10 Reasons Why The 2019 Royal Rumble Will Be The Best Ever

6. A Potential Classic Of A WWE Championship Match

Monday Night Rollins
WWE

Re-watched in it entirety, the storytelling within the Daniel Bryan Vs. AJ Styles programme is legitimately outstanding.

It's all in Bryan's eyes. In the first match, he sold a sense of quiet panic and dismay; having injured himself in the early phase, he was all too aware that he faced a battle to level up to a man that had surpassed him in recent years. The match reflected the failure of his babyface character. In his second, successful attempt to unseat AJ, his eyes wandered throughout, as if searching deep within his conflicted psyche for a way to win. In the end, he won by any means necessary. Having fully reconciled the betrayal to himself, at TLC, the literally renewed Bryan, still searching - he called this "deep thinking" - discovered a new layer of his immaculate in-ring genius and trapped AJ in an array of new holds and counters to retain his title.

The story culminates on Sunday. With Bryan's famed in-ring IQ at its most formidable, he'll know exactly how to play to the bumper, stadium-sized crowd - and the story, brilliantly, justifies the broader and more pulsating match best suited to it.

Bryan is at his most intelligent, Styles at his most motivated - a dynamic that should erupt into a firecracker for the ages.

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!