8 Ways WWE Can Make Samoa Joe The AJ Styles Of 2017
The Destroyer is coming, and megastardom is within his sights.
As far as all-time great individual wrestling years go, AJ Styles' 2016 is hard to top.
From his thrilling Royal Rumble debut to his late-year wars with Dean Ambrose and John Cena, Styles has been immaculate since joining WWE. Barely a month has passed without the former TNA wrestler producing a Match of the Year candidate, and while his WWE Championship reign is now over, Styles remains the company's most exciting performer.
Debut years of such calibre are incredibly hard to come by. Only Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar can rival AJ in this regard. His excellence was one of WWE's biggest plus points last year, and while asking the company to repeat his success in 2017 is a hefty demand, it's not impossible.
Styles' former TNA rival Samoa Joe made a huge impact during his Monday Night Raw debut. His destruction of Seth Rollins immediately places him at the heart of WWE's upper card, and gives him a springboard to immediate main roster success. The former NXT Champion is coming in white-hot, and his momentum is through the roof.
Joe isn't as flashy or athletic as Styles, but it shouldn't matter. He's a fantastic performer in his own right, and if handled correctly, there's no reason he can't have an incredible debut year of his own.
How do they pull it off? Here are 8 ways WWE can make Samoa Joe the AJ Styles of 2017.
8. Don't Mess With His Gimmick
Samoa Joe was one of WWE’s best heels last year, NXT or otherwise.
Savage, searing, and relentless, Joe’s anger was palpable, and he let nothing stand in his way on the road to NXT Championship glory. His promo work became a weekly highlight on NXT TV, and while his feud with Shinsuke Nakamura didn’t always deliver in the ring, there was never anything wrong with Joe’s character work.
Kevin Owens was in a similar position a couple of years ago. KO’s villainous but relatable “Prizefighter” gimmick made him one of WWE’s most compelling bad guys, and it transitioned seamlessly onto the main roster. Sadly, becoming Universal Champion has all but robbed Owens of his former edginess, and he has since become a whiny, cowardly heel.
WWE can’t afford to make this mistake with Joe. They have an outstanding character on their hands with him, and they should change little - if anything - about his personality now that he’s on the main roster.
Going down the Owens route will only diminish a man who could soon become one of the company’s biggest heels, and Joe probably doesn’t have KO’s charm and wit to compensate. Let Joe be Joe, keep the meddling to a minimum, and they’ll be onto a winner.