What's the story?
According to the latest report from Cagesideseats, AJ Styles being forced to participate in the upcoming #1 Contender's Battle Royal for the WWE Championship is a part of the build-up for his match against Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 33.
In case you didn't know...
After Randy Orton denied to face Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania this past Tuesday night on SmackDown Live, Daniel Bryan announced on the Talking smack episode followed by the show that they would have a Battle Royal next week to determine the new #1 contender for the WWE Championship.
You can watch Bryan's announcement below:
Later on the talk show, AJ Styles appeared as a guest and demanded a one-on-one rematch with Bray, but Bryan told him that he would have to go through the Battle Royal if he wants to face the current WWE Champion.
The heart of the matter
The rumours of AJ Styles facing Shane McMahon at the Grandest Stage Of Them All have been strong in the past several weeks. WWE also looks to be heading this way by first allowing John Cena to face AJ without competing in any #1 contender’s match at Royal Rumble and now putting Styles in the Battle Royal.
What's next?
Given the fact that SmackDown has almost six weeks between now and WrestleMania without having any Brand Exclusive PPV in between, Styles' feud with Shane is expected to be a slow burning one.
It also means that Styles is most likely to end up on the losing side during the announced Battle Royal next week, so he can blame Shane for not getting a title shot, thus kick-starting their feud
Sportskeeda's take
AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon was one of the dream matches for wrestling fans before Styles came to the WWE. Now as the feud inches closer to becoming a reality, fans will undoubtedly be eager to see these two stars colliding at the Grandest Stage of Them All.
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