8 HUGE WWE Night Of Champions 2023 Predictions You Need To Know

4. Seth "Freakin" Rollins Vs. AJ Styles

AJ Styles Night Of Champions
WWE.com

Seth Rollins and AJ Styles are in a difficult spot before the bell even rings in Saudi Arabia.

They enter into this tournament final with a pressure they’ve faced before but one that pervades - these are two men that should guarantee you the best match on a show, with anything less than destined to exist forever as a crushing disappointment.

High enough stakes without the secondary job of getting a less-than-secondary title to feel like the richest prize. These cards have played host to unintentionally hilarious token gestures in the past (the Tuwaiq Mountain trophy looked like a p*ss-stained ice sculpture and the bizarre Greatest Royal Rumble belt was never seen about Braun Strowman’s person within hours of him winning the thing, but Rollins and Styles are tasked trying to make people forget about the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship while sharing a card with an Undisputed WWE Universal Champion that will be draped in gold for the full duration of his 20-minute entrance.

They share the skills to do it of course. Both are experts at telling broad brushstroke WWE stories while simultaneously flexing their immensely skilled hybrid styles. But the personas they portray are worlds apart, with Rollins’ preposterous visage being the perfect role to generate the Confused AJ meme on the man himself. Styles growing increasingly bothered by his opponent’s film commitments of late lend credence to him being the more serious of the two too, even if Rollins’ aspirations are hiding behind the bluster.

It’s the former Shield man’s title to lose, but he may gain a brand new rival in the aftermath. Expect a Styles heel turn after losing, if not just for him to exact revenge for a damaging loss, but to put over that he did want that new title after all. That’s a booking win/win/win, as glistening gold compromises go.

Winner - Seth "Freakin" Rollins

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 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 over 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 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana 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