofi Kingston) and the S.H.I.E.L.D (Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins).

While the 2017 edition had a dream tag team featuring AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura (which was a dream one back then) in the main event. So, the Creative team followed their trend and gave the fans a dream tag team of AJ Styles and Seth Rollins.

#4 To signal the fans that AJ Styles and Seth Rollins may soon be swapping brands

These two superstars have been the mainstays of their respective brands since 2016

AJ Styles and Seth Rollins have been the faces of SmackDown Live and RAW respectively since the brand split took place in 2016. While AJ Styles has won the WWE Championship twice on the blue brand, Seth has won the Intercontinental title on two separate occasions on RAW.

Both AJ and Seth started working as heels on the show and turned face due to their immense popularity amongst the WWE Universe. Given that they have been running their shows for the past 2 years, it can be understood that they have run of opponents and a swap between the 2 superstars can help the Creative team book some new feuds on WWE TV. Having AJ Styles battle against RAW's champion Dean Ambrose in the match and Seth Rollins battle SD Live's WWE Champion Daniel Bryan may just be the first step of this switch.

#3 Because the McMahons had promised us a fresher product

Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon, Shane McMahon and Triple H promised the fans a fresher product on RAW this past week

The entire McMahon family appeared on RAW last Monday and guaranteed the WWE fans a fresher product. The ratings of the WWE shows had not been great since the past few months and thus, the top authorities decided to alter the storylines in order to give the fans the entertainment they deserve.

We saw the Revival getting a win this week on RAW along with the Good Brothers making a TV appearance after a long time and also the rise of Mustafa Ali. So, this was just the next step in this direction. AJ Styles and Seth Rollins have never battled as a tag team in a two-on-two match and thus, pairing them up for a face vs heel match was just the perfect choice for the show's main event.

#2 To give progression to their respective feuds

While AJ Styles vs Daniel Bryan is the top feud on SD Live, Dean Ambrose vs Seth Rollins is the premier feud on Monday Nights

It's no secret that the WWE also wanted to give advancement to their TV shows on the Tribute to the Troops show and thus, paired up superstars from the top storylines of both the shows to do so. AJ Styles and the new Daniel Bryan have been feuding over the WWE Championship since November while Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins have been a part of a heated rivalry since the exit of Roman Reigns.

We have seen several 'challengers vs champions' matches in WWE history which often sees the team of the challengers win the match against the heel champions. WWE had earlier used this formula on the last episode of SmackDown before the brand split which saw Zack Ryder and Darren Young defeat the team of the Miz (IC Champion) and Rusev (US Champion).

#1 To hint the fans that the brand split is ending

Is the brand split ending?

Of late, the WWE has been conducting a lot of RAW vs SmackDown matches on pay-per-views. If we look at the Crown Jewel PPV, a host of matches had superstars of RAW and SD Live compete against one another. Also, the Mixed Match Challenge finals had one team from RAW and SD Live each to battle it out in the final. Ronda Rousey has been actively involved in the Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair storyline while Shane McMahon has joined forces with Stephanie McMahon and Triple H.

And with RAW and SmackDown superstars teaming up at WWE Tribute Troops, the Creative team has given a strong hint that the brand split may soon be ending.