8. Mainstream Apathy
If you exist inside the internet wrestling bubble, which you probably do if you're reading this, you may be under the perception that AJ Styles is a well known name and really popular. After all, there's been a ton of buzz on him this past few weeks online. But the thing is, the majority of WWE's audience don't bother with wrestling sites. Nor do they bother with Ring Of Honor, Impact Wrestling, or New Japan. Out of the four million people watching Raw, most of those fans are the casual mainstream. If you take a look in the live audience, many of them are kids or people just out for a fun night. The IWC is just a vocal minority in the grand scheme of wrestling fandom. That's where Styles may find an instant problem in WWE, with mainstream apathy to his debut. There's a good chance it'll be a smart crowd for the Rumble, but if it is more of a family crowd, he could be met with the dreaded silence or polite applause. To the casual fans, he's just another guy. He's going to have to win them over, his past won't mean a thing.