AJ Styles wins Independence Day battle royal, gets US title shot against Kevin Owens at Battleground

When WWE isn’t sure of a truly creative way to find a number one contender to a championship they go back to the tried-and-true method of throwing a bunch of would be top contenders in the ring altogether at once.

That’s right, a battle royal.

This is what we got in the main event of SmackDown Live this week, with the winner earning a match against Kevin Owens for the US title at the upcoming Battleground pay-per-view (PPV) on July 23, 2017, in Philadelphia.

The battle royal featured some fun spots with Breezango working together but getting eliminated anyway, The Hype Bros not working together and getting eliminated anyway, and a final two of AJ Styles and Sami Zayn, with the former coming out victorious on a Pele kick.

The updated Battleground match card:

• Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton (Punjabi Prison WWE championship match)
• The Usos vs. The New Day (SmackDown tag team championship)
• John Cena vs. Rusev (Flag match)
• Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles (US championship)