The list of dream opponents for AJ Styles is still quite long, and while there is a rumor going around which suggests that “The Phenomenal One” will be taking on his ultimate dream opponent — Shawn Michaels — at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view in January, there’s one guy on the current WWE roster that he’s dying to get in the ring with.
While speaking with ESPN, the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion was asked who his dream opponent is, and Styles revealed that it’s not Brock Lesnar, it’s not The Rock, it’s not even Triple H. His dream opponent is fellow SmackDown superstar Randy Orton.
“I always say when it comes to dream matches that is not up to me, that’s up to the WWE Universe. That’s up to the fans. But there is a guy on SmackDown that I have yet to wrestle yet that’s certainly gonna happen at some point, and that’s Randy Orton.”
Interesting photo….. is it not? pic.twitter.com/MKgF4XoAF1
— AJ Styles (@AJStylesOrg) October 20, 2016
Randy Orton is currently involved in a feud with Bray Wyatt, and, from the looks of it, the Wyatt vs. Orton feud won’t be ending anytime soon.
AJ Styles is scheduled to defend his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Dean Ambrose on Tuesday’s SmackDown show, and, depending on the finish of that match, their lengthy feud could come to an end next week.
We may see Styles and Orton in the ring together at next month’s Survivor Series show, but not as opponents. WWE is currently pushing the idea of a Raw vs. SmackDown elimination tag-team match, which will probably be the show’s semi-main event behind the Bill Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar match. So, Styles and Orton could end up being partners on November 20 in Toronto.
Randy Orton was out of action due to a shoulder injury when AJ Styles made his debut back in January, and the two have been kept apart ever since “The Viper” returned to the ring this past summer. But, if you look at the current SmackDown roster, you’ll see that it’s quite thin, and that WWE won’t be able to keep the two apart for much longer.
If the AJ Styles vs. Dean Ambrose feud does, in fact, end this coming Tuesday, then it’ll probably be a challenge for WWE to come up with Styles’ next challenger, especially if the Randy Orton vs. Bray Wyatt feud is going on.
John Cena, who is another one of SmackDown’s top stars, is currently away from WWE, as he’s in the middle of shooting the second season of the Fox reality show American Grit , and he probably won’t be returning until the end of the year. So, if WWE is looking for a new challenger for Styles, they may be forced to go with someone like Dolph Ziggler, The Miz, or even Baron Corbin.
This week’s #SDLive will be a can’t miss, as two huge matches and a major return are set for the blue brand! https://t.co/aGUjAFOnl6 pic.twitter.com/uqmNOeBMpz
— WWE (@WWE) October 22, 2016
There’s a chance that the current NXT Champion — Shinsuke Nakamura — could be brought up to the SmackDown brand before the end of the year, and if that’s the case, then WWE could make Nakamura the top contender for Styles’ WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
While speaking with the Phoenix New Times , Styles challenged Nakamura to make his way up to the SmackDown roster. The two did wrestle each other in New Japan Pro Wrestling, but they have yet to touch since they both arrived in WWE earlier this year.
If WWE decides to leave Nakamura down in NXT until after WrestleMania 33 , then they probably will go with Randy Orton as Styles’ next challenger after the Survivor Series show next month. But even if Nakamura is brought up, it would probably be hard for WWE to keep Orton and Styles apart for very much longer.
[Featured Image by WWE]