AJ Styles and Randy Orton will collide on WWE SmackDown, with the winner facing Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 33.
Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown proved to be a wild one. It saw AJ Styles defeat Luke Harper to become the No. 1 Contender to the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 33. However, Randy Orton, the 2017 Royal Rumble winner, appeared at the end of the show to proclaim that he still wants Bray Wyatt’s title. So he decided to commit arson. Well, maybe … not really, right?
On the following episode of Talking Smack, Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon said they didn’t know who the real No. 1 contender was. Both Styles and Orton have cases to face Wyatt at WrestleMania, so what’s next?
On Friday, WWE announced that Orton vs. Styles will take place on the upcoming episode of SmackDown. The winner will face Wyatt at the Show of Shows for the WWE Championship.
BREAKING: @AJStylesOrg & @RandyOrton battle Tuesday on #SDLive to determine @WWEBrayWyatt's @WrestleMania opponent! https://t.co/CakvUYouJq
— WWE (@WWE) March 3, 2017
After weeks of action that seemingly set up someone new being in the WWE Championship equation, we’re down to the Viper and the Phenomenal One. If you’re going to consider the storyline and what just happened on SmackDown, then the former is probably a good bet of winning. Luke Harper still being involved could have made this even more interesting and a bigger guarantee, but it seems WWE is going back to a one-on-one.
As for Styles, his WrestleMania direction isn’t clear, so it’s not a foregone conclusion he loses. However, the long-standing rumor from the Wrestling Observer for his opponent at the show can’t be forgotten. By the end of SmackDown on Tuesday, it’s possible we see this matchup take a step in the ‘Mania direction.
Next: 20 Early Predictions for WrestleMania 33
The matchup of Randy Orton vs. AJ Styles should still be fun on SmackDown, even if you’ve read up on the potential match card for the Grandest Stage of Them All. Like the Harper match, it should deliver.
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