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Five Potential Opponents For AJ Styles Following ‘SummerSlam’

By Aaron Sass
Published on: 16:56 PST, Aug 18, 2016

AJ Styles is set to have his second and presumably final pay-per-view match with John Cena at this Sunday’s SummerSlam event, as Cena is scheduled to once again leave WWE following the event to begin filming the second season of American Grit.

Most are assuming that Cena’s temporary departure means that Styles will pick up the win on Sunday, which could mean that he’ll be put into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship picture immediately following the match.

There aren’t a whole lot of potential opponents on the SmackDown brand for Styles following SummerSlam, so it’s probably safe to assume that he’ll end up in the WWE World Title picture following the event. But, then again, he may end up facing someone else at the next WWE pay-per-view, Backlash, in a No. 1 contender’s match.

So, who could Styles be facing at the next WWE pay-per-view? Well, here are a few ideas.

  • The Undertaker

As shown above, there’s a rumor going around that The Undertaker will be returning to WWE at SummerSlam. So far, there aren’t any details on what he may be doing at the event, but if he does return, it’ll put an end to the speculation that he’s done with wrestling.

The Undertaker wasn’t involved in the WWE draft, and it’s unclear which brand he’ll be a part of if he does return this Sunday. He was on the SmackDown brand for the majority of the first brand extension, and the blue brand could certainly use “The Phenom” if he does decide to return to the ring.

One of the biggest matches WWE could do on SmackDown is AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker. However, will it happen at a random, B-show pay-per-view like Backlash? Probably not. But, you never know!

  • Bray Wyatt

Bray Wyatt may be thrown into the WWE World Heavyweight Championship picture following this Sunday’s event, which means that we could see a triple threat feud between AJ Styles, Bray, and whoever the WWE Champion ends up being. We could also see AJ and Bray have a number one contender’s match at the next pay-per-view, but only if WWE is planning on doing a Dolph Ziggler vs. Dean Ambrose rematch.

Much like an AJ vs. Undertaker match, Bray vs. AJ would be a huge deal, although it wouldn’t be quite as big, and even if it doesn’t end up happening at the next pay-per-view, we’re probably not too far away from seeing “The Eater of Worlds” take on “The Phenomenal One.”

  • Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler could very well walk out of SummerSlam as the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and if he does, AJ Styles could be his first challenger. Of course, typically in WWE, if a champion loses their title, then they get an immediate rematch, so we could see a three-way feud for the title between Ziggler, Styles, and Ambrose.

It’s been reported that Dean Ambrose’s comments on the Stone Cold Podcast are getting him a lot of heat backstage, and because of that, WWE may decide to have him drop the World Title to Ziggler on Sunday, but that doesn’t seem likely. Nor does it seem likely that we’ll see a Ziggler vs. Styles singles feud in the near future. But, due to the lack of depth on the SmackDown roster, anything’s possible.

  • Randy Orton

Shortly after AJ Styles arrived in WWE, he made it clear that he wanted a match with Randy Orton, but, at the time, Orton was out of action with a shoulder injury. But now, “The Viper” is back, and he’ll need a new dance partner after his match with Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam.

The John Cena vs. AJ Styles feud has been fantastic, but an AJ Styles vs. Randy Orton feud would certainly have the potential to top it. So, even if this feud doesn’t happen right away, we’ll probably see it sooner rather than later.

  • Dean Ambrose

AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose have wrestled a couple of times since “The Phenomenal One” arrived in WWE back in January, but they have yet to have a big-time, pay-per-view match.

If Ambrose walks out of SummerSlam as the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, and if AJ Styles defeats John Cena, then it’ll be pretty safe to assume that WWE is planning on having Ambrose vs. AJ be the blue brand’s next WWE World Heavyweight Title feud.

[Image via WWE]

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News wrestling Sports smackdown summerslam dean ambrose aj styles Dolph Ziggler John Cena Randy Orton Bray Wyatt The Undertaker
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