When the 2017 Royal Rumble Match winner Randy Orton declared that he will not challenge WWE Champion Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania as long as Wyatt is the master and he is the servant, SmackDown LIVE General Manager Daniel Bryan set up a 10-Man Battle Royal to determine who would take on The New Face of Fear on The Grandest Stage of Them All.
However, after that Battle Royal ended in controversy on the Feb. 21 episode of SmackDown LIVE - with officials unable to reach a consensus on as to whether AJ Styles and Luke Harper hit the floor simultaneously at the end of the match - Bryan announced on WWE Talking Smack that the competitors will collide one-on-one next week to ultimately determine the WWE Championship No. 1 contender.
Who will prevail and cash his ticket to Orlando, Fla.? Find out next week at 8/7 C on SmackDown LIVE!
Re: #1 Contenders Match Next Week: Luke Harper vs AJ Styles
Harper wins. Styles doesn't fit into the story at all, it's blatantly obvious it's going to be a Wyatt affair at WM with Rowan likely interfering in some way...
Re: #1 Contenders Match Next Week: Luke Harper vs AJ Styles
I'd much prefer the idea that others have already floated around: Match never happens, Shane comes out to start next week's show and says now that he and the officials have had proper time to analyse the footage, it's clear that AJ landed on the ground first (which he did, to pretend otherwise now is akin to treating the viewers as if they're retards), so Harper gets awarded the match. AJ believes that Shane is deliberately trying to screw him over, thus igniting their feud for Wrestlemania, while Harper gets Bray and Orton.
Re: #1 Contenders Match Next Week: Luke Harper vs AJ Styles
Let's put AJ in every title match non-title match commentary table backstage segment and axxess booth. The he can undeniably become the Undisputed Unquestioned Unchallenged and Undefeatable Ironman Tag Team World Cruiserweight United States Hardcore Intercontinental Women's European Universal NXT King Of the Ring Champion. Isn't AJ the greatest thing to ever be great in the history of greatness, his face should be on all four spots of Mount Rushmore and all the different money of every single country on earth. He's just the coolest smartest funniest toughest stronges best looking cat in all the world. He should be appointed almighty all powerful master ruler king overlord of the entire universe and any other universe that could should, may possibly ever even possibly exist.
LOL I can't believe some AJ fans are still hoping for this. We know Mania Title match is and we know AJ role is at Mania. There not going to change those plans this close to Mania. There just wasting 3 weeks of tv time. So the storylines are hot going into Mania. There's five more Smackdowns until Mania now. So that means Orton is either turning face next week(February 28th or March 7th) or the following week. While AJ/Shane feud will likely really start up on March 7th Smackdown. Even though there might be more teases for it next week. While Cena/Nikki vs Miz/Maryse stuff started tonight. With Ambrose/Corbin feud started at the Chamber and it's been a slow build the last two weeks. With Corbin beatdown last week and Ambrose elimination of Corbin tonight. Followed by another Corbin attack.
But don't get your hopes up. James Ellsworth as the same chance to main event Mania as AJ. Nothing has changed with Smackdown Mania card. Reality is Ambrose/Corbin feud is going to be 7 weeks long. With Cena/Miz and girls stuff being 6 weeks. While Orton/Wyatt will probably only be 4-5 weeks of hype and Shane/AJ will probably be just 4 weeks. Since Shane not on the show every week. Which is why there doing all this AJ stuff with no one on one rematch and draw tonight. To show his character getting fired up and gives them a reason to jump right into Shane feud.
Re: #1 Contenders Match Next Week: Luke Harper vs AJ Styles
Harper wins after Orton/Bray try to cost Harper the match. But they end up hitting AJ or something and Harper wins. Which AJ will complain to Shane about it not being fair and complain about all the unfair treatment he's had. Which will set up that feud. While there's no doubt Orton is turning face in the next 2-3 weeks. So it's not going to be a triple threat, Harper will end up back with Bray soon. This whole thing is probably part of Bray master plan of Wyatt Family to control things. But things will backfire and Orton will turn on them.
Then they will do Orton/Harper on Smackdown probably March 14th Smackdown or something. With Bray/Orton Mania match having two weeks to hype. Since Orton/Bray already had a feud back in August-September. There's not much original stuff for them to do there. So there dragging this out. Until probably they only have four Smackdowns left going into Mania. Then the wheels will start turning there. Likely with a big Orton face turn.
Re: #1 Contenders Match Next Week: Luke Harper vs AJ Styles
Fully expect controversy in some form to give Harper the win so AJ can complain about it to Shane to set them on their path in what promises to be the mother of all carry jobs at Mania.
Harper in a world title match at Mania wouldn't sound too bad if they had protected him and kept him strong upon his return. Strapping the rocket on him now to make him the catalyst to get Orton into the match is so riveting and not contrived in the slightest.
Fully expect controversy in some form to give Harper the win so AJ can complain about it to Shane to set them on their path in what promises to be the mother of all carry jobs at Mania.
Harper in a world title match at Mania wouldn't sound too bad if they had protected him and kept him strong upon his return. Strapping the rocket on him now to make him the catalyst to get Orton into the match is so riveting and not contrived in the slightest.
I understand why someone would complain about Luke Harper in the main event of Mania, but from storyline perspective it makes total sense.
You use him to bait Orton into the match, and if they're smart, in the end it will be revealed that it was all Wyatt's plan to outsmart Randy and Harper never turned his back on him.
This story is actually so compelling that I can't believe WWE wrote it. The only problem is that, as usual, they don't think long-term and Harper in a title match at Mania is a head scratcher; if they did think long term, they'd have started to book him strong and protect him since november at least.
Re: #1 Contenders Match Next Week: Luke Harper vs AJ Styles
I've got a feeling Bray and perhaps Orton will interfere next week, so nobody wins, and Bray thinking he's going to face nobody at WM. Then Bryan will perhaps come out, says that since there was no winner, Harper and AJ are both going to goto WM to face Bray, and then adds Orton to make it a potential 4 way for the title.
I've got a feeling Bray and perhaps Orton will interfere next week, so nobody wins, and Bray thinking he's going to face nobody at WM. Then Bryan will perhaps come out, says that since there was no winner, Harper and AJ are both going to goto WM to face Bray, and then adds Orton to make it a potential 4 way for the title.
I would've at least been pumped to see what looked like it would've been a good match between Styles and Harper, but after the sloppy, awful interaction they had yesterday, I fear these two have no chemistry with each other.
Styles vs. Harper next week - the two have an awesome match. Near the end both men are down. Shane is at ringside, and then all of a sudden he blasts Harper with a chair. Styles wins. His rationale would be that Styles has done too much in the past year to get screwed out of a world title match at Mania and he wants to see the SDL Mania title match contested by the very best. So in a way, he didn't really turn heel, but just did what he thought was best for the brand.
At Mania this leads to:
Wyatt vs. Orton vs. Styles
Harper vs. Shane in a Street Fight
I'm cool with either result here, Harper winning would mean something very different for Mania, Styles winning would reward him for his work over the past year.
I just wanna see one thing: Luke about to hit AJ with his finisher, but then Bray jumpscare cuts in to deliver Sister Abigail only for Luke to jumpscare cut AJ into his place to get hit by Sister Abigail. Won't happen, but still...I can dream.
Re: #1 Contenders Match Next Week: Luke Harper vs AJ Styles
This seems so pointless to drag out, we're 5 weeks out from Mania... Tonight should have been the last night, honestly there's little point in having AJ and Harper involved in Bray and Orton's feud.
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