AJ Styles has extra incentive to challenge Roman Reigns if he wins the Royal Rumble.
The Phenomenal One returned to Friday Night SmackDown on January 29, utilizing the quarterly brand-to-brand invitation, confronting Daniel Bryan during the opening segment of the show. Not only would the RAW Superstar compete in the main event, but he stopped by Talking Smack to chat with Kayla Braxton and Paul Heyman.
AJ said that he is unsure of who he will challenge if he wins the Royal Rumble match, but Paul Heyman informed him that there is only one option if his intention is headlining WrestleMania. According to Heyman, Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles is more than box office gold, it would be platinum. AJ responded with the following:
"That sounds good, doesn't it Omos, but it's my decision, and I will make that decision Monday, maybe, or Friday. Let's just say I choose to go after the Universal Championship and I beat Roman Reigns at WrestleMania, and he's no longer sitting at the head of the table, he's no longer the alpha. What that means, ultimately, is that you would be out of a job, and nothing would make me happier than to see you out of a job. Yeah, that'd be great."
In July Styles said that he was angry with Heyman for getting his friends Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows put on WWE's "cut list." Heyman was fired from his position as executive director of RAW on June 11, just weeks after Styles was moved to SmackDown. Gallows and Anderson now work for IMPACT Wrestling where they serve as the Tag Team Champions, also appearing alongside The Elite on AEW Dynamite.
AJ Styles will be competing in the Men's Royal Rumble Match this Sunday, while Roman Reigns will be defending his Universal Championship in a Last Man Standing Match versus Kevin Owens.
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