Randy Orton Vs. AJ Styles Reportedly Won’t Happen Anytime Soon
Since he arrived in WWE back in January of this year, AJ Styles has faced pretty much everyone that wrestling fans have wanted him to face, with one exception; Randy Orton.
Oftentimes, when Styles has been asked about his dream WWE opponent, he names Randy Orton — who is currently one-half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Bray Wyatt. But, so far, WWE hasn’t given us a match between The Phenomenal One and The Viper.
On Monday’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer was asked when a match between Styles and Orton may happen, and he said that it probably won’t happen anytime soon.
“Yeah, they should really promote the hell out of Styles vs Orton when they finally get to it. I don’t think it’s gonna be that soon though, unless they turn AJ babyface. I guess they could turn Orton babyface, but the feeling is [an Orton turn] isn’t gonna be so quick after all.”
Randy Orton recently turned heel after a long run as babyface and joined the Wyatt Family. At first, it seemed like an odd fit. But, the Orton/Wyatt Family storyline has turned out to be one of the best angles on WWE’s blue brand.
When Orton first joined the Wyatt Family, many believed that he would turn on the faction’s leader — Bray Wyatt — shortly thereafter. Perhaps that was the plan at one point, but it looks like plans have changed, and that they’ll be the Tag Team Champions for several more months.
There’s speculation that Orton and Wyatt will defend the Tag Team Championships against American Alpha [Chad Gable and Jason Jordan] at WrestleMania 33, and that they’ll drop the titles to the recent NXT call ups.
As for AJ Styles’ WrestleMania storyline, well, that’s more of a mystery. According to Forbes, Styles will defend and lose the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to The Undertaker at next month’s Royal Rumble show. If that is, in fact, the plan, then the angle will likely begin on the first SmackDown of the new year.
Forbes also reported that The Undertaker will defend the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against John Cena at WrestleMania 33. So, that leaves Styles out of the title picture for next spring’s big event in Orlando.
If the Undertaker vs. Cena for the title report ends up being true, then that’ll bring up an interesting question: who will AJ Styles face at WrestleMania 33? As previously mentioned, it probably won’t be Randy Orton. It also probably won’t be Dean Ambrose, because WWE just wrapped up a long program between the two.
Could WWE do a brand vs. brand match between AJ Styles and Finn Balor? Possibly. Balor vs. AJ is a match that hardcore wrestling fans have been dying to see for several years now. So, that could be on the table for WrestleMania 33.
There’s a rumor going around which suggests that AJ Styles will wrestle Samoa Joe in Orlando next spring. We know that Joe is scheduled to come up to the main roster at some point in the near future, as he’s been phased out of NXT. But, we don’t really know when he’ll come up, or which brand he’ll debut on.
As you can probably tell, Orton’s WrestleMania 33 scenario is much more obvious than Styles’.
Will Styles and Orton meet at some point in 2017? Probably. But the match probably won’t happen until Orton is finally done with the Wyatt Family.
Orton vs. Styles is definitely a WrestleMania-worthy match, so WWE could hold it off until WrestleMania 34. But, a match between the two at next August’s SummerSlam seems far more likely.
[Featured Image by WWE]
