Best WrestleMania Roles for AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn After Royal Rumble

AJ Styles overcame the odds to retain the WWE Championship and defeat Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a handicap match at the Royal Rumble on Sunday night.

Styles countered an attempted pop-up powerbomb into a pinning combination to earn the victory. WWE showed Styles holding the title aloft:

The story may not be over, though, as it appeared Zayn didn't tag Owens into the match before the pinfall. As a result, Owens wasn't the legal man when the referee counted to three, so the match shouldn't have ended.

Styles' victory suggests he will enter WrestleMania 34 with the title in tow, which means he will likely be featured in one of the event's headline matches. Things aren't quite as clear for Owens and Zayn, however.

Had Owens and Zayn won Sunday, they would have been the first co-WWE champions, which would have made for a highly entertaining build to The Showcase of Immortals on April 8.

Even without the title, though, there are plenty of intriguing possibilities regarding what the Kevin and Sami Show will do on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

The two most likely scenarios involve keeping them together and putting them in a tag team match or splitting them up and pitting them against each other.

While a breakup is inevitable at some point, Owens and Zayn have only been together for a few months, so they've only scratched the surface of what they can do as a pairing. Plus, they are consistently among the best parts of SmackDown Live every week.

Owens vs. Zayn would be a great match at WrestleMania, but there is no need to rush that feud since the title isn't in the equation.

A far better use for them would be involving them in a tag team match. They could have fantastic bouts against traditional teams like The Usos or New Day, or they could get thrust into something with a higher priority on the card.

Their biggest opponent in recent months aside from Styles has been SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon.

Ever since Zayn saved Owens from a McMahon dive off the top of the cell at Hell in a Cell, Shane-O-Mac has tried to get revenge on the devious duo.

The only reason why they weren't fired was because of constant interventions from SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan, who has since been accused of showing favoritism toward Owens and Zayn despite his status as a babyface.

Bryan's issues with McMahon have led to speculation that the leader of the Yes Movement could return as an in-ring competitor despite his retirement due to concussions.

He would be a great option as McMahon's tag team partner against Owens and Zayn in a twist, but WWE may still be unwilling to allow him to wrestle because of the risk involved.

If Bryan isn't in the picture, the next best possibility would be a returning Chris Jericho. Y2J has a history with KO, as they are former best friends who broke up and fought at WrestleMania 33 with Owens emerging as United States champion.

Jericho's band, Fozzy, is scheduled to play a show on the same day as WrestleMania, but if he can find a way to appear at WrestleMania as well, he would be an excellent fit.

Barring that, the worst-case scenario would likely be Randy Orton since he doesn't seem to have an obvious match on the horizon for WrestleMania.

Although it wouldn't be the most inspired choice, The Viper remains a top-tier Superstar who could help elevate Owens and Zayn.

While Styles figures to be in one of the two or three most important matches on the WrestleMania card, Owens and Zayn have thrived in their current role to the point that their match could be among the most highly anticipated of WrestleMania weekend.

Regardless of what Owens and Zayn do, they have show-stealing potential, and their loss to Styles adds another layer of intrigue in terms of whether they can continue to co-exist over the long haul.

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