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AJ Styles’ Standing After Losing to Roman Reigns at WWE Payback

By Rob Wolkenbrod

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Where does AJ Styles stand in WWE after his Payback match?

At WWE Payback, AJ Styles challenged for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship and lost to Roman Reigns. The result was predicted by many, including the extracurricular activities going on at ringside.

After the match ended, we had a backstage segment where Reigns vs. Styles would be announced for Extreme Rules in less than three weeks. A rematch was expected and will pit these two in an Extreme Rules stipulation bout.

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There is a fair question to ask, though: what is the direction of AJ Styles going forward?

At Payback, it was expected that Finn Balor was going to show up to ‘lead the charge’ with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. They were supposed to turn on their friend Styles and end the alliance. The ending the result: no Finn and no breakup. There was a subtle tease of Anderson and Gallows turning on the Phenomenal One, but that’s about it.

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So with none of the presumed shenanigans happening with Styles, it kind of leaves him as a cross path.

Styles has been turned into a WWE main event star. He may not have needed that recognition from some fans due to his work around the world, but for those who had not seen him, the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion needed to be established. Placing him in a feud with WWE’s ‘Guy’ in Roman Reigns mostly did the trick, which may be hard for some to believe.

Is the former Shield man the most talented and beloved star in WWE? Absolutely not. He’s never going to be given how the company has booked him. What they have established is he’s the Big Dog and to be in his presence is noteworthy. It may be at a point where he gives a ‘rub’ to other Superstars, as in giving his partner credibility for working with him. Giving that title to Reigns so early in his career may be far-fetched, but with all the work that Vince McMahon and company have put into him, it might be a fair assessment.

So if Styles has gained credibility by working with Reigns, why is he at a cross path?

Styles is going to head to Extreme Rules with another title shot. It’s going to be great to see him in the main event for the second time in three weeks. Does he stand a chance of winning that match? Not really.

Let’s say Balor debuts at the show on May 22 as well. If him, Anderson and Gallows are going to attack someone, it will be Styles. The Superstars cannot be disqualified either, so someone still has to win. This will probably lead to Reigns taking advantage of the distraction and pinning the Georgia native.

So we then have a feud of Styles vs. Balor set up. While WWE has proven that the newcomer doesn’t always win their first PPV match, having the Demon lose would be surprising. Even if he does go down early, he’ll still be standing strong by the end. This doesn’t bode well for the former TNA star, who will be on the losing end of three consecutive big matches in a feud.

After that, what happens with Styles? It’s difficult to go further than a feud with Balor since there won’t be anything set up for a while. But fans have to wonder just what WWE would be doing with Styles. Is he going to drift around that upper mid-card area like Dean Ambrose does? Will he fall into the Intercontinental or the United States Championship conversation?

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Two other factors come in the names of Seth Rollins and Randy Orton. Both Superstars are going to take up main event or upper mid-card spots for however long they’re on the roster. Whether WWE values them over Styles or not remains to be seen, but at first instinct, it wouldn’t be surprising if they did. Orton has been under WWE’s watch for nearly 15 years while Rollins has been around for 5 years. The Architect was allowed to cash in Money in the Bank in the main event of WrestleMania 31 and technically never lost his title. So seeing him take up a spot in the main event picture should be expected.

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Where AJ Styles is at right now may be his highest point for a while. If not, it’s his peak. This wouldn’t be the case if he wasn’t going to be 39 years old one month from Monday as there would be more time for him to move up and down the main event scene. Injured Superstars are in his way and an upcoming NXT star is about to block his path sooner than later. Maybe this is a harsh critique but after Payback, things don’t look like they’re going Styles’ way for the near future.

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