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AJ Styles Shouldn’t Align with Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows at WWE Payback

By Rob Wolkenbrod

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While they have a history, AJ Styles should not be realigning with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows at WWE Payback.

At WWE Payback, Roman Reigns will be defending the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles. Scenarios for what happens in the match have been thrown all over the place. This is especially with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows now in the mix.

Some fans want to see Styles, Anderson and Gallows reunite. They teased so after having a reuniting group hug on Raw. WWE had to acknowledge that these three had a history on TV, storyline or not.

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However, after Reigns cut an in-ring promo that also featured the Phenomenal One saying a few words, Anderson and Gallows attacked the leader of the Roman Empire from behind. This left Styles shocked as he stood from afar on the stage.

"#LukeGallows and #KarlAnderson just attacked @WWE World Heavyweight Champion @WWERomanReigns! #RAW @AJStylesOrg https://t.co/NIHnmKRcZw— WWE (@WWE) April 19, 2016"

A backstage segment would then show Styles pleading to Reigns that he had nothing to do with this. That should be the story WWE keeps true to this feud going forward.

When Styles, Anderson and Gallows appeared together, everyone probably screamed “The band is getting back together! They’re going to form the Bullet Club and take down Reigns at WWE Payback!” This is probably what WWE wants you to think, which is why they added that brief, soundless segment of the trio talking backstage about an hour after the attack on Raw.

Quite frankly, Styles doesn’t need to be in a faction. He’s well-established from his decade-plus in wrestling on the big stage in TNA and New Japan Pro Wrestling, leading to fans knowing him well when he came into WWE in January. The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion has also been a fan-favorite and is dominating merchandise sales. Typically, babyfaces do much better in the latter regard than heels because the crowd is cheering and wants to support them, so they buy their gear.

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With that being the case, why would WWE turn Styles heel?

Then there is speculation that if it’s not Styles, why not put Reigns with Anderson and Gallows? While it’s a dream of many, WWE probably isn’t going to pull the plug on a top babyface run for the Big Dog anytime soon. While he’s treading the line of heel and face, that’s likely as far as he’s going.

So we know that Anderson and Gallows are willing to take out Reigns for the benefit of Styles. However, if their former Bullet Club stablemate continues to reject this by the April 25 episode of Raw, this could lead to the former IWGP Tag Team Champions costing both Payback main-eventers the match in a few weeks.

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The logic behind this could be if Styles isn’t going to accept Gallows and Anderson’s help, then they will bring in someone who will: Finn Balor.

Hours before Raw went on the air, WWE put this video out about the Bullet Club connection. Not so much of a coincidence that they did this now that we’re one day after the flagship show. However, did they briefly touch upon Balor’s relationship which is notable because he hasn’t debuted on the main roster yet.

The Demon had teased for months that Gallows and Anderson were coming. He probably overdid all this just to mess with the fans that included doing an interview with WWE.com and these tweets.

Factor in too that Balor was very active on Twitter. The key word here is ‘was’ because he has not tweeted or retweeted anything since April 11, also the day that Anderson and Gallows debuted on Raw. Coincidence? I think not.

Bringing in Finn at Payback would be a shocking moment to close the show. Him running out there with Anderson and Gallows to destroy the main event would be hysteria and a scene that wrestling fans would never forget. Balor would be directing traffic while his buddies take out Styles and Reigns, setting up a feud that would have a very interesting dynamic to it heading into the summer. Would we see eventually see a Triple Threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship?

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While it’s still possible that AJ Styles forms a group with Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, it wouldn’t be the best call. That’s not to say it would be bad because it certainly wouldn’t. Those three would tear through WWE and be tremendous heels. There may be a better story if it’s Finn Balor in that role and they wreak havoc on the Payback main event, though.

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