Daniel Bryan Beats AJ Styles at WWE Royal Rumble After Erick Rowan Interferes

Daniel Bryan defeated AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble on Sunday to retain the WWE Championship and come one step closer to entering WrestleMania 35 as the titleholder.

Bryan received a helping hand from Erick Rowan, who had been out of action since undergoing surgery last August.

Bryan kicked the referee, incapacitating the official momentarily. Styles delivered the Styles Clash and probably would have won were the referee able to count the pinfall. Instead, Rowan entered the ring and chokeslammed Styles.

Bryan pinned a prone Styles for the win.

The two men have been engaged in one of WWE's most heated feuds ever since Bryan beat The Phenomenal One for the WWE Championship just days before Survivor Series in November.

In that match, The Beard took a shortcut by hitting Styles with a low blow to pick up the win, and he then went on to brutally assault his opponent afterward, which cemented his heel turn.

Styles was granted a rematch at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in December, but Bryan rolled him up to steal the win, which seemingly signaled the end of his title pursuit.

However, The Phenomenal One gained new life when confronted by Vince McMahon, who challenged him to be more aggressive.

That resulted in Styles assaulting the WWE chairman in a move that actually satisfied McMahon.

Due to his newfound mean streak, Styles was given another opportunity to earn the No. 1 contendership by facing Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, Samoa Joe and Mustafa Ali in a Fatal 5-Way match.

Once Styles established himself as Bryan's Rumble opponent, "The New" Daniel Bryan did all he could to fluster his rival.

That included running down the WWE Universe for its consumerism and wastefulness. He went so far as to invade the arena concourse during an episode of SmackDown Live and even threw a hot dog at a fan.

Styles didn't take kindly to his treatment of the fans, so he decided to oppose Bryan's ideals and stand up for the WWE Universe.

That led to multiple wild brawls between Styles and Bryan, and there was no shortage of heat between them entering the Royal Rumble.

The remarkable chemistry between the Superstars was on display once again at the Rumble, but with WrestleMania 35 approaching, the stage may be set for someone else to step up and challenge Bryan in the near future.

Bryan was already a formidable champion on his own, and he'll be even harder to dethrone with Rowan by his side.

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