WWE SmackDown recently signed the returning Randy Orton to the roster, but the blue brand roster might be getting another big boost during tonight’s episode. According to PWInsider, AJ Styles is returning during tonight’s SmackDown and will be back on the road with WWE. Styles’ O.C. teammates Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson are also evidently ready to go and have returned from their injuries several weeks ago, but haven’t made their returns on TV just yet. If this is all true, then we could see a full O.C. reunion on the blue brand, adding one more faction to the war for control of SmackDown.
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The last time Styles was on TV he was having issues with The Bloodline, who ended up taking him out of action in storyline. John Cena was going to take on Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa at Fastlane and needed a partner, and he had managed to find one in AJ Styles. When Cena went to reveal him as his partner though, he never came to the ring, and then it was revealed he was being attacked backstage.
As Cena ran to the back to help, Jimmy and Solo attacked Styles and slammed him into numerous things backstage. Then Sikoa climbed high and splashed Styles through a table. Styles would end up being put in an ambulance and taken to a medical facility for evaluation, and Anderson would ride with him. Anderson would yell at Cena for getting Styles into this, and he revealed he told Styles to stay out of Bloodline business.
Anderson would have a match to avenge Styles but was outnumbered, and since then we haven’t seen too much of The O.C. Now that everyone is back and healthy, this might be the time we start to see their real impact on SmackDown, and perhaps that also means they will be looking or some revenge against The Bloodline too. WWE is taping an additional episode of SmackDown tonight, so while Style may return tonight, he might not return on TV until next week when the other episode airs, but we’ll have to wait and see how it all turns out.
If Styles does return, it will coincide with Roman Reigns making his grand return to the blue brand after several weeks away. The last time Reigns was on SmackDown was the season premiere, where he confronted Cody Rhodes and LA Knight and teased a rematch with Rhodes at WrestleMania.
Since Reigns’ last appearance on TV, CM Punk has also returned to WWE, and that is in all likelihood going to be mentioned in Reigns’ return promo. Punk has made references to Reigns and even acknowledged him, but he also took a few shots, including that he was the first Paul Heyman guy. Perhaps we get some mention of that from Heyman himself during The Bloodline segment, though Punk is now an official part of Raw, so he might not be around to confront Heyman or Reigns directly.
What do you want to see from Styles and The O.C. on SmackDown? Let us know in the comments and as always you can talk all things wrestling with me on Threads @mattaguilarcb!
