10 Reasons AJ Styles Is The Best WWE Signing Of The Decade

3. The Showstopper

AJ Styles
WWE.com

"AJ Styles is the best wrestler in the world."

That objective take on an extremely subjective industry has been thrown around for several years now, with Styles a rare WWE standout in contrast to the crew of elite performers that arguably outwork him year on year from Japan and the Independent scene.

That he's been in said debate as a constant with the rotating cast of Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Ricochet over the last several years speaks to his astonishing adaptability and ferocious form over a protracted period. Only Daniel Bryan's CV looked close to it, and even he was too hampered booking that handcuffed several of his high level clashes.

Paul Heyman named the three wrestlers Styles has been compared to in this article as those he'd since surpassed for good reason. There was a measured effort to find those that collectively made up the perfect pro wrestlers, with Shawn Michaels' name dropped purposefully to position him alongside the one man WWE undisputedly consider their best ever.

With seemingly limitless gas in the tank and Michaels' own knack for unlocking an ostensibly hidden higher level in his big matches, AJ looks set to become the 'Icon that can still go' and could easily take 'HBK's 'Mr WrestleMania' mantle with enough efforts on the 'Show Of Shows'. In North America at least, there is still no finer all-rounder.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett