4. His Wrestling Style Is Different To Anything WWE Has Right Now
I touched on this before, but I think it's worth noting again. A.J can offer WWE a bit of variety, a bit more fibre in their diet, as it were. WWE has a lot of hot young talent right now, but there's still an awful lot of homogeny in there. Most everybody is doing that same, tired, OVW style and pulling all their tricks from the same bag. It isn't their fault, but it is the truth. This is one reason why wrestlers like Daniel Bryan and CM Punk found their way to the top: they were different. They were forged in a different fire. Kofi Kingston is different, a genuine maverick in a sea of sameness, but I think they've pushed his star as high as they want it to go (although I think he could be a world champion some day and I sincerely hope I get to see it). Damian Sandow is different, (he's also a better wrestler than his gimmick allows him to be) but, to be honest, most of WWE's roster is quite, I dunno, same-y. The WWE legends, (those stars who get such enormous crowd pops whenever they are so much as mentioned) guys like Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Mick Foley, Ric Flair, Steve Austin and so on, were trained in a different way, during a very different era (in fact, a multitude of different eras) and it is a big reason why they still mean so much to the WWE fans. ...Before he was The Deadman, for example, The Undertaker held the USWA World Championship as 'Master of Pain'. Before 'Rock n Wrestling' Hulk Hogan was the Champion of Verne Gagne's AWA. Ric Flair was, of course, a multi-time NWA World Champion, while Bret Hart was seasoned in his father's Calgary-based Stampede Wrestling promotion. The Hitman came of age battling guys like Dynamite Kid and the original Tiger Mask in Japan... Mick Foley, for his part, endured aptly named 'C4 Exploding Ring Barbed Wire Bat Death Matches' with Terry Funk in Japan and flaming tables with Sabu in ECW. He was buried by WCW and resurrected himself in Philadelphia, home of blood, guts and gore. Chris Jericho is a wrestler who travelled the world, learning general mat techniques in Japan and coupling them with highflying Lucha Libre spots from Mexico. All of the above performers worked in different styles, different countries and for different promotions, years before debuting with the WWE. But, I digress... The point is that these performers (and I'll never shy away from using that word in the context of professional wrestling) learned their craft long before they gained the massive TV exposure that comes with a WWE (or even NXT) spot. The fans go nuts for these guys, not only for nostalgia (which alone will only carry a returning wrestler as far as a generous entrance pop and a few extra 8x10 sales), but also because the quality of their matches was generally better. As Jim Ross might say, "A.J has the sizzle, but he also brings the steak". The rougher aspects of his style have been smoothed over by years on the indie circuit. His ability has been broadened by various ROH ring wars and rounded off by a long stint as TNA top dog. In short: he's ready. He's ready right now.