On SmackDown Live, John Cena returned to the show after a hiatus to announce that he will be the No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship, and will compete against whoever won the triple threat match between AJ Styles, Dolph Ziggler, and Baron Corbin. At the conclusion of the final show of the year, Styles won, which caused a face-off between the two for yet another match in one of the best feuds of the year. So, the stage is set for a WWE Championship match at the Alamodome between Styles and Cena, which is expected to be one of the best matches of the evening.
Over the past few weeks, there have been numerous theories concerning the path of the WWE Championship heading to WrestleMania 33. One of the biggest theories involved The Undertaker competing against Styles and actually capturing the title at the Royal Rumble. In turn, this would lead to a match between Undertaker and Cena, and Cena would hand Taker his second loss in WrestleMania history, as well as tie Ric Flair to become 16-time champion. However, it looks as if this entire theory may be null and void.
According to a newly-released promo video from the Alerus Center, scheduled to host a WWE Live event on Febraury 4, AJ Styles will be defending the WWE Championship against Dean Ambrose in Grand Forks, ND.
For many theorists, this creates a huge monkey wrench in fantasy booking. Just about every scenario does not have Styles retaining the title after the Royal Rumble, although still being involved in a marquee match at WrestleMania. A very interesting option that has been mildly discussed among pro wrestling circles is the possibility of a triple threat match involving Styles, Undertaker and Cena.
In this case, Cena still has an opportunity to become 16-time champion, and Undertaker will still lose at WrestleMania, but Styles would take the pinfall. This would soften the blow of an Undertaker loss, especially if it is going to be his last WrestleMania match of his career.
For traditional fans, it would be exciting to see “The Dead Man” have one more run as WWE Champion. It has been 14 long years since he wore that title, losing against The Rock at Vengeance in 2002. It has been nearly seven years since he has been world champion at all, losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Chris Jericho in the Elimination Chamber match in 2010.
Either way, AJ Styles carrying the championship after Royal Rumble does elicit a great deal of suspense heading to WrestleMania 33.
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