John Cena vs Edge from 2009 is a historic Backlash match
#4 Dean Ambrose vs AJ Styles - Backlash, 2016
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AJ Styles as the WWE Champion
At the 2016 Royal Rumble, AJ Styles made his highly-awaited WWE debut when he entered the Royal Rumble Match at #3 and lasted over 30 minutes, in what was truly a 'Phenomenal' performance from the former NJPW sensation.
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Within eight months of his debut for the company, Styles won the WWE Championship and made history at the Backlash 2016 pay-per-view. For his win, 'The Phenomenal One' overcame the threat possessed by Dean Ambrose, beating 'The Lunatic Fringe' on the night.
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Backlash 2016 also marked the first pay-per-view in WWE history since the brand split and Styles win over Ambrose marked the beginning of Styles taking over the blue brand of SmackDown and eventually turning it into the 'The House that AJ Styles Built'.
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The match against 'The Lunatic Fringe' still remains as one of Styles' best singles bout in WWE and the same can be said for the former, who has since then departed from WWE and joined AEW under the moniker of Jon Moxley.
Regardless, Styles win over Ambrose capped-off the perfect debut year for 'The Phenomenal One', an accolade that belongs to an elite list of WWE superstars.
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About the author
Soumik Datta
Soumik Datta is a professional wrestling journalist who has been following the business for more than a decade.
In 2017, Soumik joined the Sportskeeda Wrestling team and is best known for his work with the WWE team. He has previously contributed to the Sportskeeda AEW, MMA, and the football team where he specifically covered the Major League Soccer.
In 2024, Soumik crossed 50 million reads for Sportskeeda WWE. While working under Sportskeeda MMA, he interviewed prominent UFC fighters, including Justin Gaethje, Sean O'Malley, and Cory Sandhagen, among others. Prior to joining Sportskeeda, Soumik briefly worked for SEScoops and Sports Nova.
Apart from his love for professional wrestling, Soumik also watches Football and has been a lifelong follower of Liverpool FC and Mohun Bagan. He has also been following the Indian Super League and remains the only content creator to have traveled across India to watch 7 ISL Matches in 7 Days, a video which currently sits at 26K views on his YouTube channel. His channel currently amasses over 120K views.
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