10 Recent WWE Rivalries That Underwhelmed In The Ring
5. AJ Styles Vs. Kevin Owens
The 2017 Superstar Shake-up was more of a hindrance to SmackDown Live than a help, but at least they were left with two top talents in AJ Styles and Kevin Owens. They were set to feud coming out of WrestleMania 33 over the United States Championship and be positioned as the primary program on Tuesday nights due to Randy Orton vs. Jinder Mahal not being terribly exciting.
Unfortunately, Styles vs. Owens wasn't much of an improvement. Sure, their bout at Backlash 2017 was well-wrestled, but every one of their encounters after that fell flat. Their rematch at Battleground (with the botched finish) was easily the worst of the bunch and their SummerSlam match was equally underwhelming.
The only time Owens and Styles came close to contesting a classic with the star-spangled prize on the line was when Chris Jericho returned and the three battled in a Triple Threat on SmackDown. On top of that, Creative wasn't kind to their feud in the slightest and nothing was done to help elevate the U.S. title or either guy.