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Throughout his illustrious Pro Wrestling career, ‘The Phenomenal One’ AJ Styles has competed at the very highest level and has shared the ring with the world’s absolute best Professional Wrestlers.
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And, ever since signing with the WWE in 2016, the former IWGP and TNA Heavyweight Champion have also competed against some of WWE’s very elite athletes.
Currently, in his second reign as WWE Champion, Styles has already shared the ring with WWE’s very best superstars in the form of John Cena,
Brock Lesnar, Chris Jericho, and Roman Reigns and with that being said, let us now take a look back at The Phenomenal One’s 10 best WWE matches so far.
#10 AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura- Money in the Bank, 2018
Prior to signing with the WWE in 2016, both Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura cemented their place as two of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s top superstars, alongside the likes of NJPW homegrown stars Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, and Kenny Omega.
During their time in NJPW, Nakamura and Styles represented two of the world’s most popular factions’ in the form of CHAOS and Bullet Club respectively.
In January of 2016, Nakamura and Styles squared-off against each other for the very first time in history, when the latter unsuccessfully challenged for ‘The King of Strong Style’s’ IWGP Intercontinental Championship and ever since the two men jumped ship to the WWE, the entire Pro Wrestling World were patiently waiting for a huge rematch between the two.
However, after their disappointing outing at WrestleMania 34, it can be somewhat argued that Nakamura and Styles’ rivalry in the WWE was definitely stretched a bit too much and did not have the similar flavour to it like NJPW.
But, regardless of a few disappointing bouts against each other, ‘The Phenomenal One’ and ‘The King of Strong Style’ eventually did put together an outstanding Last Man Standing WWE Championship match at this year’s Money in The Bank, in what also remains as their best match together in the WWE.
#9 AJ Styles vs Cesaro vs Chris Jericho vs Kevin Owens- Raw, 2016
Ever since his “Phenomenal” debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble, it is safe to say that Styles has pretty much found himself in WWE Championship contention during most of the time.
Shortly after his debut, Styles competed in some absolute high profile matches in order to get a shot at the WWE Championship against then-champion Roman Reigns.
However, one of the rather more standout matches eventually saw ‘The Phenomenal One’ outlast three of WWE’s very best in the form of Chris Jericho, Cesaro, and Kevin Owens.
In one word, this fatal four-way match between Styles, Owens, Jericho, and Cesaro was absolutely stunning with all four men going back-and-forth against each other in order to get a shot at WWE’s most prestigious prize and the in-ring chemistry between all four of these superstars was truly incredible as well.
#8 AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens vs Sami Zayn vs Baron Corbin vs John Cena vs Dolph Ziggler- Fastlane, 2018
With six of the very best superstars sharing the ring at the same time, the WWE Universe hoped for a chaotic outcome with this one and that’s exactly what they witnessed in this six-pack WWE Championship match.
Coming into this match, Styles had the uphill task of overcoming five different challengers all at the same time and surprisingly enough ‘The Phenomenal One’ did manage to walk out with his WWE Title after nailing Kevin Owens with a Phenomenal Forearm in the closing stages.
Regardless of all the chaos which went on throughout this contest, the match itself did a pretty good job in terms of storytelling and all six superstars had their particular moments, with neither man doing anything too dramatic as well.
In overall, this was indeed a very fun outing and turned out to be a solid main event.
#7 AJ Styles vs Brock Lesnar- Survivor Series, 2017
Throughout his Professional Wrestling career, Styles has competed against some of the agilest big men in the Pro Wrestling industry, however, I can certainly assure none of them as athletic as ‘The Beast’ Brock Lesnar.
During the initial build-up to Survivor Series, 2017, Brock Lesnar was apparently slated to face-off against then-WWE Champion Jinder Mahal, but in a shocking turn of events, WWE instead decided to put the WWE Title on Styles on a certain episode of SmackDown Live.
And just like that, we now had a dream match in the making, a match that fans have waited to see for years now, as the two former IWGP Heavyweight Champions in Styles and Brock Lesnar were all set to collide for the very first time.
Despite having the size advantage, Brock Lesnar had his work cut out for him that night, as AJ Styles put up one hell of a fight against ‘The Beast Incarnate’, who equally made sure that Styles looked like a viable opponent. This match is another of those classic ‘David vs Goliath’ clashes and despite taking the loss, this remains as one of Styles’ best matches since arriving in the WWE.
#6 AJ Styles vs John Cena vs Dean Ambrose- No Mercy, 2016
This match was arguably one of the greatest opening matches to a WWE pay-per-view and with three of WWE’s top gun sharing the ring at the same time, this contest subsequently turned out to be the second best match of the evening, thanks to Dolph Ziggler and The Miz for stealing the show in the main event.
Nevertheless, this triple threat WWE Championship match from two years ago is indeed one of Styles’ best matches in the WWE so far and one of his best WWE Title defences as well.
All three guys took advantage of the hot and electric crowd right from the get-go and things seemingly got a bit dusty when Styles tapped out to Cena’s STF.
Thankfully though, that wasn’t the apparent finish as Styles made his way back into the match and eventually pinned Cena once again to retain the WWE Title.
#5 AJ Styles vs Roman Reigns- Extreme Rules, 2016
As expected, this one was another wild Extreme Rules brawl, with two superstars with very different in-ring approach competing for the WWE Title.
Heading into this match, the champion Roman Reigns had already scored a huge win over the challenger at Payback and much like their previous bout, ‘The Big Dog’ once again showed some tremendous display of his immense strength.
However, Styles, on the other hand, used his quick athleticism and speed to his advantage and countered all of Reigns’ offence in brilliant fashion.
There were some memorable moments throughout the match with Styles especially taking some crazy bumps all over the arena.
The interference from The Club and The Usos was also another solid touch to the Extreme Rules stipulation and the ending to the contest saw Reigns hit a brutal Spear in mid-air, as he went on to retain his WWE Title in some spectacular fashion.
#4 AJ Styles vs Finn Balor- TLC, 2017
Considering the history between both Styles and Finn Balor, this match was indeed a dream come true for the entire wrestling fanbase around the globe.
Being a former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and the founder of the legendary Bullet Club, Balor has indeed cemented his place as one of the most decorated Pro Wrestlers of all time.
Similarly, Styles, who following Balor’s departure from NJPW to WWE, took over the leadership reigns in the Bullet Club and eventually went on to become the IWGP Heavyweight Champion as well.
Therefore, everything was lined up perfectly for a dream match and both Balor and Styles indeed delivered on the big stage, as they collided for the very first time inside the squared circle.
Both men equally matched each other’s pace throughout the contest and there were also several hard-hitting spots as well. Styles, much like every time, once again proved why he is such a decorated athlete as both he and Balor wrestled each other to an absolutely tremendous bout.
Balor eventually capped off a huge win when he hit a brutal looking Coupe de Grace on Styles and a rematch between the two with much better build-up has been potentially lined-up as well.
#3 AJ Styles vs John Cena- Royal Rumble, 2017
Having already suffered two massive defeats at the hands of Styles in 2016, this match was pretty much a must-win situation for Cena, who was also on the verge of creating history if he had defeated Styles for the WWE Title on this occasion.
This match was intense and hard-hitting right from the get-go and Cena, in particular, seemed like a man on a mission, as he showed a different level of aggression in-front of a super electric crowd at The Alamodome.
As expected, both Cena and Styles once again wrestled each other to yet another beautiful back-and-forth match, with some brilliant storytelling to it as well.
In the end, Cena eventually got the better off Styles after connecting with two gruesome AA’s, as he finally overcame ‘The Phenomenal One’ in order to secure his 16th WWE World Title.
#2 AJ Styles vs Dean Ambrose- TLC, 2016
AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose’s in-ring chemistry was brilliant and both men had an outstanding feud against each other for the WWE Title.
Despite facing off against each other on several occasions, this Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match was arguably the best bout between Styles and Ambrose, who absolutely destroyed each other throughout the contest.
There were some sick bumps throughout the match, and Styles hit a 450 Splash through a set of tables only proved why he such a crazy athlete even in his 40s.
The outside interference from James Ellsworth, who turned heel on Ambrose by pushing him off the ladder is somewhat of a weird finish, but that certainly doesn’t take anything away from this match in particular.
This match till date does remain as one of Styles and Ambrose’s best matches’ in the WWE and also remains as one of the greatest TLC main events of all time.
#1 AJ Styles vs John Cena- SummerSlam, 2016
At SummerSlam, for the first time ever, the ‘Face of the WWE’ Cena finally went head-to-head against ‘Mr. TNA’ Styles in what was a dream match come true for the majority of the Pro Wrestling Universe.
Prior to their epic showdown at SummerSlam, Styles had already defeated Cena in singles competition at Money in the Bank, thanks to outside interference from his fellow Club stablemates Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows.
However, ‘The Phenomenal One’, on this occasion, was rather keen on proving all his doubters wrong by in a clean match, without any sort of outside interferences.
It is somewhat fair to say that both Cena and Styles exceeded all expectations with this match, as both men took each other to their limits, with the latter eventually coming out on top after nailing ‘Big Match John’ with a Phenomenal Forearm and the Styles Clash as well.
This match is by far Styles’ best match in the WWE thus far and also remains as his biggest victory in the company.
Do you agree with our list? Sound off your opinions in the comments section below!
