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Mark Henry highlights how Matt Riddle defeating AJ Styles was akin to beating Shawn Michaels

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Matt Riddle made a huge debut on SmackDown by defeating AJ Styles

The world is still talking about Matt Riddle making his debut on SmackDown and beating AJ Styles.

Styles came out to celebrate winning the Intercontinental title. However, all his plans went down the drain with the Original Bro picking up the victory.

Matt Riddle wants to be known as the SmackDown Stallion (Twitter)

This was a great way to make his debut and it seems WWE is backing the Stallion to become a star. Ryan McKinnell and Mark Henry dissected this debut on the Busted Open podcast.

Henry spoke about him debuting by defeating Jerry Lawler, and went on to highlight just how big this win was:

“This is the same equivalent. AJ Styles is one of the top six wrestlers in WWE, in the entire company, not just in this company but in the world of pro-wrestling.”

AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan got into a bit of a confrontation (WWE)

Henry said Styles was going to be in the top six wrestlers in the world. McKinnell, for his part, said he could be in the top three too, which Henry agreed with.

Henry continued: “Let’s take it back 15 years ago. Matt Riddle comes in 15 years ago and they pit him against Shawn Michaels. That’s the AJ Styles equivalent right now. He beats Shawn Michaels? That’s what happened last night.

“Riddle came in and beat AJ Styles, one of the top wrestlers on the planet, in his first match on the show. Where do you go from here?”

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A big win for the Bro

The two co-hosts spoke a lot about other stars making big debuts such as Paige, who went on to win a title.

Riddle, for his part, didn’t get a title but he cemented his place on the SmackDown roster. While discussing his immediate future, the hosts believed a rivalry with Baron Corbin would be perfect.

They didn’t rule out a future challenge for the Intercontinental title, especially given that Riddle has a win over Styles.

Matt Riddle picked up a huge win on SmackDown (WWE)

A clash against Corbin would pit two opposing styles against each other. Riddle is laid back and relaxed while Corbin has been great as a heel, and it could be an interesting clash.

Riddle is a former NXT Tag team champion and he did predict winning a belt before WrestleMania 37. The Original Bro certainly seems to be something that WWE can build SmackDown around, and it will be interesting to see what is next for him.

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Saiyed Adeem Karim

Ditching a corporate job to follow a dream isn't easy, but when football comes calling, who can say no? Been following the beautiful game since 1998. Liverpool addict, F1 fanatic!