AJ Styles, Raw-SmackDown Trade, a New Day Split and More from the Rumble Mailbag
WrestleMania season is almost here. For now, though, Royal Rumble season is here. It feels like WWE is having two WrestleManias in 2017 with the Rumble—headlined by Brock Lesnar and Goldberg—taking place in the Alamodome. With The Undertaker coming around, another blockbuster matchup could be on the horizon for AJ Styles.
New Styles
Now that Styles' feud with Dean Ambrose is (hopefully) over, he'll move forward with plans to face James Ellsworth for the fourth time. From there, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc), there's a good chance he will face The Undertaker at the 2017 Royal Rumble.
Once Styles is healed up, WWE should have the WWE world champ squash Ellsworth convincingly because it'll make him that much stronger of a potential opponent if he faces The Undertaker, and that's what Ellsworth is for.
Styles may not be The Undertaker's final opponent, but he just might represent the final opportunity for Undertaker to have one last great match.
The Miz would be a great choice to feud with Styles if The Phenomenal One was the babyface he is naturally meant to be. An Ellsworth-Styles pairing is awkward since they're both heels at the moment, and it would only make sense for Styles to continue to be a heel if he feuds with Undertaker. But a possible babyface turn coming out of the Royal Rumble would open the door for what could be an entertaining Miz-Styles clash.
SmackDown Your Trade
"@ThisIsNasty Do you think there will ever be a trade between Smackdown & Raw and if so between who?
— Carter (@JustCarter87) December 8, 2016"
Raw and SmackDown have not done enough with the trade concept during the brand split. Jack Swagger jumped ship as a free agent earlier this year, but that helped nobody. In real life, especially when it comes to sports, many disgruntled and underutilized athletes either get traded or demand a trade.
This would be an easy storyline to turn frustration into momentum. In a dream scenario, Sami Zayn would get traded for Apollo Crews. Both came with a lot of promise in the New Era but have struggled mightily to find their footing. Zayn has endured a lot of friction with Raw general manager Mick Foley of late, and writers hid Crews in the pre-show at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs.
These talented yet damaged WWE Superstars need a fresh start, and a rare trade would give them appropriate new beginnings.
The Next Day
"@ThisIsNasty who from the new day will have the most success when the group inevitably splits?
— Conor Doran (@BigD_Doran) December 8, 2016"
The New Day has been a national treasure as a unit. A potentially looming heel turn could add months, if not years, to this stable, but coming up on two strong years, one has to at least begin thinking about life after The New Day.
Big E is equipped to become the runaway singles star of The New Day. At 35 years of age, Kofi Kingston is an elder statesman in WWE. Woods, who's typically booked as a part-time manager, has a low world championship ceiling. Big E, the wildly charismatic strongman who is convincing as a tough guy in the ring, is just right.
Big E enjoyed a lengthy run as NXT champion, so he is no stranger to being pushed as a promotion's top champion. Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens and Finn Balor are past NXT champions who went on to win world championships in WWE. Then again, former NXT champions Sami Zayn, Neville and Bo Dallas have all seen their careers stall on the main roster.
There's no guarantee Big E will become a world champion once The New Day disbands, but he has the right combination of youth (30), size (5'11", 285 lbs) and charisma on his side to be a formidable choice.
