5. Awkwardly Managing AJ Styles As A Flair Rip-Off
The concept behind having Ric Flair manage AJ Styles was fine - seeing a lot of his old self in Styles, the idea was that Flair would attempt to guide the younger wrestler's career, making him a bigger star than ever before. There's nothing wrong with that at all, it would have been a great way to use Ric Flair. Problems started to arise when it became clear that AJ wasn't necessarily comfortable in the role. Given a makeover of sorts, the high-flying artist was decked out in robes reminiscent of Flair's classic wardrobe, and instructed to start strutting to the ring like his mentor. Fans could see right through this hokey act, and it was pretty cringeworthy when Styles even started delivering the trademark 'Woo'. The entire thing came across as forced, which didn't help anybody involved. It was a cool idea to have Flair endorse AJ Styles, but it was a poor one to have the latter effectively turn into a cheap rip-off of the multi-time World Champion.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
