RAW vs SmackDown vs NXT: 5 dream matches between the three brands

#2 AJ Styles vs. Finn Balor vs. Roderick Strong

You don't want none when it comes to waging war on the Phenomenal One

AJ Styles:

Let's face it, the "Phenomenal One" could fight most people and make it interesting. He's one of those talents that know how to put on a show, much like 'The Showstopper' Shawn Michaels. But there's a handful of superstars in WWE and NXT, that if put against the current WWE champion, then magic would be made.

And I ponder over who these superstars are time and time again, the top one being Shinsuke Nakamura. Yes, I ponder and ponder, then wonder why it's midday and I've got no work done and I'm probably going to get fired again. I blame AJ Styles for many lost moments in my life, but then I realise, that he's given me so many phenomenal moments too. What a true champ he is.

Finn Balor:

'The Demon King' is one of those superstars within that handful of talent, I want to see against AJ Styles. We saw a glimpse of this at TLC a couple of months ago, as the two former Bullet Club members faced off in singles competition.

Despite being on different shows currently, (as we all know, that doesn't really mean much in WWE) we should expect to see this contest again in the future. Finn Balor is the first ever WWE Universal Champion and the fans want to see him reclaim the top prize which he never really lost. Maybe, the WWE Championship would be a nice consolation prize for Finn.

Roderick Strong:

Yes, we know AJ Styles and Finn Balor can produce magic, but imagine what trickery a triple-threat contest between these three men could conjure up. Roderick, just like AJ and Finn, found glory in the independent circuit. In fact, Strong made his wrestling debut in 2003 within the 'Independent Professional Wrestling' promotion.

Strong won championships in ROH, PWG and FIP and wrestled in Japan and for TNA. Roderick made his NXT debut in the latter part of 2016 and has put on some exhilarating performances in the last year. Having still not yet held gold in NXT or made the climb yet to the main shows, Roderick is one of the best performers in professional wrestling today and deserves both.

If they fought:

These three world-class athletes could potentially tear the roof off the arena and would certainly put on the match of the night. AJ Styles is considered one of the very best in the world, possibly second behind Okada, but there's not much between him and others like Balor and Strong. With so much talent outside the WWE, NXT is bringing the absolute best to McMahon's empire.

However, even after AJ Styles bypassed NXT altogether and missed out on the 'learning curve', as Triple H calls it, of WWE's developmental territory, he's still become a two-time WWE Champion and a two-time US Champion before even reaching his second-year anniversary with the company. AJ might be surpassed in years to come by younger guys such as Balor and Strong, but for now, AJ Styles gets the win here.

Result: AJ Styles win

NXT 1 - RAW 1 - Smackdown 2