One of the top pro wrestling news stories of the young year has been the defection of New Japan talent AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows to WWE. While Nakamura, Gallows, and Anderson are still finishing up commitments with NJPW, Styles was in the clear to debut with WWE as soon as possible, with fans anticipating his entrance into the company would come in the Royal Rumble match. As likely as it seemed, though, nothing was set it stone until it happened - and it did happen. After #1 entry Roman Reigns eliminated #2 entry Rusev, Styles came in at #3, drawing the ovation of the night from the WWE Universe. His name, look, and infamous Styles Clash finisher remained unchanged - the only difference was that now, the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion was competing in a WWE ring. Styles lasted for 28 minutes before falling prey to Kevin Owens. Where he winds up at 'Mania is anyone's guess, but if WWE's decision-makers are smart, they'll put "The Phenomenal One" in a marquee match.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
