Edge vs. AJ Styles WWE WrestleMania 38 Match Represents Underdogs Done Right

Edge and AJ Styles will square off in a dream match for wrestling purists at WrestleMania 38 following a show-closing angle on Monday's Raw in which The Rated R Superstar turned heel, brutally assaulting The Phenomenal One.

Their eagerly anticipated meeting will not only have the chance to steal the show at this year's two-night premium live event, but it will also serve as a reminder that hard work, dedication, determination and persistence pays off.

A Long Journey Down Similar Roads...

Neither Edge nor Styles were made-men at any point in their careers.

They both scratched and clawed their way to the top of professional wrestling, overcoming stop-and-start pushes to excel at the pinnacle of the industry.

Edge spent his early career stealing shows and revolutionizing the industry with partner Christian, only to see his shot at singles stardom halted because of injury and, later, when WWE found flashier, shinier new toys to push ahead of him.

Styles was the face of the TNA Wrestling revolution, defining the X-Division and becoming the first breakout star of the promotion. Yet he continuously saw his opportunities to remain a bona fide main event star for the company thwarted in the name of pushing the latest WWE defector into the world title picture.

The skills of both were undeniable, though.

No matter how often they were shoved aside or pushed down into the midcard abyss, they found their way back to the top of the card because their talent demanded it. Their drive would not allow them to settle for anything less.

Both won world titles, headlined pay-per-view events and became centerpieces of their respective companies. Edge, in particular, paid off years of potential by becoming a multi-time world champion and the top heel in wrestling's most prominent promotion. Styles did what he made a career out of doing: being one of the best wrestlers on the planet and leaving his company no choice but to spotlight him.

When Styles became frustrated in TNA and did not see his contributions reflected in a contract offer in 2014, he went traveled the world and made himself a bigger star than ever before.

Edge, on the other hand, saw his five-year run at the top of WWE come to a heartbreaking end by way of injury in 2011. A history of neck issues forced him to the sidelines and robbed fans of seeing many a dream match, including a showdown with Styles when The Phenomenal One made his way to WWE in 2016.

The same grit and determination that had defined both men would lead the 2012 Hall of Famer back to the squared circle.

...Now Intersecting

In 2020, Edge made a most improbable return to the squared circle after being cleared to compete. In the best shape of his career, he made an impact in that year's Royal Rumble, and in one of the most memorable spots of that entire match, he turned Styles inside out with a spear.

The two were kept away from each other in the two years that followed, despite each man expressing their desires to work with each other.

Following the angle Monday on Raw, in which Edge shockingly betrayed both his peer and the fans, they have that opportunity.

Edge vs. Styles is a bona fide dream match and a WrestleMania-worthy main event. It is a representation of two men who would not accept a backseat in the sports-entertainment world and forged their own paths, becoming main event talent in spite of their promotions' desires to shove other performers into their roles.

It is also an opportunity for them to prove that, at ages 48 and 44, respectively, they are still excellence personified.

On a star-studded show, featuring industry giants like Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey, and celebrity involvement from Logan Paul, it may well be The Rated R Superstar and The Phenomenal One who have fans buzzing following another Match of the Year candidate in careers brimming with them.

It would not be the first time.

It may not be the last time.

After two-plus decades of showing up and showing out under the brightest lights and on the biggest stages when their own companies were hesitant to put them in the position to do so, they enter Dallas with another opportunity to enhance their legacies and, as part of The Showcase of the Immortals, live forever.