Full Projections for AJ Styles' Tenure as US Champion on WWE SmackDown Live

AJ Styles will reclaim WWE SmackDown as his show during his reign as United States champion.

The Phenomenal One will be the highlight of Tuesday nights with that title belt in hand. It will serve as a smart means to showcase him and keep him busy. 

Styles snatched the United States Championship from Kevin Owens at a live event at Madison Square Garden over the weekend.

The surprising title change was clearly WWE's way to remind fans that anything can and will happen on its stage. But this reign will be about more than shock value. It will be a thriller of a tenure thanks to Styles' in-ring magic and a steady diet of title matches.

Who will he face as champ? What impact will his reign have on the blue brand? The following is a look ahead at Styles' time in the throne.

From KO to Nakamura to Rusev

Owens isn't about to go away. We saw that on Tuesday's SmackDown when The Prizefighter interrupted a match between Styles and John Cena. 

His feud with The Phenomenal One has plenty of juice left.

KO is sure to get at least one rematch. He and Styles are set to collide at the Battleground pay-per-view on July 23.

After that, WWE is likely to look toward a dream match for SummerSlam—Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura.

That match is sure to be a classic. It's one that fans saw in Japan but not yet in the WWE realm. 

Brian Fritz of Sporting News, for one, foresees Nakamura taking on the champ come August 20:

That's not a feud that will last long, though, due to each man being a babyface. Like Sami Zayn vs. Nakamura at NXT TakeOver: Dallas, this will be a one-shot deal meant to bolster the event.

Styles will move on to a new heel afterward.

Rusev would be a great fit against him. The Bulgarian Brute has long coveted and pursued the U.S. title. He's sure to be done tangling with Cena by then as their current rivalry has "stopgap" written all over it.

And Rusev is a rising star who would benefit from banging heads with Styles.

The Open Challenge Will Be Back in Full Force

On Tuesday night, Styles issued an open challenge. Cena answered. The bout never happened, though, thanks to Rusev and Owens storming in.

WWE will return to this idea, however.

It worked tremendously well for Cena in 2015. His matches were often the highlight of the show. The challenges allowed WWE to bring in surprise names and give underused members of the roster some spotlight. The same formula will work once more.

As good as Styles is in the ring with everyone, WWE knows it can assure itself one excellent match a week by having The Phenomenal One fight off title hunters.

Fightful's Sean Ross Sapp offered some ideas for potential surprise challengers, including former U.S. champs MVP and Lance Storm: 

This is an easy way to keep Styles on SmackDown each week with no elaborate storytelling required. It will give the U.S. title some buzz, as well.

Champion of the U.S., King of SmackDown

Thanks to his presence, the appeal of the open challenge and all the great in-ring action he will produce, Styles will be the star of SmackDown.

It doesn't matter that technically the WWE Championship is higher on the company hierarchy. The U.S. title will feel like the bigger deal in the coming months.

Look for Styles to get plenty more time in the main event each Tuesday, especially if the "Jinder Mahal as WWE champ" experiment continues.

WWE knows it can build the show around Styles thanks to his stellar 2016. That is set to happen once more, only with a new piece of gold around his waist.

Styles will cling tight to his prominent spot on the blue brand by way of a thrilling reign that gets people talking about that title more than ever.

Dethroned Too Soon

History says Styles won't make it to 2018 as champ.

That won't be because of anything he is or isn't doing. WWE simply likes to move the titles around on a regular basis.

Per WWE.com, the last person to hold the U.S. title for 200 days or more was Dean Ambrose in 2013 and 2014. And that felt largely because WWE simply forgot he was champion at times.

The last few reigns have been far from lengthy.

Champion	Days as Champ
Kalisto	119
Rusev	127
Roman Reigns	107
Chris Jericho	83
Kevin Owens	29
Chris Jericho	3
Kevin Owens	66

If Styles retains the title as long as Rusev did last year, he will lose the championship before Survivor Series in November.

That won't be nearly enough time to fully dive into what Styles is capable of as the titleholder. Fans will get shorted some choice open challenge matches.

And SmackDown will lose some major electricity as a result.