Could, Would, Should: Andrade Almas vs. AJ Styles at Summerslam

Could, would, should. Three words that rhyme. They’re also three words that ask a question, and I’m asking some questions right now. I’ve got questions about Andrade Almas facing AJ Styles at Summerslam.

On Smackdown this week, Andrade Almas and AJ Styles faced each other in a one on one match for the first time ever. It was a pretty good match. Despite Almas tapping to the Calf Crusher, he came off looking like a dangerous predator. It was quite the showing for him.

With General Manager Paige set to make an important announcement about Styles’ opponent at Summerslam, one cannot help but wonder if the stars will align for El Idolo at the biggest event of the summer.

could andrade almas fight aj styes at summerslam?

This is an odd question. As I’ve mentioned before, this is all predetermined, so theoretically, anything “could” happen. James Ellsworth could beat Brock Lesnar. Tye Dillinger could become United States Champion. Bobby Roode could become interesting. Theoretically, Andrade Almas could face AJ Styles at Summerslam, if WWE really wanted to go in that direction.

I think the bigger question is this: would it be believable?  Everyone knows that people can’t really survive receiving Tombstone Piledrivers and that there is no way a Spanish Fly would work, but if there’s one thing people want to see in their dancing/combat sports hybrid, it’s realism.

If Almas was to become the number one contender, I think it would leave some people scratching their heads. Why him? He just lost to AJ Styles. He’s only fought two people on the roster, and he lost to one of them. If Almas becomes the contender, what’s stopping someone like R-Truth from challenging for the title?

Even if he “earned” it, say, by beating Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, The Miz, Rusev, a New Day member, Randy Orton, and Sheamus/Cesaro in an eight-pack match or whatever, I think people would still have beef with it. Almas has been on the roster for what, two months? And he’s challenging for the WWE Championship? No way.

would andrade almas fight aj styles at summerslam?

Let me rephrase: would WWE put Almas in a position where he could fight AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at Summerslam? It’s hard to discern at times just what WWE’s plans are, but there is enough evidence to suggest that they would not be above putting Almas so high on the card despite his relatively short stint on the main roster.

Remember last year, when Shinsuke Nakamura challenged Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship at Summerslam? Sorry if you guys don’t want to remember it, but it’s relevant to my point. Nakamura had been on the main roster for three months when he earned his shot against Mahal. He lost, but that’s not what matters.

Second point: WWE has always been looking for a Latino star ever since Rey Mysterio got old and left. When Alberto Del Rio arrived, he had a rocket strapped onto him. Four months after debuting, he was in contention for the World Heavyweight Championship. He won the Royal Rumble five months after debuting, and won Money in the Bank ten months into his main roster career. He became WWE Champion just two weeks before his debut anniversary.

There was also that time when WWE tried to make Kalisto a thing. They gave him a fairly long United States Championship reign (119 days), but alas, nothing came of it.

I wouldn’t put it past WWE to hotshot Andrade Almas straight into the main event if they think he’s that good.

should andrade almas fight aj styles at summerslam?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: noooooooooooo.

While I believe Andrade Almas is a very talented superstar (he does have a five star match from Dave “David” Meltzer, after all), pushing him too hard or too soon could result in a lot of people not liking him (also known as “the Roman Reigns situation). I’d rather he work his way up the card naturally. Pick up some wins, gain some momentum. When the time is right, that’s when you put him in the main event scene. The time is not yet right.

Andrade Almas will be in the main event scene soon. Just not at Summerslam.