WWE News: Backstage Update On The John Cena & AJ Styles Feud

WWE might be up a creek without a paddle if it weren’t for the John Cena-AJ Styles program. You have to give the company a pass for the July 4th episode of RAW if only for them realizing that viewership would be down and not wasting a prime time show on a small audience. But holidays aside, Cena and Styles have clearly put together the most compelling angle on WWE programming since coming face-to-face for the first time, ironically, on Memorial Day.

Their storyline took an interesting turn this past Monday when it was announced that Cena would team with Enzo & Cass to take on Styles, Karl Anderson, and Luke Gallows in a six-man tag team match at Battleground. Original expectations had Cena and Styles doing battle in another singles match at the event, this time with an unnamed stipulation added in for good measure. However, that idea was obviously scrapped in an effort to elevate both tag teams involved.

Enzo & Cass find themselves neck-and-neck with The New Day as far as the most over tag teams on the roster, which is the likely reason they’ve been booked to team with Cena instead of The Usos. Jimmy and Jey may have been originally penciled in for this match at Battleground after reigniting their feud with Anderson & Gallows of The Club, but with Enzo & Cass surpassing them in terms of popularity, the call was made to make the switch.

Speaking of original plans, the feud between Cena and Styles was scripted to last up until SummerSlam in what would be the third and final installment of their one-on-one encounters. According to 411 Mania, plans still remain to move forward with the SummerSlam match as scheduled. Whether or not that will be the culmination of the Cena-Styles feud remains to be seen, but the biggest party of the summer is generally booked to feature major payoffs, and this storyline would certainly qualify.

There have been plenty of other rumors floating around claiming the WWE is planning for a John Cena vs. AJ Styles match to main event the July 19 live Smackdown, which is also the night of the highly-anticipated WWE Draft. If that were to be the case, then that match would work as the singles rematch. Expectations would be that Cena would win the Smackdown showdown with SummerSlam playing host to the rubber match. Reintroducing the second world championship into this particular story would add even more to WWE’s most intriguing rivalry.

Things are constantly changing in WWE, and the Cena-Styles program is a perfect example. If you recall, Cena had previously been slotted to face Roman Reigns at SummerSlam, but Vince McMahon and company decided to hold off for a variety of reasons, perhaps until next year’s WrestleMania. Styles, meanwhile, was originally thought of as no more than a solid working mid-carder. Clearly, his perception changed and thankfully, WWE realized they had a star on their hands in Styles. Marquee feuds with Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns and now, Cena, have proved that.

Adding Enzo & Cass, as well as the rest of The Club to the mix gives this program an added element and doesn’t force WWE officials into slapping an unnecessary stipulation on a second singles match. Instead, it should add fuel to their fire, reigniting a flame that can only be extinguished at SummerSlam when a one-on-one match will feel fresh again.

This is all assuming that Cena and Styles get drafted to the same show when the brand split is initiated. Original plans called for Reigns and Seth Rollins to headline the RAW brand, while Cena and Styles occupied the marquee on Smackdown. It will certainly be interesting to see if Reigns’ suspension throws those plans for a loop, which would have a domino effect on the captivating storyline between John Cena and AJ Styles.

[Image via WWE]