With Shinsuke Nakamura keeping a close eye on Aiden English, The Phenomenal One battles The Bulgarian Brute as The Road to WrestleMania heats up.

Following his nail-biter loss to Shinsuke Nakamura at WWE Fastlane, Rusev squared off against AJ Styles on SmackDown LIVE, as WWE’s Rockstar and The Drama King observed from ringside. 

Rusev was aggressive in the early goings, wearing down the WWE Champion with an onslaught of offense that was both grounding and dynamic. Just when Styles executed a slick counter to trap The Bulgarian Brute in the Calf Crusher, Aiden English jumped into the ring and attacked the WWE Champion.

Styles was awarded the disqualification victory, but it was small potatoes compared to the beating that he was receiving from English and Rusev. After observing the attack for a few moments, The King of Strong Style came to the aid of his WrestleMania opponent, disposing of English and then connecting with the devastating Kinshasa on Rusev.

The mutual respect between Styles and Nakamura remained strong enough tonight, but can it last all the way to WrestleMania?