At Survivor Series 2022, AJ Styles took on Finn Balor in singles action for the first time in five years. In their last encounter at TLC 2017, Balor came out on top and the pair ended the match with a show of respect.
The rivalry between the two has become a lot more heated in recent months. As Leader of The Judgment Day, Finn Balor has been trying to get AJ Styles to join his group but to no avail. Just when it looked like The Prince would get his way, The Phenomenal One instead brought his friends and OC teammates Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson back to WWE to aid him in defeating Balor’s faction.
At Crown Jewel, The Judgment Day defeated The OC in a 6-Man Tag Team match with an assist from Rhea Ripley. This led to the announcement of the singles match between the two faction leaders at Survivor Series.
AJ Styles ends surprising 16-month streak at Survivor Series
At Survivor Series, Styles and Balor were allowed their stables at ringside. During the bout, Judgment Day’s Dominik Mysterio tripped up Styles, leading to Gallows & Anderson coming to the aid of their ally. This led to a brawl at ringside that also included Damian Priest, and all four of them fought to the back, leaving Balor and Styles alone in the ring.
Styles targetted Balor’s knee throughout the remainder of the bout, looking to get the win with the Calf Crusher. However, when Balor refused to submit to the move, Styles connected with the Phenomenal Forearm to get the pinfall victory.
.@AJStylesOrg and @FinnBalor settled their personal score at #SurvivorSerieshttps://t.co/BjYvWOTWpOpic.twitter.com/3odtKTdGuJ
— WWE (@WWE) November 27, 2022
Surprisingly, this brings to an end a 16-month losing streak that AJ Styles has suffered at Premium Live Events. The last time the former WWE Champion won at a PLE was at Money In The Bank 2021 where he teamed with Omos to defeat The Viking Raiders.
The star’s last singles victory at a PLE was over three years ago when he retained the US Championship against Humberto Carrillo. While Styles does not appear at every PLE, it’s still a surprising statistic for the 45-year-old.