10 Biggest WWE Creative Success Stories Of 2018
5. AJ Styles Vs. Samoa Joe
An at times camp storyline, AJ Styles Vs. Samoa Joe was nonetheless a highly entertaining and effective spot of sports entertainment.
Joe's incredible character work elevated the whole thing. The guy read a bedtime story to AJ Styles, in a sentence that might have forecast unintentional comedy - if Joe wasn't such a menacing and understated presence. Because it's all about the visual, WWE's prop department even produced a book, which we were apparently expected to believe Joe had self-published. That promo was still outstanding, and it was all in the delivery; as Joe accused AJ of failing to call home, he didn't sell it with a vicious glee but a surprised shrug - as if he, this monster, was quietly disapproving of AJ's behaviour. It was expertly calibrated to torture AJ, not merely piss him off. Joe's guttural roar of "Daddy's already gone night night!" showcased his range further by adding bite to the bark.
The matches were really, really great too; methodical but in a good way, you weren't left bored in the slow patches, but were instead forced to process the gruesome extent to which Joe had just murdered Styles in the middle of the ring.
Ultimately, a despicable, believable heel unleashed terror on a babyface and his family, and said babyface avenged him. It was good, old-fashioned storytelling that was too good to fail, even if WWE almost tried.