Fun fact: I had originally wanted to include AJ Styles in my first article about interpromotional dream matches, but I couldn't decide on an opponent for him. Now he's in WWE and about to have all the matches I could have listed at that time. Then I thought: why not match the original face of TNA against the man who inherited that mantle? In retrospect, it's obvious: they're the very embodiments of TNAs twin booking tropes. AJ Styles was a homegrown talent and X-Division standout who was continually passed over in favor of whomever was recently fired by WWE. EC3 is a WWE guy who became a huge deal just for stepping into the Impact Zone. AJ is an 18-year veteran with experience as well as speed and agility on his side, while Carter has him beat in size, strength and youth. What both men have in spades, though, are things to prove. Styles just made his WWE debut at the ripe old age of 38, giving him the unenviable task of simultaneously proving that he deserves to be in the big leagues and that hes still got it. Carter was a diamond in the rough of WWE developmental who was released just before was overhauled into a haven for talents like him. His career path since then has been a quest to prove his shortsighted trainers wrong. What Should Happen: AJ takes Carter to the limit, but ultimately misses a 450° splash and gets One Percented for the loss. Did I finally nail all of the remaining interpromotional dream matches? Any glaring omissions you'd care to point out? Let me know in the comments below.
