AJ Styles against Edge for the WrestleMania 38 (Twitter)
AJ Styles is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and has some staggering performances inside the squared circle. He is a household name among wrestling fans thanks to his exemplary exploits in other promotions.
Styles debuted in 1998 and competed for various independent promotions before gaining initial mainstream promotion in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 2001.
Styles shot to the limelight during his days at TNA who described him as “the corner stone of the company since its inception”. The first TNA triple crown and Grand Slam champion signed for WWE on January 20, 2016.
Styles entered the Royal Rumble at number three and lasted just under 29 minutes. It was an impressive performance by the ‘Phenomenal one’ and a sign of things to come.
AJ and Jericho had formed a tag team on RAW which defeated The New Day in two non-title matches. The band didn’t last long as Jericho and Styles lost the match against The New Day for the tag team titles. Jericho turned on Styles and attacked him brutally. Styles would go on to challenge Jericho for a match at WrestleMania 32.
The match was very entertaining as it ebbed and flowed throughout. Both the superstars countered each other quite a few times. Everyone expected Styles to win, and it would be the push that would take him to the top of the ladder in WWE. Much to the surprise of the fans, Styles lost, but his abilities in the ring were on display.
AJ was the heel figure in this storyline. He blamed Shane for his missed opportunities. Finally, his frustrations would lead him to carry out a vicious assault on Shane backstage. The match at WrestleMania was confirmed soon after.
Shane has the knack of producing great moments in his matches and one such moment was when he attempted ‘Leap of Faith’ which Styles managed to avoid. Shane delivered ‘coast-to-coast’ but Styles wouldn’t give up. Styles was looking to finish the match with a ‘Phenomenal forearm’ but Shane countered it into a triangle choke. Eventually, Shane attempted a shooting star press which Styles avoided, and this time he executed the ‘Phenomenal forearm’ to score the victory. This was AJ’s first win at WrestleMania.
This was rightly touted as a dream match. Nakamura – ‘The King of Strong Style’ was a superstar even before he appeared in WWE just like AJ Styles. Both have tremendous wrestling acumen and have traveled the world. Everyone was in anticipation of this legendary matchup.
Styles and Nakamura both dealt some heavy blows before Styles countered Nakamura’s ‘Kinshasa’ into a Styles Clash to retain his WWE Championship.
Nakamura would turn heel right after the match. He would deliver a low blow and follow it up with a ‘kinshasa’ to leave AJ reeling.
Randy Orton is WWE’s talent. Someone who has carried the industry and also played the venomous heel character when John Cena used to be the face in the company. Orton’s dedication to WWE and worth ethics are second to none. This match was a timeless classic.
Both superstars looked close to sealing the victory on various occasions but it was Styles, who came out with the W, in the end, courtesy of a second ‘phenomenal forearm’. It could be considered as Styles” best ‘Mania match to date.
This is undoubtedly the coolest match in Styles’ career. The Undertaker cost Styles the Tuwaiq Mountain Trophy and another match against Aleister Black to kickstart the feud. Styles would get personal in his promos and challenge The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania.
Due to the pandemic, crowd wasn’t allowed at WrestleMania. This match took place in a spooky setting and as the name goes – Boneyard Match.
The Undertaker would end up burying Styles. This match was more of a celebration of The Undertaker, and him bringing all his three personas to defeat Styles. It was like a Hollywood horror movie with a lot of elegance.
The Undertaker got the victory but there were many moments throughout the build up and the match itself that wowed the fans.
This match could easily be termed as the worst WrestleMania match of Styles’ career. Omos was AJ’s bodyguard during 2020 and his in-ring debut on the main roster happened to be in this very match. The New Day tried their best to keep the towering Omos at bay by not allowing Styles to make the tag. Their efforts lasted only for a little while. Once AJ made the tag, it was all one-way traffic. Styles and Omos would capture the Raw Tag Team Titles in the process.
This will be a match for the ages and might become one of AJ’s best matches of all time.
Fans have been buzzing, ever since the clash between these two titans has been announced.
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