AJ Styles should lift gold in 2023, but not the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

AJ Styles is attempting to become the inaugural WWE World Heavyweight Champion at Night of Champions. However, it seems that the company is looking to crown Seth "Freakin" Rollins, as the RAW Superstar is arguably the most deserving candidate.

A case can be made for The Phenomenal One as well, considering he too has not held a world title since 2018.

AJ Styles has just been drafted to the blue brand, and in order to avoid any more headaches like Roman Reigns holding both the WWE and the Universal Championships, the company's most logical choice would be to crown Seth Rollins.

As for the leader of The OC, he should still become champion in 2023. Following Night of Champions, AJ Styles must dethrone Austin Theory and kickstart a run for the United States Championship.

No disrespect to Theory, but the superstar's reign has been going on longer than it needs to, and The Phenomenal One could be the "gatekeeper," in the words of Cody Rhodes, if he wins the US title.

The word on the rumor mill is that Karrion Kross will target Styles in the coming weeks, while Grayson Waller will debut The Grayson Waller Effect talk show tonight on SmackDown with AJ Styles as its first guest on the main roster.

Unless WWE purposefully decides to not give fans what they want, AJ Styles and Grayson Waller are inevitably going to clash on the blue brand.

This could be the perfect opportunity to begin a strong push for the Australian star, who had previously brought up the possibility of winning the US title on the main roster and converting it to the "Australian Championship."

The Phenomenal One does not have to drop the title immediately to the former NXT star. Instead, he could hold on to the belt in the coming months, and defend it against the likes of Austin Theory, Karrion Kross, LA Knight and Solo Sikoa, just to name a few.

Grayson Waller vs. AJ Styles for the United States Championship is a worthy feud that warrants a premium live event match. It could happen post-SummerSlam, as the duo could wrestle in Detroit sans the title on the line. Perhaps Waller costs Styles the World Heavyweight Championship match at Night of Champions?

Styles once admitted that he hoped to wrestle Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania. The soon-to-be 46-year-old could even work a high-profile storyline as champion with the LWO alongside The OC.

AJ Styles should become the United States Champion, and bring back legitamacy to the title that may have been a tad lost with Austin Theory holding on to the belt. We say this despite the latter's victories over WWE legends such as John Cena and Edge.

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Wrestling veteran slams Austin Theory and talks about the potential of "newbie" WWE Superstars

The WWE Draft disrupted the roster as Grayson Waller, JD McDonagh and Pretty Deadly were all drafted from NXT.

Speaking on the latest edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Legion of RAW, Vince Russo claimed that these new stars from the developmental brand are only going to reach Austin Theory's level at best.

"Bro, the highest that any of these newbies are gonna go are to Austin Theory level and Austin Theory is not over. I don't care how many times they put him on TV, I don't care how many times he is the champion. That's the ceiling. Austin Theory is the ceiling," said Vince Russo.

Nevertheless, Theory has been champion since Survivor Series last year, and it's time he drops the belt to another star.

AJ Styles winning the US title over Austin Theory in the UK would be a nice callback to The Phenomenal One's last WWE Championship victory back in 2017 when he dethroned Jinder Mahal.

You can read more about Styles picking two matches from his 25-year-long wrestling career as his favorites here.