AJ Styles sends a message after beating Vince McMahon's top pick on WWE RAW

WWE Superstar AJ Styles returned to action on RAW this week and locked horns with Austin Theory in a singles match.

The Phenomenal One spent close to a year in the tag team division alongside Omos until their recent split. Following that, Styles briefly feuded with Grayson Waller and even competed in a match on NXT 2.0.

Styles returned on RAW for a match against Austin Theory. The latter was instructed by Vince McMahon to bring back a victory selfie. Unfortunately, Theory could not beat the Phenomenal One in their match this week.

Both superstars locked horns in a highly entertaining match. We saw Styles back in form, with Theory delivering an impressive performance against one of the industry's greats. It was one of the best in-ring bouts of the night that eventually ended with Styles picking up a big victory.

Styles took to Twitter after the match to gloat that it wasn't Theory's night and referred to the budding superstar as a "kid."

"Sorry kid, not tonight," said AJ Styles after denying Theory an opportunity to get another selfie.

This wasn't the first time Theory and Styles have battled one another. The last encounter between the two ended after Grayson Waller attacked The Phenomenal One. Despite losing the match via disqualification, Theory sought an opportunity to snap a selfie with his opponent while the latter struggled against Waller.

Austin Theory's push on WWE RAW

Austin Theory has been involved in multiple segments with Vince McMahon over the last few weeks. The WWE Chairman has made it abundantly clear that he has high hopes for Theory, who recently returned on the main roster and is being booked as a narcissistic and opportunistic superstar.

He has made the most of his matches so far, delivering one impressive performance after another. Theory was recently involved in a series of matches with former Universal Champion Finn Balor.

He will have to face Vince McMahon, who will hold him accountable for losing against Styles. In the meantime, Theory has a huge opportunity to prove himself in the Men's Royal Rumble match this weekend. It will be exciting to see how the budding superstar competes against some of the biggest names in WWE this Saturday.