WWE WrestleMania 33 gives Shane McMahon a chance to help make AJ Styles an even bigger star than he already is.
As is the case with The Undertaker vs. Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt vs. Randy Orton and Triple H vs. Seth Rollins, Styles vs. McMahon could go one of two ways: Either WWE decides to give the rising star a career-defining victory, or the company chooses to give the established veteran a win that he probably doesn't need.
Either way, the outcome of Styles vs. McMahon and the other main bouts at WrestleMania 33 will undoubtedly have consequences for WWE. Both good and bad. Both immediately and down the road.
What will WWE do? Here are five potential long-term effects of Styles vs. McMahon at WrestleMania 33, no matter who wins the match.
Styles Vs. Randy Orton Or Bray Wyatt For The WWE Title
No matter who leaves WrestleMania as WWE Champion, expect Styles to become the champion's No. 1 contender.
According to Cageside Seats, "Styles is expected to resume his place in the SmackDown title picture following WrestleMania." You may remember that Styles lost to Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 32 last year and then almost immediately stepped up to challenge Reigns for the WWE Championship anyway.
History seems to be repeating itself this year with Styles likely to jump up and challenge either Orton or Wyatt for SmackDown's top title after WrestleMania 33. That move shouldn't come as a surprise because Styles held the WWE title for several months late last year, and he played a big role in SmackDown's ratings jumping up 17 percent over the course of the year.
Given that Styles has, in many ways, become the face of SmackDown, a win over Shane at WrestleMania 33 figures to position him for a WWE Championship match (remember, he still hasn't gotten a fair singles rematch for the title) and position him back at the top of the card for the long haul.
A Babyface Turn For Styles
Babyface AJ Styles V Bray Wyatt in a post-Mania WWE Title feud is money. #WrestleMania
— PWM - WWE Coverage. (@ProWrestlingMag) March 25, 2017
Styles is a heel in name only.
Despite WWE pigeonholing him into a villainous role during his feud with Shane McMahon, Styles clearly has won over the vast majority of WWE fans. He was the most popular superstar to debut in the company last year, and just a two months after his debut in January 2016, he already ranked as one of the most popular and likable stars in WWE. Styles also proved to be a strong merchandise mover right out of the gate, and he may have sold more merchandise than anyone not named John Cena or Roman Reigns in 2016.
Throw in consistently and overwhelmingly positive crowd reactions, and it's clear that Styles could and should be on the cusp of a babyface turn. One simple scenario could see Shane-O-Mac earn the respect of Styles during their WrestleMania 33 match, leading to the two embracing afterward regardless of who wins or loses.
Ultimately, though, fan reactions can often dictate a superstar's career path, and Styles is clearly headed for a face turn in the future. And that's a move that could ultimately prove to be best for business.
Styles vs. Kurt Angle?
Styles has a ton of history with WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2017 headliner Kurt Angle, who, of course, is no stranger to Shane-O-Mac.
Shortly after WrestleMania 33, the three could all collide on SmackDown. Angle is advertised for the post-Mania edition of SmackDown amidst rumblings that he could potentially return to the ring in WWE, thus setting the stage for a perfect return storyline on SmackDown. It could go a little something like this: Shane loses to Styles at WrestleMania and calls upon the returning Angle to take care of his problem by having the former Olympic gold medalist take on Styles one-on-one.
Not only would this give the blue brand a huge storyline to build around during the post-Mania season, when ratings tend to nosedive, but it's a logical one that could help Shane slide back into a smaller role while also giving Styles yet another main event caliber storyline, which he certainly deserves.
This would set up SmackDown nicely for some summer success as it attempts to overtake Raw in the ratings, which won't be easy as Raw is sure to stock up on new talent once 'Mania is in the books.
Styles Moves To Raw
According to both Cageside Seats and WrestlingNewsWorld.com (h/t Flickering Myth), Styles could soon be moving to Raw, with the latter noting the following:
Vince McMahon has become such a fan of AJ Styles since his debut at the Royal Rumble...that he wants to move the Champ that Runs the Camp from Smackdown to Raw sometime after Wrestlemania 33.
Because of Styles' aforementioned strong merchandise sales and his ability to generate TV ratings as well, it's a logical decision to move him to Raw, which is still WWE's flagship show and one that generates a bigger viewing audience than SmackDown. Thus, the reasoning behind moving Styles to Raw would be to get him in front of more fans to increase his profile among the mainstream audience.
Styles' ongoing storyline with Shane is a ridiculously easy way to do that, with Shane simply firing or trading him to Raw in order to get rid of the out-of-control superstar who has been wreaking havoc on his show.
But let's be honest: If Styles moves to Raw, it would make the most sense for SmackDown to get a major, main event-level superstar in return.
Roman Reigns Moves To SmackDown
If Styles moves to Raw as a result of his feud with Shane, the blue brand will need to get something back.
How about Roman Reigns? According to PWInsider Elite (h/t WrestlingInc), there have been recent discussions in WWE about moving Reigns to SmackDown in the near future, and common sense says that Reigns' move could be part of a Reigns-for-Styles swap.
After all, one could argue that Reigns is the top full-time guy currently on Raw while the same is true of Styles on SmackDown. Thus, this is about as even of a trade as you could get, with Styles and Reigns both ranking among WWE's top merchandise movers (Reigns is now No. 1 among full-timers) and its most popular superstars.
A simple scenario here would see an enraged Shane make the decision to ship Styles to Raw and the red brand offering up Reigns in return. This would accomplish the goal of freshening up both brands, proving each of them with a plethora of main event feud possibilities and a potential new face of the brand.
Blake Oestriecher is an elementary school teacher by day and a sports writer by night. He’s a contributor to the Forbes @SportsMoneyBlog, where he focuses on the WWE, NBA and NFL. You can follow him on Twitter @BOestriecher.
