AJ Styles vs. Shawn Michaels may be a longshot but could be a spectacle at WWE Royal Rumble.
AJ Styles has had a terrific first year with WWE. He started at the Royal Rumble by making his debut at No. 3 in the match of the same name. This still ranks as one of WWE’s best moments of 2016 as the crowd reception shook the Amway Center.
From there, Styles went on to feud with Chris Jericho through WrestleMania. While he didn’t beat Y2J at The Show of Shows, he earned a WWE World Heavyweight Championship opportunity one night later. This didn’t result in a win in two tries, but later in the year, Styles would defeat John Cena and win the WWE world title from Dean Ambrose.
The Phenomenal One has done plenty in his first year in WWE and is sure to do more in 2017. This will begin at the Royal Rumble, but could it be against a Hall of Fame opponent?
A strange, unconfirmed rumor from Four3Four.com has floated around about Styles potentially facing Shawn Michaels at Royal Rumble 2017 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX. Styles then acknowledged this in a recent interview with Sports Illustrated:
“I would love the opportunity to wrestle him. I’d love to learn from him, but who’s to say if that’s going to happen. Right now, it’s all speculation and rumors that I’m finding out like everyone else is, but man, what a match that would be.”
Following this, Styles took to Twitter to really get fans going with this photo:
Interesting photo….. is it not? pic.twitter.com/MKgF4XoAF1
— AJStyles.Org (@AJStylesOrg) October 20, 2016
This by no means Styles vs. Michaels is going to happen, but if it does, it could entertain and provide a once-in-a-lifetime match. Here are five reasons why this match should happen.
WWE.com
5. Potential Ratings Boost
For years, WWE has dealt with declining ratings. 2016 saw them take another downward spiral by consistently going below three million viewers, even before ESPN’s Monday Night Football. There’s an issue getting the attention of the audience, which could be due to a variety of reasons. However, WrestleMania season is usually the time where there’s an uptick in viewership.
There is no guarantee that a potential AJ Styles vs. Shawn Michaels program would boost SmackDown’s mid-2.5 million viewer average. The Blue Brand has provided a quality show for three months, but hasn’t been able to cross a certain threshold in grabbing the audience’s attention in the final numbers.
The consistent presence of HBK, even for one month, could give a boost to Tuesday nights. Longtime fans of his could tune in to see him build to his last match before giving it one last go. It would probably be the final relevant appearances of Michaels’ given his age and being away from the ring for six years. If seeing him going head to head with Styles for one last feud is tempting enough, WWE could make the USA Network happy for the short-term.
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4. One Last Match (Again)
At the 2010 WrestleMania event, Shawn Michaels went out on a high note. He had a rematch with The Undertaker after their all-time classic from WrestleMania 25, which still was fantastic the second time around. However, it retired HBK for good. He had a great storyline to go along with this to officially put the stamp on his historic career.
Since then, Michaels has stated multiple times how he will never wrestle another match. He had multiple surgeries post-WWE too and is already 51-years-old.
It comes up here and there about Michaels returning to the ring, though. If it does actually happen, why not one last time, but against AJ Styles?
This wouldn’t have to be a retirement match. Similar to Goldberg’s recent return, Styles could call him out for a match at the Alamodome. Michaels could then accept in person or via satellite, make his only appearance of the feud at the Royal Rumble, and proceed out. Nothing about being retired by the former NJPW star, just being back to answer the call and to get the WWE World Champion to put his money where his mouth is.
It’s understandable that seeing Michaels back for one more match may irk some. He already retired six years ago. However, given all the accolades of this Superstar’s career, how difficult would it be to not tune in to see him wrestle?
3. Filling the Alamodome and Making Money
WWE taking over the Alamodome for one night is great. They get the chance to have 60,000 people watch the Royal Rumble and celebrate the 20-year anniversary of this pay-per-view being in the San Antonio arena. There’s just one issue—WWE has to fill 60,000 sets for a non-WrestleMania event.
The Royal Rumble match already sells itself. It’s only done once per year, has WrestleMania main event implications, and draws fans for drama, suspense, and unpredictability. Can it fill up the arena, though?
Other marquee matches are going to need to be paired with the Royal Rumble to sell the show. WWE could sell 25,000 people on just the main event, which is great. What about the other 35,000, though? There needs to be someone else or multiple others to draw them in. While there are other options besides this, AJ Styles vs. Shawn Michaels in a one-time-only match could be a significant piece to the puzzle.
The hometown factor is usually a draw, as Michaels resides in San Antonio, TX. Could that be enough to bring in 10,000 more people? Then there’s pairing him with Styles for a match to precede the Royal Rumble. Could this latest “dream match” add even more people to the arena?
Sure, this is someone coming back for a one-off compared to another WWE star getting the opportunity. It would also be the company’s fault for not having a full-time star built up enough to face Styles for the world title. So, we’re left with Superstars of wrestling’s past to come in, work a match at whatever their age is, and leave. This isn’t ideal, but a product of WWE’s use of its roster.
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2. Saving a Current Superstar’s Title Opportunity for WrestleMania 33
Shawn Michaels getting a potential title match with AJ Styles would take someone’s opportunity way. There’s a handful of SmackDown stars that could compete for it. However, with the Royal Rumble already closing the show, WWE may be able to afford not giving a full-time star a title shot.
30 Superstars are technically getting an opportunity by going for a main event spot at WrestleMania 33. They all get to headline the PPV, even if it’s for a few seconds. The mid-level and top guys are mostly saved for the Rumble anyway as well, so how would this differentiate from the norm of the annual January show?
The opportunity can be given at WrestleMania 33 where there’s a handful of significant matches. The match card has stretched to around 12 bouts in the WWE Network era, making there be a chance for most of the roster. There are even two world titles now, so the chance of getting a marquee WrestleMania match has risen. This should be the place where the stars want to shine as well, and not at the Royal Rumble, despite its significance.
If anything, the one is who receiving the opportunity is Styles…
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1. A Legend Can Put Over a Current Star
To carry over from the previous part, there’s the perception of AJ Styles vs. Shawn Michaels being a lost opportunity for someone. While it’s a valid argument, there’s still someone else that is benefiting from this potential match—Styles.
Over the past handful of years, an issue for WWE’s has been putting over the newest Superstars. There haven’t been any legendary stars around to do this, unless you can Triple H losing to Roman Reigns. It’s debatable if that worked, though, given their methodical match and the star power of The Big Dog. Even before this, WWE has been absent of top stars to make people like Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, Seth Rollins, and others look great.
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The Attitude Era had people like Bret Hart putting over Stone Cold Steve Austin, jet starting his all-time great babyface run. The Rock, one of WWE’s greatest stars, lost to Brock Lesnar, a main roster talent for four months, in the SummerSlam 2002 main event. Then there’s Hulk Hogan, who put over Rock at WrestleMania X-8 in their battle of eras.
As for the current WWE landscape, there are full-time stars John Cena and Randy Orton to make the new guys look good. Cena has already helped Styles and lost to Owens in the former NXT Champion’s first main roster match. Orton’s star has faded over the years, so him putting someone over may not have the effect it once did.
While Styles got the rub at SummerSlam, he would be receiving another opportunity to cement his legacy. Except, it would be against a star from WWE’s best generation and someone inducted into the Hall of Fame.
By defeating Michaels, it would show that Styles is unstoppable and a force to be reckoned with in WWE. Not only that, but his momentum would be sky high, potentially permanently. It has been difficult for WWE to keep a rising star in a positive direction. They’ve already done this with the former TNA star, but he’s still only nine months into his WWE career. Why not give him one more kick from Michaels to cement that legacy of a top performer? It will make every feud of Styles’ seem important from there on and he could carry that into future programs with younger stars. How about for a future Rollins or Owens feud?
Having this happen would come from Styles beating Michaels at Royal Rumble. It would be one of WWE’s last opportunities to use a star from their past to make a current wrestler look good, so will they take advantage?
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