WWE Champion AJ Styles' next opponent has been announced, with Samoa Joe slated to face him at WWE Hell in a Cell 2018. Joe had defeated Styles by disqualification at last Sunday's WWE SummerSlam 2018 when he addressed Styles' family, saying that AJ would not be coming home and that his daughter had a 'new daddy' now.
The match could take place inside Hell in a Cell, as it would be a befitting stipulation due to their last bout, but this time Joe should walk out with the title.
Why?
Because it's really surprising that he hasn't done anything much since debuting last year. After WWE Royal Rumble 2017, his biggest accomplishments have been facing Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship and competing in Intercontinental Title matches on some occasions. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to win any of those matches. A talented and charismatic superstar like Joe who has been successful in so many other promotions, including NXT having become the NXT Champion twice, hasn't won a single title in two years of his main roster career.
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Whereas, AJ Styles has been WWE Champion for 9 months now and has achieved so much in the period of 2 years of his run in the company. It is true, however, that he has had lacklustre feuds with the likes of Shinsuke Nakamura and Rusev during the tenure of his title reign. If there was ever a time for Styles to drop his title to a credible heel like Joe, giving him his first major title reign on the main roster, it is now.
Another problem for Joe is whenever his main event run begins, it ends abruptly due to a severe injury. It has happened twice, as he suffered a knee injury when he was about to have the much-awaited feud with John Cena after SummerSlam 2017 and later on a foot injury that caused him to miss the Royal Rumble match in 2018. He has even missed WrestleMania twice and is yet to make his debut at the big event.
When Joe was traded to SmackDown, a new beginning was expected, but he got lost in the shuffle again just like on Raw. Over the past 3 months, Joe hasn't done anything great. But if he finally wins the WWE Championship, he will be able to climb to the top of the SmackDown's food chain and will have competitive matches with SmackDown's babyfaces such as Daniel Bryan, Jeff Hardy, Rusev and even John Cena.
It's high time WWE realizes the potential of a major star like Joe who is growing older with each passing day, being 39 years of age. He still has time and had repeatedly proved his excellence to the company whether it be his promo skills or his wrestling skills.
So to conclude, Samoa Joe, dethroning AJ Styles to become WWE Champion at Hell in a Cell 2018 would be the best possible conclusion for all parties.