Opinion: AJ Styles should turn heel after Summerslam

AJ Styles is a wrestling legend. The man can have a good to great match with even a walking stick and is a master of innovation inside the ring. For all those who doubt his profess inside the ring, go watch Paul Heyman's backstage interview in the aftermath of his mammoth clash with Brock Lesnar at 2017 Survivor Series where he rated Styles on par with the likes of Ric Flair, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Trust me, when Paul Heyman heaps praise for a wrestler, You have no other option but to accept it as a universal fact.

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As of this day, AJ Styles has held the WWE Title, the so-called most prestigious title in sports entertainment, for 255 days, which, as we all know, is the longest WWE Title Reign since that historic 434-day reign by CM Punk between 2011 and 2013. Just like Punk during the first half of his reign, Styles has fended off challenges from almost all viable opponents in the last 8 months and has regularly wrestled acclaimed matches on live TV and pay per views.

The pop that AJ Styles received when he defeated Jinder Mahal in Manchester to win the WWE Title in November 2017 was one of the loudest pops of the year. With the fans tired of seeing Mahal as a World Champion, it was a gush of fresh air. However, it won't be wrong to say that despite being one of the two World Champions, he has not been treated as one by the company.

Ever since the start of his second reign as WWE Champion back in November, Styles has wrestled as WWE Champion in 10 successive pay per views and has only been in the main event only 2 times. Even worse is the fact that both of them were brand-exclusive pay per views, and, despite being the only active World Champion, he has not main-evented a single pay per view, ever. Talk about disrespecting your premier talent in the worst way possible.

The length of the reign is not the only analogy between Punk's reign and Styles's reign. Just like Punk's dream feud with Chris Jericho in the WrestleMania season fell flat, Styles had a rather disappointing feud with his long-time rival Shinsuke Nakamura during this year's WrestleMania season. Despite being the World Champion, neither of them were given the chance to close pay per view as company favorite's like John Cena and Roman Reigns were constantly given that privilege.

What if these two reigns had another thing in common? To be honest, Punk had lost a lot of steam during the summer of 2012, and, even though he had a sensational feud with Daniel Bryan in that period, his overall character had become a little monotonous. His heel turn on The Rock rejuvenated his WWE Title reign. Within a month, he went from being the most loved guy on the roster to being the most hated guy on the roster.

This is exactly what Styles need at this moment.

Even though he is more popular than probably 99% of the WWE roster, his popularity has taken a serious hit in the last few months. Much like Punk, Styles' character has become a little too predictable, with most of his matches and promos following the same script. Rumors are going around that Styles is not expected to lose the title throughout the autumn, and it would be a complete disaster for the popularity of Styles if he stayed a fan-favorite throughout his reign.

The Answer to it is a Heel Turn for The Phenomenal One.

Like it or not, but no one can deny this fact that Styles was at his peak in WWE when he was a villainous WWE Champion in 2016-17. In fact, his rivalries with the likes of Dean Ambrose, John Cena, and Shane McMahon during that period were so good that it actually turned Smackdown into a must watch show. Smackdown is slowly coming back to its original roots in 2018, and what better way to add icing to it by bringing back heel AJ Styles.

The return of Daniel Bryan and Jeff Hardy has resulted in some serious competition for Styles as the biggest babyface on that roster. His landslide victory over Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev, who is on a roll with the fans, has also affected his popularity. Just like Randy Orton did recently, imagine the reaction of the crowd if Styles attacked someone like Daniel Bryan after losing a match to him on an episode of Smackdown after Summerslam. People would just lose their mind.

Add to the fact that this might trigger a long due face turn for his rumored Summerslam opponent Samoa Joe, who has proven in the past that he can be a sensational fan favorite, and all your pieces perfectly fall in the right place. While this might seem like a long shot at this moment, considering that WWE is hell-bent on keeping Styles as the face of Smackdown, one can never forget the fact that Heel AJ Styles is just 'Phenomenal' and is, in fact, best for business.