10 Wrestlers Whose Rookie Years Exceeded Expectations

I’m going out on a limb here, because AJ Styles is still only three quarters of the way through his rookie year, but that doesn’t change the fact that already he’s achieved so much more than many would have expected of an ex-TNA and indie darling.

Since making his long-awaited WWE debut at the Royal Rumble on 24th January, 2016, Styles has gone from strength to strength to strength to strength.

A half-hour stint in the Rumble match was followed by a dream feud with Chris Jericho, which produced one of the better matches at WrestleMania 32. From there, a WWE World Heavyweight Championship feud with Roman Reigns beckoned, in which he proved beyond any shadow of a doubt that he was one of the absolute best in the world. And though he didn’t manage to take home the gold, he soon found himself in what was arguably an even better position - feuding with John Cena and, most importantly, beating John Cena.

A clean victory over the company’s poster boy at SummerSlam, was followed up with a WWE World Championship win over Dean Ambrose at Backlash, allowing Styles to claim his rightful place at the very top of the mountain.

Here, the key thing to bear in mind is that Styles was at one point TNA through and through, remaining with the company for over a decade. Plus, at less than six foot he’s hardly the WWE’s archetype main eventer.

And yet, here he is at the top of the pile, carrying the flag as the champ that runs the camp. It’s not that no one expected Styles to deliver exceptional matches—rather, I doubt anyone truly expected WWE to actually push a sub-six foot, former TNA guy, so much so that they'd crown him their champion of the world.

When you’re as good as AJ Styles though, I guess the company didn’t really have too much of a choice in the matter.