10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About AJ Styles
4. That Crappy US Title Loss
WWE's decision to have AJ Styles topple Kevin Owens and become the new United States Champion in the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden on 7 July 2017 was awesome. It was a shock result on a notable house show, and it added spice to a feud that needed something extra.
Things rumbled along (with AJ losing the title then regaining it at Battleground and on SmackDown respectively) before Styles moved on from the feud with his second reign intact. By Hell in a Cell that October, he required some new opponents for the belt. WWE chose the worst ones possible.
Baron Corbin and Tye Dillinger.
Dillinger was a late addition to the US Title scene, and he was only inserted so Corbin could pin him in a three way on the main HIAC card. WWE had bigger plans for AJ in coming months, sure, but his flirtation with the United States gold ended terribly.