5 reasons why AJ Styles should retain his title at Summerslam 2018

AJ Styles debuted in WWE two years ago, and quickly ascended to the top of the mountain in WWE. His meteoric rise was phenomenal(pun intended) to say the least, and has seen its highs and lows in WWE. AJ has spent over 50% of his time in WWE as a champion and the rest as a challenger.

Styles has had feuds against Superstars like John Cena, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Shinsuke Nakamura a.k.a the creme de crop of WWE. He has rarely underperformed or failed to meet the expectations and has become a strong contender for the top superstar of this generation.

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AJ defeated Jinder Mahal in a much talked about match in Manchester,England, to win his second title last November. His current reign has featured feuds with the likes of Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura and most recently, Samoa Joe. However, all these feuds have been underwhelming and couldn't reach the heights of his 2016 run.

AJ still has a lot to offer as the champion, and we look at five reasons which underline this fact.

#5 A stacked SmackDown Live roster

Orton vs Styles on SmackDown Live — Don't you want to see them collide again?

WWE did SmackDown Live a huge favour in April by stacking the blue brand with some of the best talent on the roster along with the returning Daniel Bryan. AJ Styles, who previously did not have quality heels to defend his title against, received a plethora of such superstars. The likes of Sanity, Andrade "Cien" Almas, Samoa Joe, etc. made Smackdown Live a must watch show.

AJ Styles as the top Champion could face any of the above mentioned superstars, and it could make for a mouth-watering encounter. Randy Orton, who has taken to the dark side of late, and the Miz, arguably the best heel in WWE today, also feature in the heel side of Smackdown Live roster. AJ is 41 and doesn't have a lot of years left in his career. This is his best opportunity to check few boxes of his bucket list.

#4 The Gem that's on the Game

AJ Styles was announced as the cover star of WWE's biggest game, WWE 2K19. It was a big honor for an individual who was competing on the independent scene less than three years ago! AJ's rise has been nothing short of legendary and WWE's faith in him keeps on increasing with each passing day.

Having your top Champion as the face of your prized offering is a dream of any company. WWE have a universally adored superstar as their cover star and wouldn't want to diminish his reputation a bit.

The Face that Runs the Place is in a prime position now, and WWE along with the fans would like to see that continue.

#3 Lack of build-up to Summerslam

Image result for samoa joe aj style — The two stalwarts have underwhelmed in this feud so far

A feud between Samoa Joe and AJ Styles, two former nemesis, was expected to blow the roof and become a major talking point. However, WWE's failure to write quality material in the build-up to this match has made it underwhelming. A feud like this deserves more drama and intensity, which is sorely lacking.

AJ Styles has become the longest reigning champion on SmackDown, moving ahead of former commentator John Bradshaw Layfield. Styles' reign has already made it into the history books. His long and historic reign culminating in a underwhelming feud will not do good for anyone involved.

#2 AJ Styles surpassing CM Punk's title reign

WWE and CM Punk are definitely not on the best of terms since the latter's walkout in 2014. Four years have passed since CM Punk decided enough's enough and quit professional wrestling. His recent foray into MMA hasn't gone well either, but a return to his former sport doesn't look in sight.

CM Punk held the WWE Championship for over 400 days, to become the longest reigning WWE Champion in the Modern Era. Brock Lesnar surpassed Punk's reign albeit with the Universal Championship. WWE has tried to eliminate CM Punk from its programming in recent years and hence, AJ overtaking Punk's record in coming months shouldn't come as a surprise.

#1 A potential Main-Event at WrestleMania

https://givemesport.azureedge.net/images/17/12/23/d4490860e6d38b5d47d9371cc1b05ecd/960.jpg — These two at Wrestlemania will be a dream come true

AJ Styles, the longest reigning WWE Champion in Modern Era, defending his title against a history seeking John Cena at WrestleMania. It will be a sight to behold for the WWE Universe, if it comes true. AJ Styles, for all the great things he has done in WWE, is yet to main-event a WrestleMania despite being the face of the company for the last two years.

This run with the WWE Championship is a golden opportunity for WWE to make AJ Styles the historic champion he deserves to be, and give him the moment of a lifetime. AJ will join an elite list of WWE Superstars to have main-evented WrestlemMania and will go down in history-books as one of the greatest Superstars to have ever graced a WWE ring.

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Edited by Rohit Nath