#6 AJ Styles (United States Champion)
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After putting his body on the line several times and still coming up short in the Money in the Bank Ladder match last month, AJ Styles turned his attention back to an old rival, Kevin Owens.
“The Phenomenal One” has spent the past few weeks lobbying for another shot at Owens and his United States Title after losing via countout at Backlash back in May, but when an Independence Day Battle Royal was announced at this past week’s Smackdown Live, KO tried to convince SD General Manager Daniel Bryan that Styles should not be allowed to enter the match, since he’s already defeated him.
Instead, Bryan made a qualifying match pitting Styles against another former defeated challenger to KO’s title, Chad Gable, with the winner moving on to the Battle Royal later in the night. After a fantastic one-on-one contest between the two, Styles picked up the win with a Phenomenal Forearm and was allowed to enter the #1 contender Battle Royal.
Picking his spots after a gruelling match earlier in the night, Styles outlasted fourteen other superstars to earn a shot at Kevin Owens and the title he holds so dearly. And Friday night at Madison Square Garden, “The Phenomenal One” got his shot and did not disappoint. After a gruelling match, Styles connected with a Phenomenal Forearm to finally get revenge on Owens and become the new United States champion!
While continuing to be part of the best matches on any show he’s featured, AJ Styles had come up short in his last two big matches before this week. However, after picking up two of his biggest wins of the year this past Tuesday night and the biggest of the year by winning the US Title at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, AJ deservingly climbed back into our Rankings. “The Phenomenal One” now has the chance to reiterate to the WWE Universe why Smackdown Live is known as “The House that AJ Styles Built”.
