Primed to put his WWE Championship on the line in a Six-Pack Challenge in just five days at WWE Fastlane, AJ Styles hit the scene on SmackDown LIVE, seemingly ready to remind the WWE Universe why SmackDown LIVE’s WrestleMania main event would still feature him defending the greatest prize in the industry against Shinsuke Nakamura. Styles gave Cena props for getting the best of him last week on SmackDown LIVE, but he made it clear that he didn’t want Cena involved in his monumental WrestleMania moment with The King of Strong Style. Styles seemed at peace with his message … but then the record scratched.
Yes, Dolph Ziggler arrived and proceeded to call Styles a “desperate man.” Styles poked fun at Ziggler for never having reached his full potential, despite being in WWE for 13 years. That led Ziggler down the wormhole of reflecting on his greatest hits and misses during his career, landing on the fact that he’s never had a singles match at WrestleMania, and winning the WWE Title in five days could, among other things, change that fact for him.
No longer looking to chat, Styles reminded Ziggler that they were scheduled to face off in a match tonight, and after this verbal joust, The Phenomenal One challenged The Showoff to throw down right then and there. Ziggler agreed and the match was on.