Analyzing WWE’s List of Potential WrestleMania 33 Matches
By Adam O'Brien
WWE.com
Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles
Don’t take this the wrong way – Shane McMahon has been a magnificent addition to the WWE product over the last year – but isn’t there anything better they could offer AJ Styles for WrestleMania, after such a riveting tenure as champion?
The man had a spectacular debut year in 2016, delivering consistently amazing matches every night and doing an extremely good job of carrying the SmackDown Live brand on his back throughout his WWE Championship reign.
All good things must come to an end, so one can hardly be too fussed over John Cena’s inevitable victory over “The Phenomenal One” at the Royal Rumble – as much as we might hate to admit it – but somehow a rivalry against Shane McMahon heading into April just doesn’t step forward as must-see television.
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The match itself doesn’t offer up a whole lot in terms of excitement either.
Where does this stem from in the first place? The fact that Shane McMahon awarded John Cena a WWE Championship match without him having to qualify first?
If that’s the case, just about everyone who’s been forced to defend their championship on SmackDown Live over the last few months should have beef with both Shane McMahon and Daniel Bryan – and if memory serves, there’s been a title match on every episode bar maybe two or three since Backlash.
At the end of the day, McMahon is running a business, and John Cena has proven time and time again that his appearance alone is worth money.
AJ Styles, from a storyline perspective, should be able to understand that.
So that means something needs to happen over the next few weeks to justify these two having legitimate heat with one another. Not allowing AJ Styles to have a one-on-one rematch clause and forcing him into the Elimination Chamber match, might be a start, but there’s still a lot of work to do if this dynamic is going to work.
Take nothing away from either man – Shane is in fantastic shape in his current tenure with WWE, but AJ Styles is on a whole other level when it comes to in-ring competition. Considering a match like this, with no real stakes in sight as of this writing, feels like a sour final chapter to AJ Styles’ terrific debut year.