Report: Backstage News On AJ Styles Advancing To WWE World Heavyweight Title Tournament Final
AJ Styles advanced to the WWE World Heavyweight Title Tournament final on the May 12 SmackDown
May 15, 2023
The WWE World Heavyweight Championship Tournament final is confirmed, with AJ Styles punching his ticket on the May 12 edition of SmackDown to set up a showdown with Seth Rollins at Night of Champions on May 27 in Saudi Arabia.
Styles overcame Edge and Rey Mysterio in his opening round match, before defeating Bobby Lashley later in the show to advance to the final. Some were caught off guard by Styles advancing, as many figured Edge would be advancing to the final, with the WWE Hall of Famer announcing last week that retirement is in his sight and that he wants to finish his own story by winning the championship.
A report from Fightful Select suggests that Styles was always pencilled in for a spot in the final, long before Edge’s comments about his potential retirement.
Some have argued that since the tournament bouts on Friday were Styles’ first matches in 2023, it probably wouldn’t have made much sense to bring him back from injury just to have him crash out of a tournament straight away.
