7 Most Insane Things Happening In Wrestling Right Now (March 10)

3. Yes, We Are Getting AJ Styles Vs. Shane McMahon At WrestleMania

Shane McMahon AJ Styles
WWE

After wrestling the best debut year in WWE history since Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar, AJ Styles has been awarded for his efforts with a match against non-wrestler Shane McMahon.

It isn't that much of a demotion, contrary to the collective conniption fit many fans have suffered since the match was first mooted. WWE is placing Styles in this match because they are confident he can do something special with him. That said, Styles has just wrestled the best TV match of the year opposite Randy Orton on this week's SmackDown. That finishing sequence - in which Styles anticipated a catch RKO, caused Orton to land flat on his a*se, only to fall prey to a pop-up RKO seconds later - was absolutely blinding. It's difficult to imagine Shane and AJ topping that fifteen second sequence even with fifteen minutes with which to work.

The booking has been handled very well, so there's that. Shane deemed Styles worthy of the WrestleMania WWE Title bout, underlining his neutrality. The rivalry has been built for a while, and built quite well. But, infuriatingly, we're almost guaranteed an absolutely illogical back and forth match in which Shane somehow reveals himself capable of going hold for hold with the universally-recognised best wrestler on the planet. He was positioned as 'Taker's equal last year because Shane is just really tough, even though he's a corporate executive.

Just become a full-time wrestler if you're that hard, Shane. Your talents are being wasted!

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!