AJ Styles has revisited one of his WrestleMania matches with Randy Orton, and looking back, he believes several factors outside the ring may have affected how the bout was received.
Speaking on WWE Retrospective, Styles had plenty of respect for Orton and explained why he considers him one of the defining figures associated with WWE.
I think Randy Orton is WWE. I mean, ever since the freaking RKO blew up on memes everywhere, everybody wants to get RKO’d or they want to RKO you.
However, Styles sees his WrestleMania 35 encounter with Orton differently. While he felt they delivered a solid match, he believes the atmosphere inside the stadium did not reflect what was happening in the ring.
Now, this match, it was good, but most don’t remember it ’cause nobody was making noise.
According to Styles, there was a specific reason for the unusually quiet response. He believes the positioning of the crowd and the lighting inside the stadium created a major distraction for fans watching the match.
’Cause in this match, they were being blinded by the lights.
Styles then connected that situation to a major change made to the WrestleMania 35 lineup. He recalled that his match with Orton was initially expected to take place much earlier on the card, but the plan shifted because Brock Lesnar wanted to compete sooner.
Why were they being blinded? ’Cause I do believe we were either second or first, but that got changed because Brock wanted to go.
That change clearly remained on Styles’ mind, especially considering what happened next. Rather than keeping the original order, WWE allowed Lesnar’s preference to influence the placement of the matches, something Styles referenced with a sarcastic remark.
And so apparently we follow the rules of Brock Lesnar when it comes to deciding who goes first or second.
Lesnar ultimately faced Seth Rollins in the opening match, while Styles and Orton wrestled later in the show. Looking back, Styles feels the altered placement may have prevented their match from receiving the kind of crowd response it could have generated.
Do you think Styles and Orton’s WrestleMania 35 match would have been remembered more fondly if it had taken place earlier in the night?
