WWE WrestleMania 35 Rebook: No Brock Lesnar, But A Shield Triple Threat

4. AJ Styles vs Randy Orton

Who built SmackDown Live?

This match has been a long time coming but that doesn’t mean it’s been a gold rush getting here. The thing is, despite all this, I wouldn’t change a thing. WWE have played this one perfectly.

One one side you have Mr WWE, played recently by John Cena in a feud with, you guessed it, also AJ Styles. Also played recently by Roman Reigns in a feud with, you guessed it, AJ Styles. Does that make Styles a legend killer? Why yes, yes it does. Styles keeps knocking off the Mr WWE. Shane McMahon, vanquished. Chris Jericho, neutralized. Randy Orton, you’re next.

But is Randy Orton next? On the other side you have Mr Indy. A wrestler who spent most of his career outside of the quote unquote top league. Orton has been at the top of the tree for approaching two decades. He’s seasoned, he’s creative and he’s vicious. We’ve had new Daniel Bryan’s. We’ve had the old Stone Cold. There’s only ever been one Randy Orton.

Two of the absolute best will go head to head and one on one. Why would I ever want to mess with that formula?

The build has been surprisingly good too. At first it was subtle; something which you don’t see enough of in the WWE. Minor encounters backstage set the scene, with strong writing beyond the cliche. Then it was Styles that struck first, like the heroic Han Solo before him. Sick of being spoken down to and downtrodden, Styles came to an event in which he was not scheduled to wrestle, put on his ring gear and attacked Randy Orton.

Orton, of course, who also came to an event in which he was not schedules to wrestle, put on his ring gear and delivered an RKO out of nowhere to someone else. I said it was good; I didn’t say it made sense.

And then came the promo. One brief but intense sparring session between the two that set the stage. There would be no pulled punches, no holding back. Both men had done their research and would show no mercy. The more they spoke, the more clear the direction of their match became. Everything since that promo has just been an added bonus. So many little segments rolled perfectly together. So many RKOs out of nowhere. So many RKOs out of somewhere and, throughout it all, the knowledge that the next RKO would be epic.

I would have to be a fool to mess with this one. There’s a reason the SmackDown side of the WrestleMania card is so much stronger than the Raw side.