Dean Ambrose vs. AJ Styles Announced for WWE Backlash 2016 PPV

AJ Styles beat Dolph Ziggler to earn a shot against Dean Ambrose for the WWE World Championship at Backlash on Sept. 11.

Styles connected with a Styles Clash to earn the win Tuesday night on SmackDown Live, courtesy of WWE:

Ariya Daivari, who competed in the Cruiserweight Classic, had conflicting emotions after watching Styles stand victorious:

"

The fan in me wants to see AJ Styles win his first WWE world title at Mania. The wrestler in me thinks he should have won it 10 years ago.

— Ariya Daivari (@AriyaDaivari411) August 24, 2016"

Styles has been in WWE for less than a year, but he's arguably the wrestler most deserving of a world title run on either the Raw or SmackDown Live roster. He did great work in TNA and got even better during his time with New Japan Pro Wrestling.

His arrival in WWE was long overdue, and unlike some other stars to make the jump from TNA/NJPW, he made a seamless transition to the main roster.

Styles is also coming off the biggest win of his WWE career at SummerSlam. He beat John Cena cleanly on Sunday night in one of the best matches on the card. The fact that Styles now owns two head-to-head victories over Cena is a significant indicator of the company's confidence in his abilities.

Not only is Ambrose vs. Styles a good match on paper, but the two wrestlers have been extremely good on the microphone in recent weeks as well. Ambrose is so much more effective when he's showing a level of seriousness and not stealing hot dog carts and squirting ketchup and mustard on people.

The more grounded version of Ambrose verbally sparring with Styles over the next few weeks will make for great television.