From the WWE Rumor Mill: AJ Styles upset over Battleground match finish
What's the story?
According to Wrestlingnews.co, AJ Styles was upset at the finish to his Battleground match against Kevin Owens where he lost the United States Championship.
In case you didn't know...
AJ Styles and Kevin Owens had a dud of a match at Battleground that saw a confusing finish. Styles lost the Championship to Owens, effectively making him a three-time United States Champion.
However, Styles won the title back just two days later on SmackDown Live in a triple threat involving Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho.
Owens and Styles had a rematch for the United States Championship the following week, where Styles won in a controversial manner after Owens' shoulders were clearly up. General Manager Daniel Bryan announced that Owens would be getting a US title shot against Styles at SummerSlam, with Shane McMahon as the special guest referee.
Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon have teased a rivalry and a match. Many speculated that the two would face off at SummerSlam, but from the look of things, the feud might be an even slower burn than expected.
The heart of the matter
Wrestlingnews.co reported that if the match finish were changed midway during the match, the information would have been relayed to the referee, who would have communicated it to the two performers accordingly.
If this were the case, Styles would have no reason to be upset. However, the report backed up Dave Meltzer who said that finish was seemingly a botch.
If this is the case, that would mean that the WWE officials would have just gotten word of Jericho's availability and thus changed the finish so that the SmackDown Live triple threat two nights later could take place. After all, Styles did win the title back.
What's next?
AJ Styles and Kevin Owens are set to face off at the biggest party of the summer. If WWE are trying to eventually get to Kevin Owens vs Shane McMahon, then Owens losing at SummerSlam would be the best way to get at it.
Author's Take
There are a lot of conflicting reports regarding the finish of the Battleground match that it's gotten confusing. However, if it were a botch, then AJ Styles does have a reason to be upset. The entire match itself was quite disappointing and not to the calibre that the two performers are capable of.
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