10 Times WWE Pleasantly Surprised Their Audience
8. AJ Styles Replaces Bray Wyatt
There's something about the unexpected Finn Bálor match (more on that later), that seems to bring the best out of everybody involved, but life's certainly made an awful lot easier when AJ Styles is the guy on the other end of the surprise.
'The Phenomenal One' was drafted over from SmackDown for one night only on the Raw-exclusive Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view back in 2017 when Bray Wyatt caught the mumps, and though it deprived us all of ever seeing what the f*ck the company had in mind for the wretched presentation of 'The Eater Of Worlds' Sister Abigail concept, it instead served as a reminder of what Bálor had to offer at the top of the card if actually pushed into the spot.
'The Demon' was a megastar in victory over the man that would be WWE Champion within weeks of the contest, whilst Styles kicked off what would perhaps go down as his best ever month within the organisation. Crucially, with no time to actually promote the contest, WWE were forced to ask their audience to appreciate the wrestling for wrestling's sake. Unsurprisingly, they adored it.