5 Best opponents for AJ Styles at WrestleMania 33
Last year at the 2016 Royal Rumble, AJ Styles made an impactful debut as he contended for the WWE Championship. Since that point, Styles has had a great year in the WWE.
He’s had great matches with Chris Jericho, John Cena, Roman Reigns, and Dean Ambrose and he won the WWE Championship; making him the only man in professional wrestling to hold the WWE Championship, TNA World Championship, and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
He’s had great matches at every promotion he’s competed in and he’s been named the PWInsider Wrestler of the Year for 2016. He’s had a great year and is off to a great start for 2017, but Styles’ rumoured match for WrestleMania may prove to be a big disappointment.
According to Cageside Seats, Styles seems to be headed to a match with SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon. This not only indicates that Styles will not be anywhere close to the main event, but that he will lose the WWE Championship either at the Royal Rumble or the Elimination Chamber.
Styles obviously has to lose the title at some point and move on to something new, but losing the title at the Rumble to Cena and being put in a match with Shane is not the right move right now.
If the WWE really wants to take the title off of Styles and possibly do a match between Cena and The Undertaker, then they would have to find a suitable opponent and a 50-year-old Shane-O-Mac is not the best option. So, this article will look at 5 opponents for AJ Styles at WrestleMania 33 and whether it should involve the championship or not.
#5 Randy Orton
With the tension building between Randy Orton and the rest of the Wyatt Family building, we’re likely to see The Viper turn on Bray Wyatt and Luke Harper at the Royal Rumble or sometime soon. He’ll likely feud with Wyatt leading into WrestleMania, but the feud could end at Elimination Chamber.
After that PPV, regardless of if the WWE Championship is involved, a program between Styles and Orton could make for some great TV.
Both men are fantastic wrestlers and the feud could be based off anything. If it is for the title, a tournament could be booked to not only bring closure to the Wyatt-Orton feud but make Orton the number one contender. If it would be without the title, then it could be as simple as a backstage scuffle or anger stemming from a Royal Rumble elimination.
The program with The Wyatt Family is more likely to conclude at WrestleMania than to end before it, so a match with Styles is a long shot. So it’s more likely to see this at SummerSlam than WrestleMania, but a slightly rushed match between Orton and Styles is still a lot better than a program with Shane McMahon.