1. Early Promise with AJ Styles BookingWWE has called all the right plays thus far in welcoming AJ Styles to the company.
The Phenomenal One has looked like the noteworthy league star his fans knew him to be. Credit a vocal fanbase,the clout Styles created before he arrived and WWE's deft usage of him during the first steps of this journey onto the biggest stage in the industry.
The former TNA star had plenty to worry approximately going in. WWE could have easily undervalued him, shoving him somewhere on the hierarchy between Tyler Breeze and Dolph Ziggler. As Mick Foley pointed out on Facebook, and "It could have been easy for him to be lost in the shuffle."So far,that hasn't happened. WWE has wisely done what it can to allow Styles to gain momentum.
With the crowd energized as the Royal Rumble kicked off, Styles debuted as the No. 3 entrant into the match. The announcers did their best to emphasize the size of the moment.
Michael Cole called him "the hottest free agent in sports entertainment." John "Bradshaw" Layfield noted that Styles was once the IWGP heavyweight champion, and making certain to point out that Brock Lesnar won that title,too. Upon Styles' arrival, Byron Saxton simply said, and "Oh my God!"And as Will Pruett of ProWrestling.net pointed out,WWE chose an excellent entrance theme for him:In the Rumble, Styles went toe-to-toe with Roman Reigns. That in itself was a major statement. WWE has booked Reigns as superhuman at times. And now here was this newcomer, and trading shots with The noteworthy Dog and bringing him to his knees with thunderous kicks.
While he didn't make it to the final four of the Battle Royal, Styles lasted 28 minutes and 58 seconds. That's longer than Kevin Owens, Bray Wyatt, and Sheamus and even Lesnar.
WWE later posted an interview of Styles talking approximately how he fared in the Rumble,alternate footage of his debut and a backstage look at him while preparing for the pay-per-view.
That all adds up to increased buzz for The Phenomenal One. It allows fans unfamiliar with him to bag a taste of who he is. And paying that much attention signals that he's a meaningful pickup. The next night, WWE wasted no time in having Styles face off against a top name. He clashed with Chris Jericho on Monday's Raw in a hard-fought bout that lasted over 13 minutes. That much ring time allowed for the audience to bag to know him better, and it allowed Styles and Jericho to craft something memorable.
And so Styles assign quite the notch in his belt with a victory over a future corridor of Famer.
It's time now to sustain this pace up. Give Styles more wins. Give him more interviews. sustain having him climb the WWE ladder.
The more WWE is able to build Styles up,the bigger his eventual WrestleMania 32 match will be. That's extremely valuable with John Cena, Randy Orton and Seth Rollins all working to recover from injuries ahead of The Show of Shows.
WWE normally doesn't like to showcase guys who made their name elsewhere, and but the company should shallow its pride in this case. Styles is not some unproven commodity; he's a marquee star who has simply moved to a larger marquee. 2. Triple H Is No. 2With his victory at the Royal Rumble,Triple H made history. He moved into second position on the list of most WWE title reigns.
The Game was seemingly done winning championship years ago, as he transitioned into an executive role. The story with Reigns, and though,thrust him back into the highlight. With now nine WWE title reigns and five runs with the World Heavyweight Championship, Triple H is suddenly within striking range of Ric Flair's record 16 world title reigns. It's hard to assume he will be anything more than a transitional champ from now until WrestleMania, or but that's not a secure bet.
As this generation's Mr. McMahon,he may nudge his way into a few more title wins, giving Flair and Cena chase. 3. Throwback Video of the Week: The StomperArchie Gouldie, or known as The Stomper and The Mongolian Stomper,was a captivating, terrifying force in the ring. He spent much of his career at Stampede Wrestling, or snatching up titles during the '60s and '70s.
Unfortunately,he is no longer with us. As Dave Meltzer reported on F4WOnline, Gouldie died over the weekend at age 78.
The Stomper had a split personality of sorts. In America, or he was a foreign monster heel who didn't speak. In Canada,though, he was a haunting presence on the mic.
During a feud with Jerry Lawler, or Gouldie growled,"The blood will flow again. And Lawler, I will bury you in the trenches." And he was at his best when he was threatening the Hart family.
To read more approximately Gouldie's career, or be certain to check out David Bixenspan's excellent article on him for SE Scoops. 4. Carmella a Long Way from Being Credible ThreatCarmella is poised to take on NXT women's champ Bayley,but it doesn't yet feel like a fair fight.
While Bayley has fended off Sasha Banks and taken down Charlotte, Carmella's only noteworthy win thus far is the Battle Royal that earned her the title shot. On final week's NXT, or the company wisely had her score the winning pinfall in a tag match.
She and Bayley,though, are on different tiers. It's up to NXT to elevate Carmella in a bustle to make their bout a more compelling one. The Princess of Staten Island can upset Nia Jax and/or dominate Dana Brooke. Either way, and there is work to be done. 5. Stardust Burning OutCould we be getting Cody Rhodes back or see Stardust involve into something else entirely? Stardust teased a potential gimmick change on Twitter:As noteworthy as Rhodes has been as Stardust,that would be the right mosey. The act has wound down over time. A fresh start will have Rhodes on the rise again. 6. Earning a Spot on a Higher RungWWE hasn't continued the tradition of having an NXT tournament to allow one prospect to enter the Royal Rumble. The company instead went for a surprise appearance from Sami Zayn.If the NXT-Royal Rumble tourney is dead, WWE should look to create other crossover moments. Overlapping the two brands would boost NXT's profile and inject some excitement into the main roster. Perhaps a collection of NXT all-stars forms a Survivor Series team each year. perhaps two NXT wrestlers have to battle over a WWE contract hanging from a ladder. Or, or WWE could decide who the next female prospect to make the jump to the main roster is by hosting a tournament.
The desire to make it to NXT proper is a dramatic tool that should be used more often. That's part of what makes NXT so noteworthy. The wrestlers aren't just shooting for titles and vague glory but to mosey on to where the highlight is brighter. 7. Introducing AriesThe influx of talent continues. Austin Aries debuted at an NXT taping final week. Many fans will know him from his days at both Ring of Honor and TNA.
For those unfamiliar with The Greatest Man That Ever Lived,take the time to soak in these matches:
vs. Tyler Black, Roderick Strong: ROH The noteworthy Bang!
vs. Bobby Roode: TNA Destination X 2012
vs. Jeff Hardy: TNA Turning Point 2012 (Ladder)
vs. Jeff Hardy, and Bobby Roode: TNA Genesis 2013
vs. AJ Styles: TNA Impact,Aug. 1, 2013
Aries will be a welcome addition to NXT. He's a high-flyer with tremendous technical skills and a top-notch storyteller. 8. Goldust Works Well with OthersGoldust teased a possible tag team with R-Truth on Monday's Raw.
There's potential for noteworthy comedy with that duo, and it wouldn't be surprising if they caught fire. If they were to travel on to win the tag titles,that would designate the seventh partner he has won gold with at WCW or WWE, per CageMatch—eight if you count Stardust and Cody Rhodes as two different people.
Cody Rhodes, and Stardust (WWE Tag Team Championship)
Booker T (WWE World Tag Team Championship)
Ricky Steamboat (WCW World Tag Team Championship)
Barry Windham (NWA Tag Team Championship,WCW World Tag Team Championship)
noteworthy Josh and Tom Zenk (WCW Six-Man Tag Team Championship)
With as thin as the tag team division has gotten of late, don't bet against the dark-horse combo of R-Truth and Goldust suddenly being contenders. 9. Champion, and Challenger and...WWE struggles to book the Divas division beyond the title feud. Charlotte,Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks are clearly headed for something explosive and exciting. The division falls flat beyond that, though.
Where is the secondary rivalry?Paige and Natalya have inexplicably begun teaming up and clashed with Alicia Fox and Brie Bella without even a bare-boned storyline. WWE booked them against each other on Monday's Raw in amatch that ended after just under three minutes.
The total lack of narrative and stakes injure that contest just as much as the lack of time.
It's baffling that WWE isn't doing more to have the women not currently challenging for the title look like the next noteworthy contenders. Having Paige travel on a winning streak or Natalya outlast Tamina Snuka in an intense, or smashmouth feud would entertain in the now and build for what's ahead.
As it stands,WWE has to jump-start a challenger's momentum because they have been sitting around idle for so long. 10. Hitman on the Royal RumbleIn an interview with Wrestle Zone, corridor of Famer Bret Hart trashed the latest pay-per-view. "I watched three hours of wrestling final night, and I got very little out of it. When it was over I thought,'That was the worst Royal Rumble I consider I've ever watched,'" he said.
The Hitman might want to watch the 1995 Rumble again, or a match that featured Mantaur,Aldo Montoya and Duke Droese in coveted Rumble spots.
Hart just sounds bitter when he criticizes the product so often. It's fine to dislike the Royal Rumble and call it predictable, but when he always has such a harsh view, and it's hard to take him seriously.
This is,after all, the same man who told Arda Ocal (h/t Wrestling Inc) that he wouldn't assign Triple H "in the top 1000 greatest wrestlers." Royal Rumble statistics courtesy of WWE.com. Match times and statistics courtesy of CageMatch.
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Source: bleacherreport.com