AJ Styles Reacts to Taking Back the WWE United States Title

As seen on Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live, AJ Styles participated and won a Fatal 3-Way match for the United States Championship against Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens. WWE posted a Fallout video where Styles talks to Renee Young about his win.

In the video, Styles says he just proved that Owens isn’t the man to carry the US Title, which he’s been telling people. AJ would go on to mention that the title represents the workhorse of WWE and that is AJ Styles.

Styles also posted the following on Twitter regarding the victory:

What to Expect on the July 11th Episode of SmackDown Live

WWE heads to the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX for tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live. Here are the focus points for tonight’s show:

What will be the fallout of AJ Styles capturing the United States Title?
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Baron Corbin

Check back here at 8PM ET for our live play-by-play coverage of SmackDown Live.

Spoiler: Winner of the Independence Day Battle Royal

It was announced this past week that an Independence Day Battle Royal will take place on Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live next week. The winner of that bout will move on to face Kevin Owens for the WWE United States Championship at the July 23rd WWE Battleground event.

According to PWInsider, AJ Styles is expected to leave the battle royal victorious. Styles is currently scheduled to face Owens for the Title at Battleground. As of this writing, Styles is the only participant in the match, however more names will likely be revealed in the next couple of days heading into the match.

WWE Plants the Seeds for Upcoming SummerSlam Match

As seen at Sunday’s WWE Money in the Bank during the Money in the Bank Ladder Match, WWE had a spot that saw AJ Styles and Nakamura square off in a little one-on-one action near the closing moments of the match. Bryan Alvarez discussed this angle on today’s installment of Wrestling Observer Live and indicated that this spot was done to setup a match between the two at a future date — presumably at this year’s SummerSlam.

As of this writing, the following matches are being rumored for the show:

Brock Lesnar vs. Braun Strowman
John Cena vs. Jinder Mahal
Triple H vs. Kurt Angle
AJ Styles vs. Nakamura

With WWE holding for back-to-back shows in the row at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, they are expecting to make this show as big as possible. Those events include NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III on August 19th, SummerSlam on the 20th, RAW on the 21st and SmackDown Live on the 22nd.

How Each Money in the Bank Contestant Should Cash In

There are different types of cash-ins when it comes to the Money in the Bank briefcase. Some people do it like Edge and pick up the pieces after a grueling match. There’s also the RVD method, where you announce when and where you will be cashing in. If you’re truly a mad lad, you can do what Seth Rollins did and insert yourself into a match that’s already happening. There’s a decent amount of variety.

Each contestant in the match is different. They have different agendas, different ways of doing their thing. Not everyone will do it the same way. I hope to show the potentially best way for each man to cash in their contract.

6. Dolph Ziggler

I have a higher chance of meeting pretty much anyone on the WWE roster than Dolph Ziggler does of winning Money in the Bank again. Bear in mind, I live on a completely different side of the globe from pretty much everyone in the WWE. What I’m trying to say is this: Dolph Ziggler is not winning.

However, for the purpose of this article, let’s assume he does. It would be hard to top his original cash-in in 2013. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should. For the newer fans who wonder why so many people still love him, check out when he won the World Heavyweight Championship.

Right now, Dolph is lacking in the heat department. Lots of people simply don’t care. So if he should win (he won’t, though), he needs to cash in on a beloved babyface. Cashing in on a wounded AJ Styles or Sami Zayn could be the spark to rejuvenate Ziggler’s heel turn.

5. AJ Styles

Honestly, AJ Styles doesn’t need Money in the Bank. He’s done so much for Smackdown that he could just say “Hey Shane, could I have a title match?” and we’d all buy it. We’d eat it up. So in my honest opinion, I do not want AJ Styles to win. And I say this as a fan of the guy.

If Styles does win, I wouldn’t be mad. Not at all. However with Styles now acting as a face, that does limit his options somewhat. However, he is still an arrogant guy, so it makes total sense for him to announce when and where he is going to cash in his Money in the Bank contract.

There are so many great opponents for Styles, because he’s had great matches with almost everyone. Styles v. Orton would be must-see. So would Styles v. Zayn. Hell, imagine the anticipation for Styles v. Nakamura. Even something a bit more out-there like Styles v. Rusev or Styles v. Corbin would be a treat to watch.

If Styles wins, expect him to announce when he’ll have his match, and expect a lot of hype and anticipation.

4. Kevin Owens

Kevin Owens is one of the most fleshed-out characters on the roster today. He’s a heartless psychopath who only wants to do what is best for his family. He will destroy anyone and everyone who gets in the way of that. There are a lot of ways that his cash-in could go down, but there’s one idea in particular that I really love, and I found it on Reddit.

Imagine this. Kevin Owens wins Money in the Bank. A few months later, Sami Zayn becomes the number one contender. Come the pay-per-view, Zayn has the champion pinned. 1, 2, 3! Before Sami Zayn’s music can play, Kevin Owens’ music hits, and he strolls to the ring, laughing like a maniac because he once again gets to dick Sami Zayn over.

Of course, this idea isn’t perfect, as it would require Owens to drop the title back to Zayn in a few months, or Zayn losing to Owens again. Still, the heat from that would be like a thousand suns. It’s such an evil thing to do, which is why Kevin Owens would do it.