November 19, 1998 – Cleveland, Ohio – Gund Arena
Backstage in the maze of gray-painted hallways, the air buzzed with the kind of tension only TV night could bring. The production crew darted between road cases, talent agents clutched their clipboards, and somewhere down the hall, the muffled sound of "If You Smell…" announced The Rock's latest in-ring promo.
J.J. Styles sat on a folding chair in the corner of the locker room, tightening the laces on his black boots. His ribs still ached from Philly, but it was a good pain — the kind that told him he'd earned a little respect.
Tony Garea, one of the agents, stepped in.
"Kid," Garea said, looking at a run sheet, "you're moved up tonight. You're in the second hour, not the opener."
J.J. paused. "Against?"
"D'Lo Brown. Non-title. You get 7 to 9 minutes. Vince wants to see if you can hang with someone faster."
Garea didn't wait for a response — just marked something on his sheet and moved on.
Gorilla Position
From gorilla, J.J. caught glimpses of the monitor. DX was in the ring clowning on The Corporation, Triple H trading jabs with Shane McMahon while X-Pac held back Road Dogg from getting into a scrap with The Big Boss Man.
The headset crew kept checking the timing. JR and King's voices came in from the ringside feed.
JR: "Fans, coming up after the break, we've got D'Lo Brown, the Intercontinental Champion, in action against a newcomer making waves — J.J. Styles."
King: "Making waves? JR, the only waves this kid's gonna make tonight are the ones when D'Lo knocks him flat on the mat!"
The Entrance
The house lights dimmed. "VIOLENCE FETISH" by Disturbed blasted through the PA, pyro firing on cue. The titantron showed the lone wolf graphic before cutting to highlights from his first matches — including the German suplex on Hardcore Holly that had the Philly crowd buzzing.
The Cleveland fans gave him a mixed reaction — some curious, some already booing, but more vocal than before. He walked to the ring with the same cold, focused pace, his eyes never leaving the squared circle.
The Match – Styles vs. D'Lo Brown
D'Lo entered to "Danger at the Door", swaggering with the Intercontinental belt slung over his shoulder and the signature head bob going in overdrive.
Bell rings.
They circled. D'Lo tried to feel him out with quick jabs, but J.J. caught the arm and transitioned into a standing kimura tease. D'Lo scrambled to the ropes, breaking the hold.
JR: "That's that MMA background, King — quick to lock in a hold and dangerous from any position."
The pace picked up — D'Lo hit a running forearm, J.J. countered with a sharp leg kick and a snap takedown. He worked the mat, moving from half-guard to side control before D'Lo muscled out and hit a spinning heel kick.
Near the end, D'Lo went for the Lo Down frog splash, but J.J. rolled away at the last second. He hit the ropes, nailed his modified GTS, and went for the cover — 1… 2… D'Lo got the foot on the rope.
The crowd came alive.
They traded reversals until D'Lo caught him with the Sky High powerbomb out of nowhere for the win.
JR: "What a showing from J.J. Styles — this young man is proving he belongs!"
King: "Proving he belongs? He lost, JR! He's 0 for 2 on SmackDown!"
Backstage Aftermath
Still breathing heavy, J.J. stepped through the curtain. Waiting just beyond gorilla was Stephanie McMahon, now in a sleek black pantsuit, headset around her neck.
"You're not afraid to take shots from bigger guys," she said, almost like an observation to herself.
"I'm not afraid to give them back, either."
That same unreadable smile flickered before she walked away toward the production table.
Elsewhere in the Night
As J.J. cooled down in the locker room, the rest of SmackDown roared on — Mankind ambushed The Rock during a backstage interview, Kane destroyed another enhancement guy in under a minute, and Austin hit the Stunner on Shamrock in the main event brawl.
J.J. didn't have gold, didn't have a feud, but he had something else — screen time in the second hour and the crowd talking. And in the WWF of 1998, that was the first real step up the ladder.