The Case for AJ Styles to Retain WWE Championship Through WrestleMania 33

It's January 2017, and AJ Styles season is still in full effect. And while every independent wrestling publication with a niche, male following showers him with well-deserved "wrestler of the year" awards, WrestleMania season may prove to be the biggest test to his current position atop the SmackDown Live roster.

The returns of The Undertaker, John Cena, Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, (likely) Triple H and others will not only make it difficult for Styles to stand out, but it could also push him out of a potential WWE Championship match at WrestleMania 33.

With a WWE Championship match against Cena at the Royal Rumble and a possible Elimination Chamber match on the horizon, who knows whether Styles' reign will be able to survive the upcoming gauntlet that precedes WWE's biggest show of the year? But it should.

Styles has easily been the most consistent star on SmackDown Live, and that should be celebrated come April.

Win or lose, Cena will be in a main event-caliber match at WrestleMania. Being in a John Cena match at WrestleMania is the equivalent to being in a world title match. Cena does not need a world title during WrestleMania season. Styles does.

With recent news that WWE is reportedly going away from Cena vs. The Undertaker, per Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Raj Giri of Wrestling Inc), Styles makes for Undertaker's most compatible opponent, given the dynamic of speed vs. size and Styles' ability to have great matches with a wide range of performers.

Undertaker recently announced his bid for the Royal Rumble match, and he should be considered the favorite. Styles' match against John Cena can easily be considered a toss-up, but the current heel WWE champion feuding with Undertaker would bring the best villain out of Styles, who is often cheered for his outstanding in-ring ability.

Styles recently opened up to Ben Flanagan of AL.com (h/t Giri) about his struggles as a heel:

"Sometimes I feel like if I'm not getting people to boo me, then I'm not doing my job right. So that's on me. I need to be better about being the bad guy. And sometimes they just refuse. These fans just refuse to accept me as the bad guy. That has a lot to do with how much time I spent outside the WWE and coming here and doing so well, they respect that, I guess you could say. But it's up to me to make sure that these fans find a way to boo me."

As evidenced by his heavily anticipated appearance on Raw, nobody is going to boo The Undertaker. WWE has preserved Undertaker's legacy through rare appearances, and seeing The Deadman compete for possibly his final world title at WrestleMania will give Styles all the firepower he needs to become a natural heel for the first time since he debuted in WWE.