Opinion: Will Rusev defeat AJ Styles at Extreme Rules 2018?
In case you didn't know
The WWE Champion, AJ Styles is set to defend his WWE Championship against Rusev at WWE's next pay per view, Extreme Rules 2018. Both the wrestlers are excellent in the ring, so we can surely expect a good, watch-worthy battle. Even this rivalry could be great if both the wrestlers perform with their full potential.
Who's Rusev?
Rusev is a wrestler who is currently working as a heel, but still receives great support from his fans. He has a manager called Aiden English, who is mainly responsible for making the 'Rusev Day' gimmick famous. Rusev is a former United States Champion and has done some astounding work in the last few years.
He debuted as a Bulgarian Bruth, with his wife, Lana as his manager. Rusev is best known for his matches against John Cena and Jack Swagger. He also had a pretty long undefeated streak in the WWE.Money in the Bank 2018 is just over, and we've already got a new #1 contender for the WWE title.
What about AJ Styles?
As for now, AJ Styles is the face of SmackDown Live. He is arguably the best in-ring performer in the WWE at the moment. Moreover, AJ Styles is the official cover superstar of the upcoming WWE video game called WWE 2K19. So WWE 2K19 is set to release, and it can be a grave mistake if WWE lets AJ lose his title around the release date of the game. After all, the fans would love to see the WWE Champion on the cover of WWE 2K19, instead of just a normal worker. With WWE 2K19 just months away, WWE would not spoil the hype for the game, by letting AJ lose the title.
What are the Expectations?
There's no doubt that both of these athletes will work a thrilling match. Rusev will try on his moves like the Accolade and the Machka Kick, while AJ Styles will respond with The Styles Clash and the Calf Crusher. It's just been 1 week of build for this storyline, so there's much more to unfold. It's confirmed that it's going to be an interesting feud between the two performers. Either Rusev could win the match on his own, or he could use Aiden English as a potential distraction. Currently, the WWE Championship story is wrecked with Shinsuke and AJ's repeated matches.
The 'Rusev Day' gimmick can help the WWE Championship gain its prestige back. We would surely see some awesome promos from both the sides. If this rivalry continues for long, we would see some incredible matches in the queue.
Rusev and Aiden English will try their best to dethrone the champion. Aiden English will surely provide some external help, but there's guarantee that it will be enough to get the gold. If Rusev is to win the championship, it's going to be a short reign, and Styles will retain it back before the video game is out.
So What's Next?
The fans can surely expect AJ to hold the WWE Championship until the game finally releases because the WWE isn't so stupid to spoil the hype for their upcoming video game. Letting AJ Styles lose can surely affect the game's sales, so probably, AJ is not losing the title until the game is officially out. Talking about Rusev, this main event push will be really useful to shape his bright future in the company. The opinion will surely prefer AJ Styles to retain his title, at least for this time.
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