AJ Styles' Last Hurrah as WWE Headliner, AEW's Most Tired Tropes, More Quick Takes

In addition to the ongoing Bloodline drama, the top takeaway from SmackDown as of late has been the renewed singles push for AJ Styles.

Friday's episode saw The Phenomenal One best Jimmy Uso in the main event before being laid out by Solo Sikoa. It might be months before Roman Reigns returns to defend his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship, but if he resurfaces sooner than expected, Reigns vs. Styles must be booked.

It's been years since Styles was last utilized at this level, so if it's designed to be his last hurrah as a headliner, fans can expect him to make the most of the opportunity and knock it out of the park as usual.

No Battle Royals, tournaments or open challenges are needed to make that match happen. All Elite Wrestling can take a page out of WWE's playbook in that respect and not run the same three gimmicks into the ground.

This installment of Quick Takes will tackle AEW's most tired tropes, which Raw Superstar could be SmackDown-bound and when, how to handle LA Knight's surging momentum, and more.

AJ Styles' Main Event Spotlight Is Long Overdue

WWE has marginalized AJ Styles for the better part of the past three years, and only now is he getting his just due as a main event player again.

From being relegated to the tag team ranks with Omos to an underwhelming feud with Edge to reuniting with a largely-directionless O.C., he has hardly been used in a meaningful manner since 2020.

That said, this apparent rivalry with Roman Reigns and the rest of The Bloodline can be exactly what he needs to get back on track toward the top of the card.

His back-to-back main event matches with Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa on SmackDown are an encouraging sign that he's headed for an eventual championship clash with Reigns. Of course, he won't capture the title, but being in that spot alone would be a massive upgrade over anything he's done in recent memory.

Styles proved in his excellent outing against Seth Rollins for the World Heavyweight Championship at Night of Champions that he can still compete at an elite level.

The end of his in-ring career is drawing near, and thus WWE should be booking the 46-year-old as a top talent for however much time he has left.

LA Knight vs. Roman Reigns Is Inevitable

LA Knight's big Battle Royal win at SummerSlam indicated he was on the ascent, and the follow-up has shown WWE is behind him.

Per PWInsider, the self-proclaimed Megastar is on the verge of signing a new long-term deal with that would keep him with the company for the next five years. This was reported to be the final piece of the puzzle needed for his main event push to move forward.

It was added that WWE will soon him have internally slotted as the top babyface on SmackDown, which should come as no surprise based on his strong crowd reaction, social media metrics, merchandise and more.

That would have to make a match between him and Reigns inevitable.

As previously noted, The Tribal Chief's schedule for the remainder of 2023 is up in the air and no upcoming title defenses are set in stone. If he is on track to lose the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 40, it would be booking malpractice for these two to collide for the title sometime before then.

The seeds were planted during a backstage segment on SmackDown with Knight and Paul Heyman. It's no different than what WWE did with Reigns and Sami Zayn a month before 'Mania this year.

Knight has gotten himself so over with the audience to the point where keeping him out of the main event will become increasingly difficult as time goes on.

Battle Royals, Tournaments and Open Challenges Have Lost Their Luster in AEW

Death, taxes and AEW booking a Battle Royal, a tournament or an open challenge for one of their weekly shows are among life's few certainties.

The three concepts have been staples for the promotion since its inception nearly five years ago, and while they're almost always executed properly, they're beyond overdone to the point where they don't mean anywhere near as much as they should.

It was especially egregious this past week with there being an excessive amount of all three.

A tournament got underway to determine MJF's next AEW World Championship challenger and carried over into Rampage and Collision, there were Battle Royals on the Sep. 1 Rampage and at All Out, and multiple championship open challenges were held.

One of each occasionally would work, but instead they've gradually become AEW's most tired tropes and it's rightfully one of the biggest knocks against the product right now.

Toning down the tournaments, Battle Royals and open challenges can help restore excitement to the shows and not give everything such a sense of sameness.

Stronger storytelling is needed above all else, and that can't be accomplished until the other distractions are kept to a minimum and only used for special circumstances.

Jade Cargill's Return Gives Kris Statlander Much-Needed Direction

Kris Statlander's long-awaited return at Double or Nothing in May when she defeated Jade Cargill almost immediately for the AEW TBS Championship made for a monumental momentum and gave Statlander a big boost her first night back.

She's gone on to defend the title against a variety of opponents on TV in quality matches, but she doesn't feel anywhere near as special as she did the night she captured the championship.

The mediocre follow-up, combined with the lack of credible challengers, made it hard for fans to care about her reign, at least until Cargill made her triumphant comeback.

Sure enough, Cargill received a strong reaction for saving Statlander from The Renegades before laying her out as well. Now the two can pick up where they left off and make the TBS title worth fighting for again.

The AEW women's division desperately needs more interesting storylines and rivalries, and Statlander vs. Cargill could help fill the void as well as establish the former as a worthy champ who takes on all comers, including a notable name such as the latter.

Cody Rhodes Being Traded to SmackDown Doesn't Need to Be Imminent

Jey Uso being unveiled as Raw's newest acquisition was quite the development at Payback, and WWE was wise to waste no time in offering a storyline explanation for it on Monday.

Adam Pearce noted that the red brand was only able to land Uso because SmackDown was looking for a significant trade in return. Several Superstars were speculated as being headed for the blue brand, though no one make more sense than Cody Rhodes.

If the idea is for Rhodes and Reigns to run it back at WrestleMania 40, The American Nightmare wouldn't need to win a second consecutive men's Royal Rumble match to earn another title shot if he's already on SmackDown. That's still a possibility, but either way, he is a perfect fit for the blue brand.

Pearce didn't make the trade sound urgent when he mentioned it twice on television last week, so WWE should hold off on bringing Rhodes to the blue brand for at least another month or two.

There aren't many heels for him to work with on Friday nights beyond Reigns, not to mention that it would be illogical for Rhodes to leave Raw before he can have his highly anticipated World Heavyweight Championship match against Seth Rollins.

Once he settles that score, he can finally make the move to SmackDown and rekindle his rivalry with Reigns just in time for WrestleMania season.

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Graham Mirmina, aka Graham "GSM" Matthews, has specialized in sports and entertainment writing since 2010. Visit his website, WrestleRant, and subscribe to his YouTube channel for more wrestling-related content.