WWE SummerSlam 2019: Could we get Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles?

Though Seth Rollins could very well lose the Universal Championship in a “Winner Take All” match at Extreme Rules and has to worry about the ever-present threat of a vengeful Brock Lesnar cash-in, there’s every reason to believe The Architect will head into WWE SummerSlam 2019 as the Universal Champion.

When Seth Rollins defeated Brock Lesnar at WWE WrestleMania 35 to win the Universal Championship for the first time in his career, wrestling fans collectively breathed a sigh of relief and welcomed the full-time champion.

Unfortunately, WWE hasn’t done the best job of booking Rollins’s title reign, and Rollins himself has somewhat faltered after being one of the company’s MVPs in 2018, putting on electrifying Intercontinental Championship matches every week.

Rollins can do the same with the Universal Title, and it seemed like he would have a box office feud with AJ Styles immediately after WrestleMania 35. That never really amounted to anything beyond one great PPV match, and Rollins has instead been saddled with a program with Baron Corbin.

This doomed rivalry should pass after the Extreme Rules mixed tag main event, assuming Rollins and Becky Lynch hold onto their coveted titles against Lacey Evans and Corbin…and Money in the Bank briefcase holder Brock Lesnar.

There’s every reason to believe Rollins will emerge victorious, since it’d be laughable for Corbin to hold the Universal Title.

Rollins still has plenty to do as champion, and that Money in the Bank rivalry between the two seems more like a “tease” now. Because recent events have made a Rollins vs. Styles feud even more appealing.

Seemingly at the behest of new Raw booker Paul Heyman, Styles turned heel on Ricochet a couple of weeks ago, joining forces with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson to re-unite the highly successful heel faction known as “The Club”.

Styles has new life as a heel, as his peak in WWE came in his first year in 2016 when he was a heel feuding with John Cena and Dean Ambrose, working with The Club to eventually defeat “Big Match John” at SummerSlam.

This year, Styles could have yet another marquee matchup at SummerSlam after facing Kevin Owens in 2017 and Samoa Joe in 2018. And a match against Rollins at WWE SummerSlam 2019 could be just as good, if not better, as his Match of the Year performance against Cena in 2016.

Styles will face Ricochet in a United States Championship match at Extreme Rules, but a win for Ricochet could do a lot more for both competitors than a win for The Phenomenal One. Ricochet is already a huge star in WWE, and is getting plenty of rub by standing toe-to-toe with Styles.

By beating the numbers game and Styles, Ricochet could be entrenched as a top player in the Raw Men’s Division.

Meanwhile, a loss for Styles could move him into the Universal Title or WWE Championship picture at WWE’s second-biggest Pay Per View of the year in SummerSlam.

A rivalry against Kofi Kingston or Seth Rollins would be dream-tier stuff for Styles, whose heel work could either blossom in a rivalry with the amazing Kingston or help get the most out of a middling babyface champion in Rollins.

There’s no doubt that Rollins can be – and should be – a great babyface champion, but he needs a great heel to be his rival.

That great heel is Styles, whose backup from Gallows and Anderson would only make this rivalry all the more intriguing. And between Roman Reigns and Becky Lynch, it’s safe to say Rollins would have no shortage of powerful friends himself.

SummerSlam needs a few high-profile dream matches, especially with “All Out” following in a few weeks, and Rollins vs. Styles would be one of the absolute best matches possible.

Fans have been waiting to see these two duke it out at a major Pay Per View (Money in the Bank doesn’t count) for years, and there may be no better time for a world title bout between these two than now.

The potential in-ring quality is something we’ve seen first-hand this year at MITB (that was a brilliant match), and we can only imagine how great a potential SummerSlam match would be.