Although AJ Styles is currently embroiled in a United States Championship feud against Kevin Owens, the expectation is that he won’t capture the gold and will instead enter the WWE title picture once again.

He’ll be waiting a little while, though, as Randy Orton’s next challenger will be – rather surprisingly – Jinder Mahal at the SmackDown-exclusive Backlash event where The Viper is expected to retain.

UPCOMING FEUDS

In fact, rumours have suggested that Orton could keep hold of his title until the SummerSlam event and numerous big-name SmackDown stars have been discussed as potential opponents, but the end result could see WWE making a huge booking decision for Orton – a heel turn could be on the cards.

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This comes from The Inquisitr, who are claiming that Orton will not only retain at Backlash but is expected to keep hold of his championship at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view where his opponent could be Rusev, and it’s clear that Orton will remain the face should that feud take place.

There has also been talk about Baron Corbin receiving a WWE Championship opportunity against The Viper, but it’s unclear whether he’ll be involved in a direct feud with Orton, or whether he’ll capture the Money in the Bank briefcase to catapult himself into the title picture as he’s currently the favourite to win that match.

The source is claiming that once the other contenders are out of the way, WWE will book The Phenomenal One to battle Orton and considering Styles is the one that had the most recent heel run, it looks unlikely that they’ll go down that route again as he still receives the loudest reactions and sells plenty of merchandise.

HEEL TURN

They added that this is perhaps why a double turn never occurred in the build-up to WrestleMania 33, as rumours strongly suggested that Orton would turn heel and Bray Wyatt would turn face but that didn’t happen.

Instead, it seems as if WWE will continue to build Orton as the face as he defeats the heel challengers, before – potentially – going back to his despicable ways to feud with Styles which is a match both men have publicly claimed they have wanted.

That’s why Styles’ feud with Owens is still going on, as they’re simply buying time until the feud with Orton officially kicks off.

The SmackDown LIVE roster is already stacked with good guys, so it’s about time WWE decided to turn a notable figure heel and they don’t get much better than Orton when it comes to portraying a villain.

A face Styles against a heel Orton could probably be the feud of the summer, if WWE books it correctly.

Should Randy Orton turn heel for his potential feud against AJ Styles? Have YOUR say in the comments section below and the third episode of GiveMeSport’s WWE podcast is here! Check it out via this link. https://soundcloud.com/user-818579649/gms-wwe-podcast-all-the-fallout-from-wwe-payback

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