10 Things We Learned From WWE SmackDown (April 18)

6. Counting On AJ

Jinder Mahal
WWE.com

AJ Styles is the best wrestler in the world.

Said because it bears repeating just about every week, Tuesday's edition of SmackDown Live! proved yet again why he is the most valuable asset in the entire company.

Tasked with battling Baron Corbin to a count-out in the main event of the broadcast whilst building a feud-that-isn't-yet-a-feud with Kevin Owens, Styles exhibited his typical versatility to work an excellent television match and interact meaningfully with the United States Champion.

A babyface catchphrase has possibly never been truer in wrestling - SmackDown Live! really is the house AJ built, and he continues to exemplify this by elevating whatever he's working on to main event status.

His position holds such prestige that Baron Corbin's previous two weeks have been his strongest since moving up from NXT just by virtue of sharing the ring with him. 'The Lone Wolf' looks like he belongs amongst the very top talents on the brand, despite his relatively short spell on the main roster. He can thank the peerless Styles for that.

As it stands, Randy Orton will face a brand new challenger if he survives Bray Wyatt's House of Horrors (more on that later), but it's not a main event if 'The Phenomenal One' isn't in it.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett