AJ Styles Defeats Shane McMahon at WWE WrestleMania 33 with Phenomenal Forearm

AJ Styles picked up the first WrestleMania victory of his career Sunday at WrestleMania 33, defeating Shane McMahon.

McMahon has never shied away from taking big risks, and that mentality cost him against Styles. He attempted a shooting star press that likely would've won him the match if it connected. Instead, Styles moved out of the way, and McMahon ate nothing but canvas.

WhatCulture's Adam Pacitti praised McMahon's form despite the miss:

That gave Styles and opening to hit the Phenomenal Forearm and get the pinfall.

WWE shared a photo of the former world champion having his hand raised:

Bleacher Report's Kevin Berge enjoyed the match:

SB Nation's Cageside Seats praised both competitors:

After feeling as though he was robbed of the opportunity to compete for the WWE Championship on the Grandest Stage of Them All, Styles targeted the SmackDown Live commissioner.

Styles and Luke Harper were declared co-winners of a battle royal to determine a new No. 1 contender after Randy Orton gave up his title shot, and then the Phenomenal One defeated Harper in a singles match to stake a claim.

Orton later decided he did want to face Bray Wyatt, though, and he beat Styles in another match for the No. 1 contender spot.

Without a spot on the WrestleMania card, Styles took matters into his own hands by jumping McMahon in the parking garage and smashing his head through a car window.

That prompted Shane-O-Mac to challenge Styles to a match at the Ultimate Thrill Ride, and Styles accepted the bout.

In an effort to get some payback on Styles a couple of weeks prior to WrestleMania, McMahon sent him crashing through the announce table with an elbow drop on SmackDown. 

A contract signing followed the next week, and despite his differences with Styles, Shane was highly complimentary, per WWE's official Twitter account:

Even so, he warned Styles that taking him lightly would be a mistake and that it could lead to a huge WrestleMania upset.

Despite that, Styles made it clear that he intended to make a statement at the Showcase of Immortals:

Styles is arguably the best in-ring performer in the business today, while McMahon has long been considered one of the biggest risk-takers.

The dichotomy between Styles and Shane made for an intriguing matchup, and the lack of a hardcore stipulation seemingly gave the Phenomenal One the advantage.

McMahon had little to lose and everything to gain as the underdog, while Styles needed a win to solidify himself as a title contender moving forward.

Styles managed to put himself back in that conversation and showed why he refers to himself as the Face That Runs the Place.

Listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot wrestling topics. Catch the latest episode in the player above (warning: some language NSFW).