Ranking AJ Styles' 5 best WWE WrestleMania matches
AJ Styles is widely considered to be one of the best in-ring performers on the WWE roster today. The Phenomenal One is a former WWE Champion, United States Champion, Intercontinental Champion and could become one half of the RAW Tag Team Champions, alongside Omos, at WrestleMania 37.
Since debuting for WWE in 2016, AJ Styles has competed at 5 seperate WrestleMania pay-per-view events. Each match has had its own unique storyline, and some have certainly been better than others.
Nevertheless, it goes without saying that any AJ Styles match at WrestleMania is considered to be a marquee match. The former WWE Champion's matches at WrestleMania have varied from WWE Title defenses to cinematic Boneyard Match presentations.
From show openers to main events, let's take a closer look and rank AJ Styles' 5 best WWE WrestleMania matches.
#5 AJ Styles vs Randy Orton (WWE WrestleMania 35)
Criticizing AJ Styles' WrestleMania 35 match against Randy Orton may be somewhat unfair. From a technical standpoint, the match between the two former WWE Champions on the grandest stage of them all was very good. AJ Styles and Randy Orton are two of the best and most experienced in-ring workers on the WWE roster after all.
Unfortunately, the match was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Firstly, the bout was second on the WrestleMania 35 card. Historically, this already puts the match in a difficult position. At the beginning of any event, the opening match gets all the excitement and electricity from the crowd as the fans have a plethora of anticipation for the show ahead. After dispelling all that energy, the second match has to attempt to revitalize the crowd, which can be notoriously difficult.
It was ultimately a production error that truly hampered AJ Styles and Randy Orton's WrestleMania clash in 2019.
During the match, fans seated in MetLife stadium were blinded by yellow stage lights, which were meant to illuminate the crowd for television. Instead, fans were unable to see the ring and were forced to turn away or cover their eyes. This led to chants of "turn the lights off" and "we can't see" during the match.
Preoccupied by the lighting disaster, many fans were not paying attention to the match taking place in the ring. Those watching at home weren't initially aware of the issue before images quickly started surfacing on social media.
However, the displeasure of the live audience did slowly become apparent on television too. It was certainly unfortunate as the match itself, while not bad, is now largely remembered for WWE's major production mistake during it.