Rumored future plans for AJ Styles as Intercontinental Champion
AJ Styles won the Intercontinental Championship by defeating Daniel Bryan for the vacant IC Championship. Sami Zayn was the last IC Champion but was stripped of the title by WWE after he refused to work due to COVID-19 panic.
Last week on SmackDown, AJ Styles came out to the ring and wanted a big ceremony for his coronation as the IC Champion. While it looked like a battle between Bryan and Styles will ensue, it was Matt Riddle who made his debut on SmackDown and challenged Styles in a non-title match - and won it.
AJ Styles' future plans
Here is what Cagesideseats stated:
The WON also says AJ Styles vs. Matt Riddle appears to be the next Intercontinental title feud.
As per Dave Meltzer of the WON, Matt Riddle could be next-in-line for AJ Styles' Intercontinental Championship.
A.J. Styles vs. Matt Riddle looks to be the major IC title destination after Riddle debuted and beat Styles in a non-title match.
AJ Styles was set to defend his IC Championship against Drew Gulak on SmackDown this week but the match did not take place. Though The Phenomenal AJ Styles will likely defend against Drew Gulak and possibly Daniel Bryan in the future, his next big program is going to be with The Original Bro Matt Riddle.
Details on other upcoming Championship feuds in WWE
Dave Meltzer also noted that The New Day will likely continue their feud with Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura for the time being. He also stated that Apollo Crews will likely defend his US Championship against either Bobby Lashley or MVP.
On the tag team front, The New Day, the Smackdown champs are doing a program with Shinsuke Nakamura & Cesaro. Apollo Crews as U.S. champion may be with MVP or Bobby Lashley, but that still has a ways to be flushed out.
Coming back to AJ Styles, while the former WWE Champion was an ideal candidate to become the IC Champion, it looks like WWE will be using him to give Matt Riddle a big rub and a possible IC Championship win for Matt Riddle would solidify him as a future Superstar.