Opinion: Why AJ Styles should have faced Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series 2018
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are that of the author and not of Sportskeeda.
Daniel Bryan defeated AJ Styles and earned the right to face Brock Lesnar at the Survivor Series Pay-Per-View (PPV) by becoming the new WWE Champion. This is an underwhelming booking done by the WWE management, and, Styles vs Lesnar would have been an ideal competition worthy of a main event match.
Brock Lesnar and AJ Styles fought each other at the last Survivor Series PPV, and needless to say, it was one of the best matches ever in the WWE. Styles is often regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the world, and he is an innovative brawler with more technicalities than Daniel Bryan.
If Styles would have got the opportunity to face Lesnar, it would have been a fantastic opportunity to defeat him and get his much-awaited revenge. However, WWE had other plans and deliberately brought Bryan in the picture. There are several flaws in this engagement, and let us analyze them.
Firstly, the manner in which Bryan won the title, has generated a lot of flak from the WWE Universe. A heel Bryan is the last thing the WWE Universe wanted to see. Moreover, Styles was the WWE Champion for more than a year; the title should have changed hands in a much better fashion. The Championship match between Bryan and Styles at SmackDown Live was not up to the standards, and it seemed WWE was in a hurry to change the title somehow.
Secondly, Daniel Bryan has a history of injuries. Size-wise, he does not match up to Lesnar. Lesnar, on the contrary, has a history of injuring his opponents to a great extent. He believes in annihilating his opponents. A German suplex from Lesnar might potentially break Bryan's neck, and he might be forced to relinquish the title.
Thirdly, the build-up to the match between Styles and Lesnar was developed over the last couple of weeks. Now, many people would not turn up for a Lesnar versus a vulnerable Daniel Bryan. This might hamper the TRP and could potentially cause a dip in the viewership.
If WWE wanted to change the title, Samoa Joe would have been an ideal choice. Joe vs Lesnar would have been a neck to neck competition. Styles losing to Joe, would have made much more impact than this loss to Daniel Bryan. Also, it would have garnered more crowd reactions and could have opened the gateway for many new story-lines and rivalries.
In light of the above factors, one would easily vouch for a Lesnar vs Styles contest, than a Lesnar vs Bryan face-off. It is certainly not 'best for business', and is a reflection of the poor booking by the WWE management.