WWE announces Styles vs. Zayn non-title match for SmackDown
A week after he faced Kevin Owens, AJ Styles will be taking on Sami Zayn on the first SmackDown of 2018.
WWE announced today that Styles vs Zayn in a non-title match is set for Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown. Styles lost to Owens in a non-title bout on this week’s show, which came after Shane McMahon caused confusion by trying to get the referee to eject Zayn from ringside. Styles had Owens pinned, but the referee was too distracted to count it. After Styles turned his focus to the ref, Owens rolled him up for the pin.
With Styles facing Zayn on Tuesday, the direction for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble should come into focus. It appeared that Styles vs. Owens was being set up for the pay-per-view this week.
The Usos defending their Tag Team titles against Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin will take place on Tuesday’s SmackDown as well, along with Breezango vs. The Bludgeon Brothers.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.