WWE WrestleMania 33: Pros and Cons of AJ Styles vs. Shane McMahon

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Pro: An Avenue to the Main Event Scene for AJ Styles

WrestleMania 33 could be a blessing in disguise for AJ Styles. That seems difficult to believe at the forefront, but if he’s a guarantee to win, then there should be big things coming for him on April 4.

WrestleMania 32 saw Styles lose to Chris Jericho, just as everyone thought it would be the opposite. The New Kid on the Block is getting his first match at the Show of Shows, while Y2J was predicted to be leaving WWE afterward, so a win had to be in store, right?

Well, after all the backlash WWE received for having Styles lose, they reversed his fortunes one night later by winning a No. 1 Contender’s match for the WWE Championship on Raw. It closed the red-hot show on a high note and made him a main event star, which has been the case ever since.

At WrestleMaia 33, Styles is arguably a guarantee to win, unless there’s an added stipulation that puts things into a different perspective. There’s more to gain for a full-time star like him being victorious instead of someone who’s going to drift back into the Commissioner role. If so, it should be able to slot him back into the main event scene.

It doesn’t matter of it’s Bray Wyatt or Randy Orton leaving WrestleMania 33 as champion — either would be a refreshing feud for Styles. Sure, he just faced Orton in a great match on SmackDown, but we haven’t seen the avenue that these two could go down in an extended showing. We also saw glimpses of what could be done with Wyatt at Elimination Chamber and in that triple threat on the SmackDown after the show too.

The only threat for Styles is Luke Harper, who has a ready-made feud with Wyatt after WrestleMania. That’s if he doesn’t look to realign, drifts into the mid-card or land in the tag team scene with Erick Rowan. John Cena may go on another hiatus, taking him out of the equation.

So for those thinking this feud has no end game for Styles, look closer at the situation. He could very well be back in the WWE Championship picture on April 4 and carry the Blue Brand into the summer.