WWE Starrcade 2019 has just about reached it’s conclusion at the time of writing, but it’s still ongoing as far as I know. As mentioned previously, in addition to the several announced matches, we’ve seen plenty of unadvertised and impromptu bouts as well. I’ve discussed Andrade’s loss to Aleister Black… and subsequent loss to Ricochet! And that’s not all, as a big name bout between two of Raw’s most proven main event competitors followed… when Randy Orton took on AJ Styles!
The two have some history, having faced off at WrestleMania 35 back in April of this year. AJ Styles won that bout, back when the alignments were shifted. AJ was a babyface in those days. He’s since joined up with the OC and gone back to his villainous ways. Randy Orton meanwhile… well, he hasn’t really turned face so much as he’s currently in a bit of a tweener role. He’s ambiguous, hard to trust but his motivations and allegiances are kept close to the chest.
AJ Styles is just coming off of losing the WWE United States Championship – thanks in part to an RKO from Randy Orton! – and could’ve used a bounceback win… but well, it’s not like the result was going to mean too much anyway, which is a good thing for him.
Randy Orton defeated AJ Styles with the RKO.
As I’ve suggested earlier, this is effectively a house show now – some would argue it was already a glorified house show to begin with – and that atmosphere generally favors babyfaces. And whilst Orton isn’t much of a face now, he’s certainly one by default against AJ Styles, one of Raw’s top heels.
Undoubtedly, this is a match we will see revisited on either Raw or – most likely – on PPV in the coming months. A bout between the two at TLC in two weeks seems quite probable.
