Why AJ Styles is still being kept as WWE Champion?

Bengaluru, June 29: AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura at Money in the Bank was a classic of WWE. The pair showed why they are the benchmark performers for not only the WWE, but also around the entire pro-wrestling circuit. Fans who continued complaining about not getting better matches from them should stop now. The Chicago crowd, as well as the fans watching on TV, got goosebumps during the encounter.

Now the outcome of the match was pretty much surprising as AJ Styles delivered a Phenomenal Forearm through the table on Nakamura to put him down for the referee’s ten-count. This ensured a victory for the champion in perhaps the last match between the two.

Almost all the sources and predictions speculated that the result will go in favor of Nakamura as the Last Man Standing environment was created to give him the upper hand with his heel antics. He took the villainous gimmick to reach a different level for weeks now which is why this was the best time for him to win the title by defeating his nemesis.

There are mainly two reasons behind WWE officials not allowing him to win the prime title. AJ Styles became the sixth superstar to feature in the cover poster for WWE 2K series. The upcoming 2K19 version would see him in the spotlight which is the main reason that he is still carrying the belt.

Bryan Alvarez confirmed this in an episode of Wrestling Observer Radio,

“You already turned him heel, he’s awesome as a heel [Nakamura]. Like do it [put the title on him] but they didn’t do it. It turns out that AJ Styles has been confirmed for the cover of WWE 2K19. That explains why he’s the champion. I was told last night.”

Getting the WWE Champion in promotional campaigns for the 2K19 video game is expected to help the company a lot. The second reason behind the championship retention is to bring a fresh storyline for the WWE Championship. If Nakamura would have won the title then Styles would have got a contractual rematch stretching the feud even more, which the company didn't want.



We have seen this dream feud ever since the Wrestlemania season and things would have become stale if the officials would have expanded this feud. Hence, they took a smart decision by making Rusev the new number one contender for the title. He is a deserved candidate for the WWE Championship and is set to get his shot at the Extreme Rules PPV.