#4 Roman Reigns vs AJ Styles – Payback, 2016
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Roman Reigns met AJ Styles for the first time at Payback 2016, in a match that everybody simply couldn’t wait for. Styles seemed to be a perfect opponent for Reigns, a smaller athlete against whom Reigns could display a high level of power and aggression.
This, in fact, actually turned out to be the case, as the very different in-ring styles of the two men seemed to mesh brilliantly together, creating a highly entertaining match that had no shortage of drama. The match actually got restarted on two separate occasions, and the controversial nature of this battle led to Reigns and Styles facing off again at the following PPV, Extreme Rules. However, before we get into all that, let’s focus on Payback for a moment.
The match was first restarted when Reigns was counted out, after taking a Phenomenal Forearm through an announce table. Shane McMahon declared that the restarted match had a no count-out stipulation, but this was rendered pointless soon after when Reigns unintentionally hit a low blow on Styles, drawing the DQ.
This time, it was Stephanie McMahon who restarted the match, and made it a No DQ match. After this, Reigns hit two Superman Punches and was closing in on the victory when Gallows and Anderson appeared, to drag Styles to safety at ringside.
As the drama picked up, Gallows and Anderson assaulted Reigns, which left him prone to receive another Phenomenal Forearm from Styles. This was not enough to keep Reigns down, however, and The Usos soon joined the action in aid of their cousin, Roman.
Reigns then reminded everybody of his superb athleticism, throwing Styles out of the ring towards The Usos and Gallows and Anderson, before diving over the top rope to take out everybody on the floor below.
The action soon hit the ring again, and Reigns showed his tenacity by kicking out of a beautiful 450 Splash by AJ.
The match reached its pulsating conclusion as Styles got himself in a position to deliver yet another, final, Phenomenal Forearm. In a finish that appeared to be a carbon copy of the way Edge dispatched of Rey Mysterio at the 2008 Royal Rumble, Reigns hit a massive spear on a mid-air Styles to leave him lying motionless. Reigns then pinned Styles, securing his status as WWE Champion for a little while longer.
Just as important as his retention of the title, if not more so, was the fact that Roman had reminded everybody that, given the right opponent, he can be a highly entertaining superstar. His push may seem unfair at times, but times like these show us that Roman Reigns really can deliver when pushed.
