6 Ups And 7 Downs From WWE SmackDown (Nov 22)

2. Are You Feeling Mucky, Punk?

AJ Styles Nakamura Strong
WWE.com

By this point, though he's not exactly The Rock reincarnate, AJ Styles has totally disproved those who said his promo skills would never be enough to cut it as a top-line star in WWE.

Look at his impromptu oratory on SmackDown this week, which demonstrated a few subtle differences from his colleagues' usual scripted stutterings. Not only did Styles have the presence of mind to sell the blow to the back he'd took moments earlier - again, not something we should take for granted - but possessed the necessary wit to improvise a response to the inevitable CM Punk chants emanating from the Chicago crowd.

"I'd clean him up," teased Styles, and that more or less shut people up. Having the confidence and guile to confront the intrusion instead of dying on the vine is a skill lesser seen in WWE today.

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Editorial Team
Editorial Team

Benjamin was born in 1987, and is still not dead. He variously enjoys classical music, old-school adventure games (they're not dead), and walks on the beach (albeit short - asthma, you know). He's currently trying to compile a comprehensive history of video game music, yet denies accusations that he purposefully targets niche audiences. He's often wrong about these things.