Baron Corbin vs. AJ Styles Will Be Pivotal WWE SmackDown Feud for the Lone Wolf

Baron Corbin is poised to receive the potential cure for his fading momentum—a rivalry with WWE United States champion AJ Styles.

A series of lackluster feuds, a failed Money in the Bank cash-in and a shortage of standout moments have the Lone Wolf heading in the wrong direction. His brewing feud with Styles will help answer the question of whether the emerging star will be a major player for SmackDown or an NXT bust.

Weeks ago, it looked as if Corbin was destined to be the next WWE champion.

He won the Money in the Bank ladder match in June and stalked the blue brand with the contract-filled briefcase he won that night. Corbin, though, fell to Jinder Mahal in mere seconds when he did cash in, and a loss to John Cena at SummerSlam followed.

Corbin is suddenly a punchline as Natalya showed us on Tuesday:

But the former Gold Gloves boxer isn't buried by any stretch. He went from tangling with Cena to antagonizing Styles.

On Tuesday's SmackDown, he interrupted the champ's U.S. title open challenge, ambushing Tye Dillinger at ringside. The Lone Wolf promised to go after Styles and tried to attack him after his bout with The Perfect 10.

Add that to the fact that Corbin and Styles got physical last week when the former was the referee for a U.S. title match, and the signs are clear. The Phenomenal One will soon be battling Corbin.

That's great news for the former NXT standout.

Styles is the best in-ring performer on WWE's roster today. He has delivered more top-notch matches in the past two years than some wrestlers do in their entire careers.

But that will up the expectations for Corbin moving forward.

Styles has made everyone he faced looked good. Even James Ellsworth of all people made noise in the ring with him.

Corbin certainly needs to bolster his resume. Despite facing talent such as Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura and Cena, he doesn't have a true signature match to his name. His bout with Cena at SummerSlam was one of the pay-per-view's worst.

Wrestling Observer Newsletter founder Dave Meltzer (h/t Internet Wrestling Database) has yet to rate any of Corbin's one-on-one matches higher than three stars.

There's no better way to change that than a series of battles with the high-octane in-ring artist Styles.

This will be another high-profile story for Corbin. He'll have every chance to show he can hang with top talent.

Going face-to-face with Styles on SmackDown will be a huge opportunity to mix it up with a big-time star.

Corbin has been hit or miss on the mic to this point. None of his rivalries have been especially electric. That could change with Styles as his foil.

This is a must-seize moment, though.

Underwhelming results against Styles after so-so showings against Nakamura and Cena would be disastrous. If Corbin can't flourish opposite Styles, WWE is going to have some serious doubts about him going forward.