AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho: Winner and Reaction from WWE WrestleMania 32 | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

In the first WrestleMania match of his illustrious career, AJ Styles was upended by Chris Jericho Sunday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Jericho hit Styles with a Codebreaker and earned the pin, via the WWE Universe: 

WWE Universe @WWEUniverse

What a victory for @IAmJericho! #WrestleMania

Bleacher Report's Chris Mueller and Questionable Critics' Kevin Berge provided their initial thoughts on the match: 

Chris Mueller @BR_Doctor

Very surprised, but happy to see Jericho get the win. He has been putting people over for a long time. He deserves the win. #WrestleMania

Kevin Berge @TheBerge_

Pretty good match from Styles and Jericho. Guess we're in for a rubber match at Extreme Rules with Jericho making it 2-2. #WrestleMania

Styles and Jericho have engaged in one of WWE programming's most intriguing feuds in recent months since The Phenomenal One made his WWE debut as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble match.

Y2J lost to Styles the next night on Raw, and they have been linked ever since that moment as rivals—and even partners.

It seemed as though their angle was on the verge of coming to an end when Styles beat Jericho at Fastlane, but they forged an alliance soon after and took aim at The New Day's Tag Team Championships.

The aptly named Y2AJ faced The New Day with the titles on the line in one of the best Raw tag team matches in recent memory, but the veteran pairing fell short. That led to Jericho attacking Styles after the bout and denouncing the fans due to their constant chanting for the newcomer.

Jericho made it clear he felt as though fans had turned their backs on him, but Styles stressed the importance of allowing them to express themselves however they choose, according to WWE Universe on Twitter:

WWE Universe @WWEUniverse

"The @WWEUniverse can chant WHATEVER they WANT!" - @AJStylesOrg #SmackDown

That only served to infuriate the Fozzy front man, who made a habit of distracting Styles during his matches, particularly those against Kevin Owens.

Jericho mockingly and repetitively yelled "AJ Styles" into the microphone, causing the former IWGP heavyweight champion to lose on multiple occasions during the road to WrestleMania.

Y2J seemed to have such an advantage in the mind-game department, in fact, he mocked Styles for falling victim to his trap:

WWE Universe @WWEUniverse

"@AJStylesOrg, who's your daddy? ME!" - @IAmJericho #RAW

Jericho also initially refused to face Styles at WrestleMania, which forced the Georgia native to take matters into his own hands by using Jericho's tactics against him.

Styles caused Jericho to lose to Zack Ryder on the go-home edition of Raw by distracting him and attacking him until The Ayatollah of Rock 'n' Rolla finally gave in.

That set up their fourth WWE singles match, and much like the first three, both Superstars put on a remarkable performance befitting of sports entertainment's biggest stage.

Jericho and Styles seemingly became more comfortable with one another and put on better performances with each passing match, and they used that momentum to engage in a grappling affair purist wrestling fans undoubtedly appreciated.

Both men are considered to be among the best in-ring performers in the business over the past couple of decades, and they made the most of the time they were given by putting that on full display.

Styles appeared to be the logical choice to win the match since he figures to be with WWE on a full-time basis, while Jericho does not, but the WWE Creative team went in a surprising direction by having The Phenomenal One lose his biggest WWE match to this point.

If the rivalry between Styles and Jericho is scheduled to carry on beyond WrestleMania, then the booking could make sense, as a Styles win at the next pay-per-view would allow him to win the series.

It is still fair to question the decision to have a relatively new star like Styles lose such a significant match, but he and Jericho did put on an excellent show, which eases the potentially negative impact to some degree.