WWE Royal Rumble 2017: 10 Potential Main Events
9. AJ Styles Vs. Austin Aries
On the SmackDown side of the event, many rumors have already been circulating regarding who will be battling in the Tuesday night's show marquee match.
After his victory over Dean Ambrose at TLC on December 4, AJ Styles looks poised to roll into San Antonio as the WWE World Champion. AJ's feud with Ambrose appears to be all but over now that James Ellsworth looks to be transitioning over to work with the Lunatic Fringe.
So where does that leave The Phenomenal One?
Well, first off, it leaves him as the reigning WWE World Champion and we know that WWE is going to want to present his match as a major drawing point of this year's Royal Rumble pay-per-view. What better way to get fans' attention and create hype for AJ's next opponent than to make it a call-up from NXT and fellow TNA alum, Austin Aries?
Aries has done his required time down in Orlando working in NXT and, like all of NXT's top stars, his bump card is only getting bigger. This means the clock is ticking on Aries and with SmackDown in desperate need of some new top stars, he could be plugged in to fill that role, even if only for the interim.