Mick. Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 In the early 2000s a kid in his early twenties burst on to the independent scene with a death defying offense not observed since the inception of WCW’s Cruiserweights, and only rivaled by the WWF’s Hardy Boyz and the likes of RVD. But not even the Hardys could twist and fly with the grace that this rookie could. His name was AJ Styles and he was the future of wrestling. Fast forward a decade and AJ Styles is now in his thirties; he’s a little heavier than he used to be and only pulls out his best moves for the PPVs. The fire is gone. However instead of comfortably sitting at the top of TNA as a franchise player, Jeff Jarrett and the announce team still call AJ a young kid, and the future of the business. I hate to break it to them, but if they don’t start acknowledging Mr. Style’s accomplishments he’ll never be a main event star. And if Styles doesn’t see the writing on the wall he’s going to miss his chance at really making a name for himself in the WWE. I think it’s already too late; opportunity never lasts with the big dog. All that was good about AJ Styles is in the past, and his future looks grim if they refuse to announce him as a present star. Throwing him a contrived legend’s belt doesn’t count. After initially creating a buzz for himself in NWA Wildside the young athlete was signed to WCW where he could get mainstream exposure and ride on out with a comfortable career, but the year was 2001 and WCW died only a year later. Remember when Styles wore that g-suit and was part of the tag team Air Raid?… Nope, neither do I. Unfortunately his shot at the big time was over before it had begun. He did not take up WWE’s offer of a developmental deal, and off he went back to the Indys. There are a lot of high flying “spot monkey’s†on the Indy scene that care more about how many flips they can do than their ring gear and fundamentals, but AJ Styles was a solid worker and a “phenomenal†aerial assassin. After TNA was founded he was one of the first picks for their X-Division, tailor made for his X-Games like energy, and he could also be seen giving 4 star efforts in the main event of ROH. In TNA he was on their very first show, and a week later Styles defeated Jerry Lynn, Low-Ki and Psicosis in a double elimination match to become the first ever TNA X Division Champion. Hear that? It’s the sound of a rocket, and it was strapped to his back. On his journey through the glass ceiling he captured the Tag Belt with Lynn as collateral. At the 2002-2003 stage of his career his in-ring work was second to no one, but he lacked character depth. Enter SEX. Vince Russo’s Sports Entertainment Extreme, a group of young stars that weren’t afraid to put their body’s on the line, and gloat about their superior athletics. This is when AJ became the PRESENT not the future. With a cocky attitude (depending on which side he fell), pretty boy good looks and the skills to back it up, AJ went on to capture the NWA Championship in a match against Jeff Jarrett and Raven, cementing his position as a top level TNA wrestler. He made several defenses and had an on and off feud with Jarrett for a good year or two. Then something happened. In 2004 TNA got a TV deal on Fox Sports Net, and main event AJ, became X-Division AJ again. Not that there is anything wrong with the X-Division, he had amazing matches with everyone, but as soon as TNA got TV the company slowly stopped getting behind AJ, and instead began bringing in big names from the past. In fact almost all of the originals were put on the backburner. Even the early X-Division and NWA Title DVD releases were put out of print and no longer hyped. Why, was the company ashamed of these early classics? After all it was AJ Styles and the early X-Division stars that got TNA recognition. The only early footage we see now are matches containing former WWE has beens and celebrities, or post 2004 footage. TNA’s current roster has 14 wrestlers that were big stars during the Attitude Era, 8 of which weren’t with TNA before they got TV. There are only about 7 true originals on the active roster (not counting Amazing Red). They seem to be forgetting their roots Despite being arguably the most over wrestler at house shows (including TNA’s largest ever gate at Wembley England) somewhere in the past year or two, instead of climbing back up the ladder and hanging with the likes of Sting and the Main Event Mafia, AJ Styles has become some kind of scared dumb redneck goof, with an abusive father, who has to blow smoke up everybody’s ass. Instead of being acknowledged as a top guy he’s been portrayed as young punk that doesn’t give respect to his elder statesmen. No world titles, just strange belts made up by Booker T. When he does get a shot, he’s so docile, there’s no reason to even care. So the guy that has been with the company since day one and held the World Title 3 times is still just the future of the business? I feel unfortunately for AJ Styles, WWE has their high flying star, Evan Bourne, and his still in his 20s. In WWE’s eyes he’s the past, in TNA’s eyes he’s the future. When will they let AJ Styles be the NOW? Source: [url="http://wrestlingtruth.com/"]http://wrestlingtruth.com/[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushy Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 aj is tna's jeff hardy, crowd favourite that deserves a proper title run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DELETED Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 Great article, I agree with everything that the writer said. AJ needs a good shot, he's the best thing in TNA at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion. Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 I dont agree at all. It says he should be in the main event and pushed up around the main event mafia and all that but, well he is! TNA are going through the stages at the moment to push these "young" guys up into the main event. Yes they have the MEM full of veterans and the TNA world title has been all veterans for a long time but look at it this way. They use the veterans to build the company, to get the 2 hour shows, to get in HD and maybe soon a second show. And now they have put all the veterans together and the frontline against them and now the frontline is rising through, Daniels is back on top of the X division, Styles and Joe are back burning through the main event and through the veterans, EYs heel turn will let him get more screen time and hopefully be more acknowledged. And also I dont really see the comparisons made to WWE superstars, yea maybe Bourne is what AJ was years ago, but right now AJ is more like CM Punk, only Punk is being allowed to move into the main event because the ground is already set down infront of him while AJs path to the main event and the world title is still being built. The ground is set for guys in WWE to push through into the main event, they have the HD, the multiple weekly shows, the prestige and all that, with TNA they are still keeping the veterans and older guys in the main event so that they can boost ratings and put more of the groundwork into the business. So for guys in TNA the path to the main event is much slower, its not TNAs fault its just sods law Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteCobra Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 [quote name='Orion.' post='6216391' date='Jun 22 2009, 06:50 AM']I dont agree at all. It says he should be in the main event and pushed up around the main event mafia and all that but, well he is! TNA are going through the stages at the moment to push these "young" guys up into the main event. Yes they have the MEM full of veterans and the TNA world title has been all veterans for a long time but look at it this way. They use the veterans to build the company, to get the 2 hour shows, to get in HD and maybe soon a second show. And now they have put all the veterans together and the frontline against them and now the frontline is rising through, Daniels is back on top of the X division, Styles and Joe are back burning through the main event and through the veterans, EYs heel turn will let him get more screen time and hopefully be more acknowledged. And also I dont really see the comparisons made to WWE superstars, yea maybe Bourne is what AJ was years ago, but right now AJ is more like CM Punk, only Punk is being allowed to move into the main event because the ground is already set down infront of him while AJs path to the main event and the world title is still being built. The ground is set for guys in WWE to push through into the main event, they have the HD, the multiple weekly shows, the prestige and all that, with TNA they are still keeping the veterans and older guys in the main event so that they can boost ratings and put more of the groundwork into the business. So for guys in TNA the path to the main event is much slower, its not TNAs fault its just sods law[/quote] You make some good points, but seeing the same guys in the main event all the time gets boring. IMO, Joe, AJ, Daniels, all of them need to be in the main event soon because like I said, things are starting to get boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iVivaLaAdam Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 [quote name='bushy' post='6215975' date='Jun 22 2009, 09:13 AM']aj is tna's jeff hardy, crowd favourite that deserves a proper title run[/quote] AJ>Jeff Jeff isnt even worthy of licking AJ'S kickpads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crowley Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 [quote name='TN@LX' post='6217287' date='Jun 23 2009, 02:25 AM'][quote name='bushy' post='6215975' date='Jun 22 2009, 09:13 AM']aj is tna's jeff hardy, crowd favourite that deserves a proper title run[/quote] AJ>Jeff Jeff isnt even worthy of licking AJ'S kickpads [/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The ReBoot Ranger Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 [quote name='Reign' post='6217324' date='Jun 22 2009, 01:34 PM'][quote name='TN@LX' post='6217287' date='Jun 23 2009, 02:25 AM'][quote name='bushy' post='6215975' date='Jun 22 2009, 09:13 AM']aj is tna's jeff hardy, crowd favourite that deserves a proper title run[/quote] AJ>Jeff Jeff isnt even worthy of licking AJ'S kickpads [/quote] [/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V to I Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 [quote name='rvd619323' post='6215999' date='Jun 22 2009, 03:31 AM']Great article, I agree with everything that the writer said. AJ needs a good shot, he's the best thing in TNA at the moment.[/quote] Same. Guys who TNA consider the future, like Joe, AJ, or Daniels, are all getting older now, and unless they push guys like the MEM out of the way soon I don't know that "Young" guys like AJ or Joe are going to be able to help carry the company when a Sting or Angle is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillowTheWhisp Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 It's TNA what do you expect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteCobra Posted June 22, 2009 Report Share Posted June 22, 2009 [quote name='qabrielx' post='6218201' date='Jun 22 2009, 02:35 PM']It's TNA what do you expect[/quote] QFT At times I seriously wonder if TNA actually knows how to run a wrestling promotion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faster Than Light Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 [quote name='JDog30' post='6218968' date='Jun 22 2009, 11:12 PM'][quote name='qabrielx' post='6218201' date='Jun 22 2009, 02:35 PM']It's TNA what do you expect[/quote] QFT At times I seriously wonder if TNA actually knows how to run a wrestling promotion. [/quote] Thats all Vince Russo's fault and the one who hired him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteCobra Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 [quote name='Dr. Awesome' post='6219619' date='Jun 22 2009, 07:49 PM'][quote name='JDog30' post='6218968' date='Jun 22 2009, 11:12 PM'][quote name='qabrielx' post='6218201' date='Jun 22 2009, 02:35 PM']It's TNA what do you expect[/quote] QFT At times I seriously wonder if TNA actually knows how to run a wrestling promotion. [/quote] [b]Thats all Vince Russo's fault[/b] and the one who hired him. [/quote] Really it's the whole creative team's fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillowTheWhisp Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 [quote name='JDog30' post='6219651' date='Jun 22 2009, 05:57 PM'][quote name='Dr. Awesome' post='6219619' date='Jun 22 2009, 07:49 PM'][quote name='JDog30' post='6218968' date='Jun 22 2009, 11:12 PM'][quote name='qabrielx' post='6218201' date='Jun 22 2009, 02:35 PM']It's TNA what do you expect[/quote] QFT At times I seriously wonder if TNA actually knows how to run a wrestling promotion. [/quote] [b]Thats all Vince Russo's fault[/b] and the one who hired him. [/quote] Really it's the whole creative team's fault. [/quote] this Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eli_Porter_Mark Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 yes i agree, he rarely even uses the spiral tap anymore. He needs a title run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driver Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 [quote name='Eli_Porter_Mark' post='6219984' date='Jun 23 2009, 03:01 AM']yes i agree, he rarely even uses the spiral tap anymore. He needs a title run.[/quote] You know what he really needs.... IS for some of the current main eventers to either retire or leave, then TNA might just see how valuable he is and push him.... of course having said that they will probably get some ex-wwers and push them instead Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eli_Porter_Mark Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 1. He can be the present as he can still be a highflyer. 2. He can be the future he has great mat wrestling ability Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Poopy Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 I don't know, I noticed AJ changed alot physically when he traded his trunks for wrestling tights, got skinnier, and grew facial/body hair. That kinda ruined the whole "AJ experience" for me, because when he was more muscular and donned the wrestling trunks, he really looked like a main event wrestler. Now, he's kinda small compared to the other wrestlers. BTW, I wouldnt consider Evan Bourne a "new AJ Styles" per se, because he's been all over the indy scene for years now. Mainstream-wise though, he's kind of the new personification of Styles, especially for people who did'nt know about AJ before. The Spiral Tap is kinda overrated IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Phenomenal AJ Styles Posted June 28, 2009 Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 [quote name='bushy' post='6215975' date='Jun 22 2009, 02:13 AM']aj is tna's jeff hardy, crowd favourite that deserves a proper title run.[/quote] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Windham Posted June 28, 2009 Report Share Posted June 28, 2009 I can't believe that article compared Bourne to Styles. He's good, but he's no Styles, who happens to be one of the best all around performers in the game right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trunkoza Posted July 1, 2009 Report Share Posted July 1, 2009 Wait a minute...I remember AJ having title runs with the NWA world title on TNA a while ago. Why should he get pushed back into the main event and be "champion" again? I don't watch TNA anymore, but its time for other superstars to get their shine at the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The D Posted July 1, 2009 Report Share Posted July 1, 2009 TNA are so obsessed with beating WWE that they can't see talent even when it's right infront of their face. It's sad really, AJ has/had such talent and he trusted TNA to make him a big name, however they're too busy with the old guys who find it hard to get up in the morning to even bother. Styles will be added to the list of people who never got to the big time, like RVD, although at least RVD got to the big stage, even if he only had 15 minutes of real fame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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