#3.) Roman Reigns – Extreme Rules 2016
It came as a big surprise to fans that Styles was the #1 contender for the WWE Championship right after WrestleMania 32. He would have an incredible feud with Roman Reigns and a great WWE title match at Payback, where he came up short.
Their second bout at Extreme Rules saw both performers take it up a notch and put on one of the most intense bouts of the year. With brutality and interference all on the cards, Reigns, and Styles laid it all out on the table and had an instant classic. Reigns would prevail once again, but things only got better for Styles after this point and it would be less than four months afterward that he eventually did capture the gold.