Only two men have beaten The Undertaker at Mania. At WWE WrestleMania 36, AJ Styles needs to become the third. Here are three reasons why.
Ever since he first arrived to WWE in 2016, AJ Styles has continued to live up to high expectations set from – at the time – being the hottest free agent in all of wrestling. This weekend for WWE WrestleMania 36, he takes on his biggest challenge yet.
He is a two time WWE Champion with one of those reigns being one of the longest in the title’s history in this modern era. Styles has shared the ring with countless Hall of Famers, current and future, so this is not his first big rodeo. Certainly not the first time he’s wrestled on a big stage, or the big stage that is WrestleMania (even though it’ll lack the stage this year).
That all being said, this is still going to be his biggest test yet as he takes on another future WWE Hall of Famer in the form of The Undertaker at WrestleMania in a Boneyard Match. Granted, mere days away from the show, we still have no clue as to what exactly a Boneyard Match is or how you win one, but facing the biggest star in Mania history at Mania itself is still a big perk.
The only thing that would be even bigger than facing The Undertaker on the Grandest Stage of Them All is defeating him on said stage (well, Performance Center this year). Here’s why Styles needs that big moment.
Main Event Bound
For the past year or so, perhaps since last year’s Money in the Bank PPV, AJ Styles has not quite been in the main event title picture as much as he has been in the United States Championship picture, putting over newer talent like Ricochet, Cedric Alexander and Humberto Carrillo.
Which, truth be told, is fine. It was a good use of his veteran status and a good way to give us a break from Styles in the World Title picture after he spent the past few years there (over a year of which he spent as WWE Champion at one point). However, he spent enough time in the upper midcard this past year that it’s time for Big Match AJ to make a comeback.
Styles has a strong enough pedigree on his own merit that he could come and go from the main event picture whenever he wants, but becoming the third man in WrestleMania history to put an L in The Deadman’s record book is a high enough accolade to make that transition a little easier.
Plus, with it looking uncertain right now when or if WWE can tape any post-Mania shows in light of the novel coronavirus outbreak shutting down events, a win for Styles will still hold up months down the line whenever WWE returns.
Give Drew McIntyre A Heel Challenger
This goes hand in hand with the last slide, but it also presents a hypothetical. This is all under the assumption that Drew McIntyre beats Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship this weekend, but that hypothetical seems less likely in front of a small crowd. A monumental win like that seems less monumental in an empty arena, so it’s hard to predict McIntyre as the unquestionable winner.
However, assuming he does, McIntyre needs some heel challengers lined up for what should be a big reign for him. By beating The Undertaker at WrestleMania, that immediately sets up AJ Styles as a top challenger in front of The Scottish Psychopath.
It’s practically a SummerSlam worthy match. Whether it’s booked any time between now and next year’s WrestleMania, it’s a PPV worthy main event waiting to happen.
On top of that, let’s not forget that AJ Styles and Drew McIntyre had something of a brief feud at the very start of this year, but that was short enough that we should think of it more as a teaser of things to come. The real money is still in a World Championship feud, which should happen post-Mania season should Styles beat The Undertaker.
Redeem Styles For Losing To Taker
This whole feud was kicked into motion earlier this year at Super ShowDown, where in the midst of winning a high profile Gauntlet Match, AJ Styles was pinned in quick, embarassing fashion by the final entrant of the match, The Undertaker.
Taker was not even originally supposed to be in the win, yet without even taking off his hat and coat, managed to knock Styles off of his keister. Not one of The Phenomenal One’s finer, phenomenal moments, that’s for sure.
The Styles character has ranted on television about how the ordeal left a bad taste in his mouth and when we glance at the response to the match over at social media, his booking put a bad taste in the mouths of several of his fans as well. A win in The Undertaker’s own yard (be it a backyard or a boneyard) should more than make up for it.
Not only would Styles get his win back, but he will be etched in the record books forever alongside Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns as the only men in history to beat The Undertaker at WrestleMania.
That’ll redeem AJ Styles as a character and credible challenger, while also making his fans happy.