At Royal Rumble on January 27, 2019, Styles once again failed to win the title, after a returning Rowan attacked Styles when the referee was incapacitated and allowing Bryan to retain the title. Following the Royal Rumble, Styles gained another opportunity to earn back the championship after qualifying for the Elimination Chamber match. At the Elimination Chamber on February 17, Styles was unsuccessful after he was eliminated by Randy Orton. After Elimination Chamber, both Styles and Randy Orton started making disparaging comments about one another, starting a feud between the two. At Fastlane, after Orton interrupted Elias, Styles hit Orton with a Phenomenal Forearm out of nowhere. This led to a confrontation between the two on the March 12 episode of "SmackDown Live", in which Styles challenged Orton to a match at WrestleMania 35. At WrestleMania, Styles defeated Orton. The next day, it was reported that Styles suffered an injury during his match with Orton and was sent home to recover. Styles did not appear on the "SmackDown Live" following WrestleMania, and it was reported to be a hip injury.