WWE WrestleMania 33 preview: AJ Styles vs Shane McMahon

Shane McMahon will square off with AJ Styles this Sunday at WrestleMania 33, in what could be a show-stealing effort from both men.

A few weeks ago it looked like the unthinkable could be set to happen — AJ Styles would have no match lined up for WrestleMania 33. After losing the WWE Championship to John Cena, then failing to gain the number one contender spot for the gold, Styles had no direction heading toward the biggest show of the year.

It was a strange situation for Styles to find himself in. The Phenomenal One had arguably the best 2016 of anyone on the entire WWE roster, but looked like he may have to miss out on the annual extravaganza. A WrestleMania without one of your top stars? WWE couldn’t do that, could they? Well, thankfully, Styles took matters into his own hands and worked himself right into one of the marquee matches that will take place this Sunday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando.

AJ Styles may not be challenging for a championship, but he has an even bigger battle on his hands with Shane McMahon, the Commissioner of SmackDown Live. This match could end up being one of the matches that comes from nowhere to steal the show.

How did we get here?

AJ Styles lost the WWE Championship to John Cena back at the Royal Rumble in late January. Only a couple of weeks later he was one of the six men to step into the Elimination Chamber, along with WWE Champion Cena, Bray Wyatt, Dean Ambrose, Baron Corbin and The Miz. Wyatt left the match as the new WWE Champion, last eliminating Styles.

The episode of SmackDown Live immediately following Elimination Chamber saw Wyatt defend his title against both Cena and Styles in a triple threat match, with Wyatt winning after pinning Cena. After that match it looked like Wyatt would head to WrestleMania to face Royal Rumble winner Randy Orton, but Orton decided that he wouldn’t be facing Wyatt, which necessitated a 10-man battle royal to determine Wyatt’s ‘Mania challenger.

AJ Styles and Luke Harper were the last two men in the match, where both were eliminated at the same time, which lead to a one-on-one match between them to finally settle who would go on to face Wyatt for the title. Styles won a good match, but then Orton turned on Wyatt and reclaimed his title opportunity, which left an irate Styles out in the cold.

Styles would go on to attack SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon in the parking lot on the March 14 episode, ending the segment by smashing Shane’s head through a car window. Styles was furious that he wouldn’t be wrestling at WWE’s most important show of the year, and would stop at nothing to get himself a match.

As Shane was being treated by paramedics, General Manager Daniel Bryan fired Styles and had him escorted out of the building by security. It would only be a matter of minutes later that Shane would make his way to the ring and tell Styles that if he wanted a match, he would get one and it would be against Shane himself.

The following week on SmackDown Live, Styles accepted Shane’s challenge for the match at ‘Mania, and then waited for Shane to show up at the building. When Shane did Styles ended up on the wrong end of a beating by the Commissioner. Ending the night in a heap amongst a destroyed announced table, courtesy of a McMahon elbow drop from the top rope.

With both men at a stalemate, the final SmackDown Live before WrestleMania saw the two men sit down in the ring for a contract signing. It ended after both men verbally jousted, with Styles telling Shane that he couldn’t match him in a straight singles match. It might not be what Shane wanted to hear, but Styles is probably right.

What to expect?

With both men having got a beating in on the other, neither of them really has a score to settle during the match. That won’t stop it being a fantastic bout, though.

Shane has made a name for himself by performing ridiculous stunts during his matches. Nobody will ever forget seeing him dive from the top of the entrance set onto the Big Show, or Shane getting suplexed through a couple of panes of glass by Kurt Angle, or when he jumped off the top of Hell in a Cell in his match with The Undertaker at last year’s WrestleMania.

As Styles pointed out during the contract signing this week, Shane won’t be able to perform any of those stunts this time around, though, as this is just a standard one-on-one encounter. Styles is legitimately one of the best professional wrestlers in the world, and Shane is a full-time business man and (very) part-time wrestler. That doesn’t mean Shane can’t wrestle to the same standard as Styles, but it will be very tough for the Commissioner.

This match makes sense in the sense that there wasn’t really any other babyfaces for the heel Styles to face. It just may be hamstrung by the fact that it actually is just a standard match. Styles has had some amazingly good matches during his WWE career, but this may be the toughest test of his WWE tenure so far.

If both men are clever, or with a subtly positioned ref bump, they may be able to set up the opportunity for Shane to pull off one of his trademark, epic dives to excite the crowd.

Predicted winner

This is a difficult match to predict. On the one hand, Styles needs the win to keep himself in the hunt at the top of the totem pole on SmackDown Live. Shane needs the win to stamp his authority on Styles and the rest of the SmackDown Live roster.

Having said that, Styles should walk out of this match with the win. There’s a reasonable chance that this encounter will go on pretty early in the night, Styles is more than capable of leading Shane through a great match and giving the crowd something to cheer about. Shane will be happy if he gets to throw himself around like a crazy man, and exact a bit more revenge on Styles for driving his head through that car window a few weeks ago.

Next: Best match from every WrestleMania in history

Following WrestleMania, Styles needs to be put back into a World Championship feud. Depending on who wins the battle for that title, we could see Styles challenging either Bray Wyatt or Randy Orton for the gold. This match won’t be the biggest match at WrestleMania, but with a little bit of Shane McMahon craziness, it could be the most memorable.