WWE Column: It's time for A.J. Styles to be champion

There’s no need for the WWE to wait on pulling the trigger on A.J. Styles any longer.

In less than nine months with the company, Styles has proven why many consider him one of, if not the best wrestler in the world at this moment. Styles has showcased his abilities with several top-notch matches against the likes of Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns and John Cena.

This Sunday at Backlash in Richmond, Virginia, Styles will vie for the WWE World Championship against current champ Dean Ambrose. While Ambrose’s reign as champion has been solid, he’s already started to lose some steam just 81 days in.

Right now is the best time for the WWE to let Styles win the belt. Styles is coming off one of the biggest wins of his pro wrestling career when he pinned Cena clean at SummerSlam. That match single-handedly stole the show and once again proved that Styles is at the top of his game.

There’s also the fact that Styles isn’t the youngest superstar on the roster. Styles just turned 39 in June and even though some wrestlers wrestle until their 50s or 60s, there’s no guarantee that Styles will.

Besides, how much longer can Styles realistically keep up his high work rate? Styles might be able to keep wrestling at this high of a level for maybe another four or five years at most.

It’s no secret that fans have been clamoring for Styles to win the belt since his first title shot against Reigns back in Extreme Rules five months ago. Back then it was too early for Styles to come out victorious because he still needed to prove to the higher-ups in WWE – aka Vince McMahon – that he was worthy of holding the belt.

Styles got rid of any and all doubts with some of the best matches in professional wrestling this year. He tore the house down with Reigns not once, but twice in back-to-back pay-per-views. The SummerSlam match against Cena was not only the match of the night, but might very well have been the best match of the year.

Now that all the skepticism over whether or not Styles can cut it in WWE is gone, it’s time for him to come out on top on Sunday and win the biggest championship of his career. If Styles wins, he’ll be just the second wrestler ever to win both the IWGP championship – New Japan Pro Wrestling’s title – and the WWE title. Brock Lesnar is the only other wrestler to accomplish that feat.

As for Ambrose, he’ll have plenty of other opportunities to hold the belt in the future. There are still a few holes in Ambrose’s game – the match against Dolph Ziggler at SummerSlam showed that – but he’ll only get better as time goes on. The buildup to that match was fantastic, but when it came time to deliver, neither superstar did.

If NJPW and TNA had enough faith to make Styles their champion there’s no reason why WWE shouldn’t follow suit.

It’s time for the Phenomenal One A.J. Styles to be the face of SmackDown as the WWE World Champion.