10 Expectations Vs. Reality For WWE WrestleMania 35

7. AJ Styles Vs. Randy Orton

Expectations Reality
WWE.com

Expectation:

15 minutes of ***3/4 fun.

Expect a match built entirely around Randy Orton's RKO, from which, across their early 2017 SmackDown belter and their exchanges in this year's Elimination Chamber, Orton and AJ Styles extracted awesome drama. That 2017 match was ace; retaining any memory of a WWE TV offering is difficult, and yet AJ's springboard RKO fake-out remains vivid in its brilliance. It will take some doing to top that, but it's something firmly expected of the audience, and a challenge relished by the two competitors involved. Well, that can be written about AJ with some certainty.

Orton, however...

Reality:

The issue with expecting a match built entirely around Orton's RKO is that Orton is keenly, cynically aware of the power it holds. He knows that he can amble about lazily in the several minutes that too often act as a mere, tedious interlude ahead of it. A chinlock here, a chinlock there, Orton leaning far too heavily into the entitled figure the storyline has portrayed him as by casually running through his Garvin stomp routine. Nobody's gonna remember this sh*t, he mutters, and he's probably right.

A slightly lethargic and aimless 12 minutes, followed by the only three minutes that matter in this GIF world.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!