Ever since AJ Styles debuted in WWE in late January, he’s pretty much been involved with Chris Jericho in one way or another. After Jericho betrayed Styles and turned heel for the second time in a month, everyone thought it was leading to a fourth match between the two at WrestleMania 32 . Well, it appears WWE may have another idea in mind and may have Styles go after the Intercontinental Title currently held by Kevin Owens.
Once Y2AJ broke up, it seemed almost inevitable that AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho IV was going to take place on April 3. Even yesterday on Monday Night Raw , Jericho was beating down Neville and it brought about a save from AJ Styles as recapped by the WWE website.
Daily DDT is also thinking of three possible stipulations that could be added to Styles/Jericho IV to up the excitement a bit. It could be a submission match or “Loser Leaves Town” match, but that is if WWE is still going in that direction.
In the same breath of that match, Neville has been rumored to be part of a multi-man ladder matchfor the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania 32 . While that match has not been confirmed, it was simply thought that he would be a part of it.
As for the Intercontinental Title, Kevin Owens was out earlier at the announcer table for a match between Sami Zayn and The Miz. Both of those competitors are also rumored to be in that multi-man title match when, and if, it is announced.
Neville won’t be able to be in the match though as his ankle injury suffered on Raw will have him out of action for about a month.
Now though, WWE may be throwing a curve ball into the WrestleMania 32 mix, and it picked up some speed on Tuesday.
BREAKING: #ICChampion @FightOwensFight will go one-on-one with @AJStylesOrg THIS THURSDAY on #SmackDown at 8/7c! pic.twitter.com/kwyL1i2YNk
— WWE (@WWE) March 15, 2016
For those who don’t remember, there is some history between these two superstars and even just in the short amount of time that AJ Styles has been in WWE. Kevin Owens is actually the one that eliminated Styles from his debut match in the Royal Rumble battle royal.
After that, the two exchanged words and Owens talked some trash, but nothing ever came of it.
Lately, Owens and Styles have been facing off against one another at house shows. On Saturday night, they were in Atlantic City and faced off in a 30-minute Iron Man match which was said to be very good and ended in a 2-1 win by Owens.
Cageside Seats reported that after the match was over, Kevin Owens got on the mic and put over AJ Styles. The two did shake hands and Owens then said he hopes to face Styles again soon, but for the Intercontinental Title this time.
It was a cool shoot promo which then ended with Owens slipping back into character and Styles getting the upper-hand to finish it off.
The weekend’s events combined with the announcement of the Owens/Styles match on SmackDown appears to have them all headed for the multi-man title match at WrestleMania 32 per Wrestling Inc.
Last year at WrestleMania 31 , WWE had a huge six-man ladder match for the Intercontinental Title, and it was incredible. Daniel Bryan ended up winning the title in a bout that saw some great spots and a lot of good action.
If things go the way the action has gone in the past couple of weeks, it looks like the multi-man match could include:
- Kevin Owens – champion
- AJ Styles
- Chris Jericho
- The Miz
- Sami Zayn
- Dolph Ziggler
If WWE decides to go that way for the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania 32 , it would certainly thrill the fans. All of those superstars are great workers and it would give AJ Styles and Sami Zayn title shots in their very first WrestleMania appearances.
[Image via WWE]