WWE fans are excited for the Royal Rumble streaming live on Peacock this Saturday from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The 37th annual event features a Fatal Four Way title match for the undisputed WWE Universal Championship as champion Roman Reigns defends his title against future Hall of Famer Randy Orton, the red-hot rising star LA Knight (a native of Hagerstown, Maryland) and two-time former champ, A.J. Styles.
“Randy Orton, the Legend Killer, three deadliest letters: RKO … he’s been doing this for a long time, he’s in unbelievable shape right now and he’s on a roll, so that makes him scary,” Styles told WTOP. “You’ve got Roman Reigns, who’s also on a roll, he’s been champion for [1,243] days now, it’s a long time. When I look at LA Knight, I feel like I’m looking in the mirror, a guy who’s been there, done that with a lot of different places and is on fire.”
Whoever wins the title match could face the winner of the men’s Royal Rumble Match at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia in April. Cody Rhodes hopes to join Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Hulk Hogan as the only wrestlers to win back-to-back years, while the recently returning CM Punk could throw a pipe bomb into the proceedings, not to mention intercontinental champion Gunther looking to avenge last year’s second-place finish.
“If I were betting, I would definitely put some money on Cody Rhodes,” Styles said. “It’s hard to put your eye on someone you think is going to win because we don’t know who’s going to be there, we don’t know who’s going to show up. That’s the great thing about the Royal Rumble, it’s hard to pick a guy when you don’t know who’s coming out next. I was one of those guys who was a surprise in 2016. That’s why you just got to sit back and watch.”
Indeed, Styles made his official WWE debut as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble in 2016. Technically, he appeared in tryout matches for WWE in 2001 and 2002 before rejecting a development contract and becoming a legend on the indie circuit in TNA/Impact and New Japan Pro Wrestling before his surprise 2016 debut.
“It’s a moment in time that I’ll never forget — 2016, making my debut at the ‘Royal Rumble’ in WWE,” Styles said. “It’s hard to put into words, it’s just a moment I’ll never forget and I can still look back and get those goose bumps remembering what that time was like. It was scary, to be honest with you, but it was very exciting as well.”
After defeating Dean Ambrose (a.k.a. Jon Moxley) for the WWE Championship, Styles lost the title to John Cena at the Royal Rumble in 2017 — a match that many fans still rank as Styles’ best match in the WWE to this day.
“It was a great match,” Styles said. “Cena and I never went to the floor in that match. A lot of people don’t know that because it was a good match, so you don’t realize that didn’t happen, but it was something that we needed to do based on what was happening after us, [the battle royal]. I can’t explain why Cena and I had these unbelievable matches. When you look at the matchup, we’re nothing alike, but if opposites attract, this is one of them.”
He recaptured the WWE Championship against Jinder Mahal in Manchester, England, in 2017, and by the time he lost it to Daniel Bryan, he had tied the “Macho Man” Randy Savage for the eighth longest reign ever at 371 days.
“That was the first time the WWE Championship has changed hands overseas when I beat Jinder Mahal in Manchester, so I can throw that into the record books, I thought that was really cool,” Styles said. “It was a good time, man. It was a great year for me, honestly, and I had a good time, the championship means a lot and it’s time to get back to that because it’s been a minute. I need to be WWE Champion again.”
To do that, he’ll have to hit his “Styles Clash” finishing move on Reigns, Orton or Knight — maybe all three.
“Everybody wants the championship, including myself, which is a recipe for an unbelievable match,” Styles said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This interview was conducted before the release of a lawsuit accusing former WWE C.E.O. Vince McMahon and another former executive of serious sexual misconduct.
Listen to our full conversation on my podcast below:
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