AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon is a match-up that's been rumoured for a while now. Ever since their first encounter people have been mulling over the possibility of the two clashing, with stories going round that it may be one of the planned matches for WrestleMania 33 at the Citrus Bowl. Whatever the case may be, it's certainly interesting to discuss.
Shane hasn't been seen in a wrestling capacity since suffering an injury at Survivor Series, meanwhile AJ has been putting on great match after great match as WWE Champion over the last few months. The two men have been doing their own jobs incredibly well, but whether they mesh together well inside the ring is another question altogether.
Don't get us wrong, Shane-o-Mac certainly has the ability to pull out something special when called upon but that isn't the only issue here. In a period of time where the return of part-timers is becoming such a big problem, putting one of the hottest stars in the company against the boss' son could be a recipe for disaster, depending on how receptive the fans are to it.
Yes, everyone loves Shane, but do they love him to the point where they'd want to see Styles drop the title in order to face him?
Because let's face it, that's the way it's going if they do, in fact, pull the trigger on this match. Considering that AJ has a bout against Cena at the Rumble followed by a date with the Elimination Chamber, it seems highly unlikely that he'll enter WrestleMania as WWE Champion and if the purpose for that is to get the Shane match-up on the card, it feels like a big mistake.
AJ has held that title since September now and whilst it hasn't been the most mind blowing reign of all time, he's certainly put the world of wrestling on notice with his impeccable performances week in and week out. If you're just going to pass that off to someone in order to make more big Mania matches, it just feels wrong.
This is the guy that got you to the dance so to speak and now you're just dropping him?
Plus, there are so many other Superstars that AJ could face on the grandest stage of them all. Whether it's links back to his TNA roots in the form of Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle, or a match for the ages with Finn Balor, the possibilities are endless and strapping him together with Shane just feels like a waste.
In Vince's mind you'd imagine that he considers a match against his son to be one of the marquee bouts, but here in the real world we know that isn't the case.
Sure it would be fun and there would be the odd spots here and there, but do we really want to see Shane on the verge of being permanently injured again? At WrestleMania 32 he literally risked his life with the dive off the Cell, and then at Survivor Series the bump he took literally gave him a concussion.
Shane isn't a spring chicken anymore and Styles wrestles a physical style, so you never know what could happen.
Then you have the factor of believability. In 2017, how are we supposed to realistically think that Shane McMahon can be someone who possesses the quality of AJ Styles. The ‘Taker match alone was a stretch, and when you consider the success Styles has had over the last twelve months it becomes all the more baffling.
Wrestling is about being invested in the story and no matter how many bells and whistles you throw out there, nobody is going to think Shane has a chance.
Also, he just doesn't need it.
Shane has a nice role behind the scenes, can come and go as he pleases and has wrestled his fair share of crazy matches over the years. The guy doesn't need to have a match like this because it's not going to do anything for him one way or another.
In terms of ‘Mania bouts he's likely never going to top the contest he had with Vince back at WM17, so fooling ourselves into thinking otherwise is just a waste of everybody's time.
A better use of Shane's time would be for AJ to slowly turn babyface, with Shane using an enforcer of sorts to do the battle for him at WrestleMania. Perhaps Styles does in fact hold on to the belt at the Rumble and the Elimination Chamber, so McMahon decides to hire someone like Samoa Joe.
There's certainly potential in the storyline aspect of these two, but it's the idea of a match that sends it off a cliff.
We as fans would like to believe that the WWE have learned from its mistakes over the years, and considering how hot AJ Styles is right now, you just can't have him drag Shane towards a semi-decent match at the biggest show of the year. The Phenomenal One deserves way, way more than that.
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