12 Ups And 15 Downs For WWE In 2016

1. AJ Styles Is Phenomenal

There should be little question that the biggest positive in 2016 in WWE is the man who had the best debut in WWE in years.

AJ Styles shocked the wrestling world when he debuted at #3 in the 2016 Royal Rumble, tangling with Roman Reigns and lasting for a good portion of the match. He went on to lose to Chris Jericho at WrestleMania XXXII and then unsuccessfully challenged Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.

But it was after the brand split that Styles really took off. He was feuding with John Cena at the time, and they had an instant classic at SummerSlam, where AJ won clean. That victory propelled Styles straight to the WWE Championship, which he held throughout the fall and closed out 2016 retaining the title.

Styles was an “indy darling” for years, possibly the best North American wrestler to have never wrestle full-time for WWE. When he showed up at the Rumble, skeptical fans wondered how long it would take WWE to screw him up and screw him over. But the Phenomenal One persevered and became the centerpiece of SmackDown, and now he’s poised to continue on strong into 2017.