The O.C. must cost AJ Styles at Night of Champions if 19-year veteran snubs AEW to make WWE debut

AJ Styles is currently preparing for his huge WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Seth Rollins at Night of Champions. But keep an eye on The O.C., as they may turn on Styles in favor of a 19-year veteran.

The veteran in question is former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kota Ibushi, who has been the hottest free agent in professional wrestling since January 2023, when his NJPW contract expired.

Ibushi has competed for Game Changer Wrestling in recent months but is yet to sign a full-time contract with a major company. However, WWE is on his radar, and Styles would be a perfect first opponent for him.

It's been well documented in recent months that Kota Ibushi has attracted interest from AEW due to his connections with EVPs Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, but that might not be enough to lure him away from a WWE contract.

Ibushi has also expressed interest in joining WWE, with the hopes that he would be able to work with a lot of the younger talent and help them grow as performers. This would also tie into the fact that Kota is aiming to open a wrestling school in the near future.

Styles and Ibushi would be an incredible match, despite the number of shared miles they have at the time of writing. With the unpredictability of The Good Brothers in AJ's corner, perhaps a double-cross could be on the horizon in Saudi Arabia.

AJ Styles has a long history with Kota Ibushi

If you wanted proof as to how good a match between AJ Styles and Kota Ibushi could be, look no further than the couple of matches they had against each other in New Japan Pro Wrestling in 2015.

AJ Styles successfully defended his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Ibushi at that year's "Invasion Attack" event. Many considered it to be one of the best matches of that year.

Fast-forward to that year's G1 Climax in July, Kota Ibushi got his win back over The Phenomenal One in another classic bout. This means that with one win each, they have never been able to have the rubber match to determine the better man, and with everything that has happened to both of them since July 2015, it would certainly be a must-see affair.

Would you like to see Kota Ibushi in WWE? Let us know in the comments section down below!