Here’s Who Will Challenge AJ Styles Next

He’s on deck. There are a lot of big stars under the WWE umbrella but some of them are almost guaranteed to have a good outing no matter what they are asked to do. That can make for some great moments and matches, but it can do something more important. Having a near guarantee like that can allow WWE to put someone new with a big star in order to get their feet wet, which is what they might be ready to do again.

Earlier this month, AJ Styles won a tournament to become the Intercontinental Champion for the first time. It was quite the accomplishment and came in a heck of a match against Daniel Bryan in the finals. There was almost no doubt that Bryan vs. Styles was going to be an instant classic given Bryan’s abilities, but what about a match with someone a little less proven? We might be about to find that out.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Matt Riddle will be next in line to challenge Styles for the Intercontinental Title. This comes after Riddle made his main roster debut on the June 19 SmackDown and defeated Styles in a non-title match. Styles was scheduled to face Drew Gulak on the June 26 SmackDown but the match did not take place, nor was it rescheduled. It is not clear if Gulak will still be receiving his title shot.

Consider this a preview. Check out the first Styles vs. Riddle match:

Opinion: This isn’t quite the most surprising move as the two of them had a good match in Riddle’s debut and now he has unfinished business with the champ. I’d much rather see this than the teased Riddle vs. King Corbin match, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see that take place at Extreme Rules, along with Styles vs. Gulak. Either way it seems promising, but it’s hard to tell what we’re going to be seeing these days from WWE.

Which match sounds better? Who will take the title from Styles? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books. Get the latest and greatest in professional wrestling news by signing up for our daily email newsletter. Just look below for “GET EXCLUSIVE UPDATES” to sign up. Thank you for reading!