8 New Directions For WWE Champion AJ Styles

4. Late MOTY Contender

AJ Styles Sami Zayn
WWE.com

OR, new WWE Champion AJ Styles could clash with SmackDown's other top heel, in Sami Zayn, at Clash of Champions. What a phenomenal sentence that is to write.

This is a more exciting and realistic proposition - it's fresher, and would embody the careful-what-you-wish-for trope so beloved of WWE in the General Manager Era, landing it firmly in the confines of reality - despite how fantastical it reads on paper. What a match it would be, too: allocated 25 minutes with which to formally restore fan relations - which, optimistically, might be the impetus behind last night's title switch - Styles and Zayn would tear down the d*mn house in the traditional WWE stronghold of Boston. A molten atmosphere is practically guaranteed.

Zayn, unlike Owens, is better equipped to withstand a high-profile loss. He's new to the heel role - really, any role of proper significance. Zayn went 0.5 with forgotten man Mike Kanellis over the summer months.

Anything is an upgrade on that. A narrow loss to AJ Styles in a PPV classic is a rare win/win in the era of meaningless wins and losses.

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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!