8 New Directions For WWE Champion AJ Styles
1. A Most Anticipated Rematch
AJ Style Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10, was a masterclass. The taunting body language destroyed the perception that matches held outside of WWE are mere spotfests, the action was a dramatic fusion of stupidly stiff strikes and breathless counters, and the storytelling was a cathartic build and release in which Styles' slimy, injury-feigning heel work was rewarded with a brutal reckoning.
Their brief confrontation at this year's Money In The Bank pay-per-view tore the house down - though worryingly, Styles had to petition for it. As worrying as that revelation was, it's also reassuring to remember that WWE have resisted the temptation to trot their first WWE singles encounter on a random episode of SmackDown. They know it's a big deal - big enough to grace the Grandest Stage?
AJ Styles Vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, for the WWE Heavyweight Title, at WrestleMania, is the WWE de rigueur dream match. Afforded the ultimate platform, there is no doubt whatsoever that a classic beckons. If AJ's second reign with the WWE Heavyweight Title exists as a belated apology for the Mahal Malaise, Styles Vs. Nakamura in New Orleans is the most beautiful bouquet of flowers to allow scorned fans to forgive.
It's a match Nakamura would need to win, obviously, ending this theoretical exercise - but since Styles delivered a brilliant match with Jinder last night, WWE can essentially travel any path they please and still end up at destination: critical acclaim.
That's why the euphoria just about suppresses the cyncism.