AJ Styles vs Randy Orton is official for WrestleMania. It’s been rumored for some months now, but at last, it’s come to fruition. While some fans might be disappointed that The Phenomenal One isn’t in the World title picture, it’s not really a bad thing. After all, he was in the World title picture for a good part of over a year. The fact of the matter is that it’s simply not his turn at the moment.
Some fans have said that Styles has “gone soft” since losing the WWE Championship, but the simple fact of the matter is that he hasn’t been the primary focus of SmackDown Live, something that he has been since 2016.
Styles’ rise to the top itself was quite incredible because nobody in their right minds would have expected that Styles would become WWE Champion within 9 months of joining the company. The people who have made a similar achievement were ones who turned out to be very special superstars. And make no mistake about it – Styles is very special.
Joining the blue brand after the re-introduction of the brand split in 2016, Styles was the #2 pick for SmackDown, and being in the top 5 alone put him in a very prestigious spot, being picked above names such as Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns and even John Cena. Since then, he’s been the main representative of SmackDown Live, using the phrase “The House That AJ Styles built”.
Sure, SmackDown was around during the time when he just got started, but the rebirth of the blue brand has definitely seen AJ Styles as the face of it for a good part of time. In fact, his run with the blue brand feels similar to Edge‘s in the later part of his career, where he was the best thing going week in and week out.
The biggest highlights of his run have been his heel WWE Championship run, where he feuded against Dean Ambrose and John Cena (and even James Ellsworth). However, that would be a tease of what was to come, as 2017 saw his popularity grow and an organic babyface turn. This time, he would win the WWE Championship clean as a whistle and embark on a historic year-long run as WWE Champion, where he surpassed JBL to become the longest reigning World Champion in SmackDown history.
The run would see him go through all sorts of opponents, such as Jinder Mahal, Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, etc. He cleared out the division and the cream of the crop – all but one – Randy Orton. Many were surprised that The Viper was never a challenger for him despite being a heel. However, it should be noted that this is a match that WWE has been holding off on for a long time.
March 7th, 2017
AJ Styles and Randy Orton were in dispute to face then-WWE Champion Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 33. Then-General Manager Daniel Bryan believed that Randy Orton should have gotten the opportunity because he did win the Royal Rumble match, so tradition was to be followed. Commissioner Shane McMahon argued that AJ Styles should have gotten the shot because Orton initially vacated his title opportunity and AJ Styles beat Luke Harper clean to be added to the match.
This resulted in them facing off in the main event of SmackDown Live. The two titans facing off would be billed as “the biggest match in SmackDown history”. It was two major stars having a WrestleMania-worthy match on free television. They even teased the Phenomenal Forearm-to-RKO spot, but knew well enough that the spot was meant to be saved for the big stage.
Randy Orton won the match clean, but it was clear that they held back for a much bigger occasion.
March 14th, 2019
After AJ Styles had run into Randy Orton time and again, Orton insulted Styles and questioned his intensity and desire, mocking him for taking as long as he did to arrive in WWE. Styles issued a challenge to Orton, and though The Viper didn’t outright accept, WWE’s social media confirmed the match only a couple of days later.
The stars have really aligned for this match. It’s not often that WWE really puts two superstars away from one another in order to have a big match, but somehow, they managed to do so for over two years. Now, with AJ Styles not in the WWE Championship picture nor Orton, they can have a feud without any titles or any shenanigans. There are no McMahon’s involved, nor any other wrestlers. It’s simply a feud about who is the better competitor and who the king of the mountain is.
We often forget that simple storylines are the best, and though they haven’t interacted too much, it’s still a very exciting feud. Moreover, Randy Orton genuinely seems more motivated than he’s been for a long time, and this could end up resulting in a WrestleMania classic!
