What's Next for Kevin Owens and AJ Styles After WWE Backlash 2017?

After Kevin Owens defeated AJ Styles by count out to retain the United States Championship at the 2017 edition of Backlash, the WWE Universe is looking forward to what is coming next in the storyline.

Owens and Styles put on an in-ring clinic at the SmackDown exclusive pay-per-view, but there is no doubt that they didn't leave it all on the table. With both competitors knowing this is likely a long-term angle, each match has to be better than the last.

The U.S. title has been an afterthought since John Cena's open challenges, and a series of battles between two of the most talented Superstars that get better each time they wrestle would add instant prestige to the secondary championship.

If the WWE Universe gets at least two more matches between Owens and Styles that are better than their Backlash bout, then wrestling fans could potentially be witnessing the best feud of the year taking shape.

From a storyline perspective, the fluke count-out win for Owens is the perfect first step to ensuring the feud carries on to not just the Money in the Bank event in June, but also Battleground in July.

Styles taking a loss on PPV is not great for his character after having such a strong first year in WWE, but getting his foot stuck in the table is a viable excuse for taking a defeat. On the other hand, the fluke victory for Owens continues to build his heel heat while still allowing him to walk out of the show with his title.

The hope with any feud, but especially an angle with as much potential as Styles vs. Owens, is that the two men only fight at the SmackDown-exclusive PPVs instead of in throwaway matches on Tuesday nights. The key to making the WWE Universe continue caring about this feud for three months is making each match feel more important than the last.

In addition to each match getting better from an in-ring perspective, WWE officials should be adding a more intense stipulation that fits the story. Following the count-out loss, the perfect caveat for the next bout at Money in the Bank would be a Falls Count Anywhere match.

Styles should win the U.S. Championship at the June show, but Owens should have a complaint coming out of the show. Owens' heel character should find any and all excuses for the loss and look to SmackDown officials to add yet another stipulation for Battleground.

Owens claiming that the Falls Count Anywhere stipulation is what cost him the title would be the next natural step toward a 2-out-of-3 Falls match. This would allow Owens to fight in a traditional format and even earn a pinfall victory, while still eventually taking the loss.

With proper storytelling, the long-term battle between Owens and Styles should be everything the WWE Universe could ever want in a feud.

For more wrestling talk, listen to Ring Rust Radio for all of the hot topics or catch the latest episode in the player above (some language NSFW).