AJ Styles Vs. Dean Ambrose To Main Event WWE SmackDown Next Week
Can Ambrose earn himself a WWE World Championship shot?
Last night's SmackDown Live saw reigning WWE World Champion AJ Styles retain his title in a disqualification loss to James Ellsworth, but he has a far greater task ahead of him next week.
On Talking Smack, SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan was confronted by an angry Styles, who'd been left embarrassed by rival Dean Ambrose for the second week running. AJ demanded Bryan give him Ambrose, and the match was made for next week.
But it won't just be a regular grudge match: if Ambrose wins, he will be the new number one contender to Styles' WWE Championship.
Ambrose hasn't had the best of luck against Styles lately. The Lunatic Fringe dropped the championship to AJ at Backlash in September, lost a 1-on-1 rematch on SmackDown a few weeks later, then failed to recapture the belt in No Mercy's Triple Threat (also including Cena).
Dean has another opportunity to earn a title shot, but it remains to be seen when the next WWE World Championship match will actually take place. AJ Styles is widely expected to be taking part in one of Survivor Series' traditional 5-on-5 matches this year, and John Cena is also set to appear at the November pay-per-view.