WWE Survivor Series 2017: Why AJ Styles Should Win
By Ryan Disdier
Despite Brock Lesnar’s strong booking, AJ Styles should be the one victorious at WWE Survivor Series 2017.
With AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar set to square off Sunday at WWE Survivor Series 2017, it’s fair to wonder who will emerge victorious.
Conventional wisdom suggests Lesnar is the safer bet. He’s the company’s biggest draw, and he oozes cross-over appeal. The WWE’s booked Lesnar strongly because of that. To put it bluntly: Lesnar does not lose often. It’s as simple as that, and it’s a fact all WWE fans have accepted over the past seven years.
Since his return to the company, Lesnar losing cleanly is about as common as Big Show ascending to the top turnbuckle.
The only people to actually gain a pinfall victory over Lesnar since 2012 have been John Cena, Triple H, Goldberg and The Undertaker. All three of those guys comfortably reside at the company’s upper echelon, so it makes sense that Lesnar took the pin for those three.
Because of that pretty extraordinary statistic, it’s hard to bet against Lesnar this Sunday.
However, AJ Styles isn’t the average WWE superstar. Since entering the WWE, Styles has consistently performed at an enormously high level, displaying his sensational abilities more times than you can count.
There’s a chance the company could break the trend of Lesnar’s sustained dominance. After all, Styles went over cleanly against the aforementioned Cena at the 2016 SummerSlam event. The company booking Styles like that showed its faith in the 40-year old.
A seemingly unstoppable force losing works when it’s done in moderation, and when it comes against the right opponent. Styles fits the mold, and it would be an enormous way to reward the seasoned veteran for his outstanding work.
Furthermore, giving Styles the win would immensely legitimize SmackDown’s top champion. Styles would obviously be in elite company if he were able to defeat The Beast. Furthermore, a win would simultaneously raise the stock of the Blue Brand.
Additionally, the company would have a lot of options with Styles moving forward. If he remains a face, he can talk about how he overcame the odds and fought for the honor of his brand. But if Styles turns heel, he can use his win over Lesnar as braggadocios material.
It’s not as if taking a loss from Styles would completely eliminate the lure from Brock Lesnar, either. Styles has been touted — by SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan, and Lesnar’s advocate Paul Heyman — as the best in-ring performer of this generation.
Lesnar losing to Styles may actually enhance intrigue for future Lesnar matches. Instead of essentially knowing he’s going to win, fans would be more willing to believe anyone could beat him.
The WWE’s already built Lesnar to the top. There’s literally nothing more for Lesnar to do in the company. Lesnar’s won world championships, a Royal Rumble and also ended The Undertaker’s undefeated WrestleMania streak.
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Styles is still building his legacy, however. A win over Lesnar would catapult Styles into a new stratosphere, and entrench him as a mega-star. Building Styles up as WrestleMania quickly approaches is a win-win, as a Lesnar lose makes future bouts more compelling.