AJ Styles In WWE - What Went RIGHT?

AJ Styles was a babyface saviour when his second reign kicked off. Ending one of WWE's most reckless experiments in November 2017, he liberated the prize from Jinder Mahal and salvaged a struggling Survivor Series match by replacing the 'Modern Day Maharaja' in a Champion Vs Champion match against Brock Lesnar. He immediately restored pride and dignity to the title as a sense of relief amongst the audience just by being him. There were few (if any) full timers as equipped to perform the duty, and he wasn't even two years deep into his WWE tenure by then.

Paul Heyman glowingly compared Styles to Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and Ric Flair in a post-match interview. 'The Beast's advocate wasn't just full of his usual hyperbole in this case - he named those three wrestlers on purpose, and not just because Styles' repertoire embodied the respective ariel, technical and mechanical brilliance of all three. 'HBK', 'The Hitman' and 'The Nature Boy' were at various points the most relied-upon players in the game, all booked by Vince McMahon to hold his title in times of tumult, tension or turbulence.

With Lesnar on the other side barely turning up for work and a roster badly lacking in actual stars, AJ was something rock solid to cling to in stormy seas. His contests in 2018 haven't matched the standard of his first two years, but Styles during a middling run is still better that many a man's best, and a recent rebound with Samoa Joe has served as an immediate reminder to never take his attributes for granted.

There were those that sensibly assumed AJ Styles would never leave TNA before he actually did in 2014, and just as many that thought he'd see out his last great days in New Japan. He'll now one day enter Vince McMahon's Hall Of Fame for a career half as long with WWE as it was with the era's rival organisation. And whilst The Undertaker will never be replaced as the cornerstone of McMahon's incredible empire, was the heir to the 'Deadman's dominance giving us clues in his nickname all along? You can't spell 'Phenomenal' without 'Phenom'.