AJ Styles is going to WWE Money in the Bank, and Baron Corbin made him earn it. While the main-event clash that decided Seth Rollins’ challenger for the Universal Title wasn’t quite the unstoppable force and the immovable object, Styles vs. Corbin was still a dead-even confrontation between two Superstars who consistently find a way to win, albeit under very different circumstances. That Styles prevailed wasn’t exactly a surprise — it’s kind of his thing — but it was somewhat surprising given the way the bout was going.
Fittingly, both Superstars continued with the same strategies that won them their respective Triple Threat Matches earlier in the night: Styles gritted his way through tall odds after suffering a mid-match injury, while Corbin exploited whatever weakness he could find by targeting that same injury. Corbin’s size made it impossible to execute the Styles Clash, which took away one of The Phenomenal One’s signature weapons. The Lone Wolf didn’t hesitate to capitalize, but a Calf Crusher left the big man a step slower, and a Phenomenal Forearm sealed the deal.
Perhaps recognizing the magnitude of the victory — and certainly recognizing the magnitude of the challenge ahead of him — Seth Rollins came out for a respectful handshake with his new challenger that nonetheless had an air of tenseness about it: Respect or otherwise, Rollins worked hard to take this house back. It’d be unwise to let AJ start putting his feet up just yet.