'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Last night on Smackdown Live, AJ Styles defeated Mustafa Ali, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, and Samoa Joe in a Fatal 5 Way match to earn another shot at Daniel Bryan's WWE Championship. However, I feel like this is the wrong decision.
In my predictions last month, I predicted that Ali would go on to challenge Bryan for the title at the Rumble after pinning him in a tag team match. This theory was pushed even further when Bryan attacked Ali backstage a week later when Shelton Benjamin was welcoming him to Smackdown. Many fans thought that the Heart of 205 Live would be getting a title shot soon as well, but that was extinguished last night with Styles' win. There is still a small chance that Ali could be added to the match to make it a triple threat, but I feel those chances are slim and it wouldn't make sense to add Ali since he lost his chance to get a title shot in the Fatal 5 Way match.
Follow Sportskeeda for the latest WWE news, rumors and all other wrestling news.
There is nothing wrong with another Styles vs. Bryan match, but in this "New Era" we were promised new matches and this is one we have seen on multiple occasions already, not to mention AJ Styles lost to Bryan as clean as a whistle last month at TLC in his rematch for the title. While defeating four other men is "earning your shot," you would think that a better way for Styles to earn another shot, especially after being champion for over a year, would be through the Royal Rumble match itself.
This also brings up another question which is what did Styles, Orton, and Mysterio do to earn their way into the match automatically, while Samoa Joe and Jeff Hardy had to have a match to determine who the fifth man in the match would be? It would have made much more sense to have qualifying matches on this week's show, which was taped, and have the Fatal 5 Way match on next week's live show to determine the #1 contender.
My point here is that out of all of the possibilities WWE could have gone with the WWE Championship match at the Royal Rumble: making a new star in Mustafa Ali, giving us a dream match with Bryan v. Rey Mysterio, or giving us an interesting heel vs. heel match with Randy Orton or Samoa Joe, WWE instead went in their underwhelming and predictable route by giving us Bryan vs. Styles once again, even if it will be another amazing match.
