Rectified: Kazarian & AJ Styles

[It's Damn Real!]

While I have to admit that the idea of Ric Flair & AJ Styles really intrigued me when the concept unveiled itself back in January at Genesis when Flair originally helped AJ retain his title against Kurt Angle, over the last six months (or so) the concept of AJ as a heel just hasn't packed nearly the same punch as the concept of him as a mega-face did/does. Factoring in the face turns for Mr. Anderson, Kurt Angle and the acquisitions of RVD and Jeff Hardy coupled with the heel turn for Sting, AJ's place in the main event as a heel IMO really seemed to lose whatever power it was intended to have prior to the initial turn in the first place.

Kazarian, on the other hand, re-debuted back in February and ran through a couple feuds with Doug Williams, Shannon Moore and Brian Kendrick which also saw him win the X Division title at Lockdown when Williams was unable to get a flight back to the States following the volcanic eruption in Europe earlier this year. While on one hand I was excited to see Kazarian return, and even happier to see him win the X title again, Kaz as a face just never seemed all that viable to me, as I never really felt he had the personality to really support the idea to begin with.

::cue Ric Flair::

In his quest to embarrass and destroy Jay Lethal for what in Ric's opinion was an act of disrespect to the Naich when Lethal impersonated him on iMPACT!, Flair recruited Kaz as a means to an end, and in the process instilled the seeds for the AJ/Kazarian rivalry when he seemingly began to side more with Kaz than he did with his would-be-protege AJ, who had been developing a bit of a losing streak for the last month and a half. Fast forward to tonight and the feud comes to fruition a bit more when AJ ends up being pinned in a three-way match with Lethal and Kaz after quite a bit of overly confident showboating back-and-forth between Kazarian and AJ, who were both looking to impress their mentor Flair who was ringside for the match. Following the loss, Flair subsequently writes AJ off as having lost his focus and tells him to take time off to find out who he wants to be and what his purpose is. The visibly upset AJ frets over the situation and ultimately decides that the best course of action (in the interim, at least) is to challenge Lethal to a match at Slammiversary.

While logic isn't generally TNA's strongpoint, in this case I feel they've actually used quite a bit of it in handling the Kaz/AJ feud seeing as it sets the foundation for Kaz to turn heel and for AJ to turn face – something I think both men are in need of.

I realize some will claim this wasn't the proper way to turn AJ face again, but I actually think it's more intelligent to turn him face from within his own affiliations with Flair than it would have been to have him suddenly lay claim to some moral compass elsewhere. No, he's not the main event, but these feuds (the mini-feud with Lethal, and the eventual feud with Kaz) are in the upper mid-card which will help to elevate both Kazarian (eventually) and Jay Lethal, as well as keep AJ relevant on television while he regroups for his next TNA WHC title chase/run.

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That said, it's Q&A Time!

• What do you think of the idea of AJ turning face and Kazarian turning heel?

• How do you feel about the potential of the two to feud in the process?

• Do you feel this somehow hurts AJ in the process of elevating Kazarian?

 

[Adam08]

I liked the idea of Aj turning face and Kaz turning heel it freshens both of there characters and there both better as the heel for Kaz and the face for Aj. As far them in progression having a feud I like it they haven't wrestles for a certain amount of years and it feels fresh and new and should be good if booked right.

I also I'm not so sure that this will hurt Aj. I mean yeah Aj current spot will be given to Kaz. But I doubt it will hurt him to much since he is a homegrown talent and all. But if Aj turning as a face is a way to bring Mick Foley back on tv and start a feud with Ric Flair and Kaz and have Foley as Aj mentor even though that idea is really bad.

 

[Tiger Chaos Theory]

While logic isn't generally TNA's strongpoint, in this case I feel they've actually used quite a bit of it in handling the Kaz/AJ feud seeing as it sets the foundation for Kaz to turn heel and for AJ to turn face – something I think both men are in need of.

Yes, TNA has begun the eventual Kaz/Styles feud quite well. They've put the arrogant cockiness and insecurity that lead to Styles teaming with Flair in the first place to brilliant use.

Note: For those of you that don't get it, when Styles first teamed with Flair, he spoke highly of Flairs ability to to help him win matches and teach him things. Read further into that and you can presume that A.J. didn't believe in himself. Or I'm just a raving lunatic, you decide.

I realize some will claim this wasn't the proper way to turn AJ face again, but I actually think it's more intelligent to turn him face from within his own affiliations with Flair than it would have been to have him suddenly lay claim to some moral compass elsewhere.

I'd beg to differ with those other contentious ideas on how to turn Styles. This has all the beginnings of a great turn that could end up a lot better than him just deciding he's tired of being a bad guy. When this first happened in January, everyone in this section figured Flair would turn on Styles that lead to his turn, so it was rather predictable that it would end with Flair picking a new protege, but that is fine with me since it is surrounded by a logical premise. I would say Styles would turn on Flair, but what does that really accomplish? A.J. just looks like a whiny cunt that got scared he would lose his spot on Flairs lap instead of a face that should be cheered IMO

No, he's not the main event, but these feuds (the mini-feud with Lethal, and the eventual feud with Kaz) are in the upper mid-card which will help to elevate both Kazarian (eventually) and Jay Lethal, as well as keep AJ relevant on television while he regroups for his next TNA WHC title chase/run.

Another great point. I've never been one to believe that just because someone isn't fighting for the title, they are no longer relevant. Especially when the person of relevance in question just came off not only the longest, but one of the best/entertaining title runs in company history.

• What do you think of the idea of AJ turning face and Kazarian turning heel?

While we all knew Styles would become a face again at some point, it's good to know he seems on the precipice with all the negativity around his heel run. Kaz turning heel, we'll see. But I will say that Kaz is in desperate need a of a solid persona that isn't just an unentertaining version of RVD, and he could benefit from a heel turn under Flair (Styles mic skills have improved, why not Kazs')

• How do you feel about the potential of the two to feud in the process?

The way TNA has started it gives me hope that it could be very good, but it is TNA we are discussing.

• Do you feel this somehow hurts AJ in the process of elevating Kazarian?

Absolutely not. Styles has built a reputation that allows him to pop into the ME scene with ease after not being there for some time. And Just for the record, Kaz is ranked as one of the top 10 wrestlers in TNA(kayfabe) so feuding with number 4 on the list wouldn't be killing Styles credibility as a ME performer. Again, just after he was booked as a very good champion, I can't see how this would hurt him.

 

[King Blitzkonic]

Well... I like the idea. It would give a fresh feud between AJ and Kaz, and that can only elevate both of them. Kaz is being pushed to the moon right now, but it'll FAIL without a feud with an established MEer.

 

[Pedro08]

I like the idea of having Kaz be aligned with Flair, but not at the expense of AJ. I thought AJ was starting to come into his own as a heel. He has moved away from being a copy of Flair and was starting to develop the cockiness, a la Chris Jericho, that I feel would suit him best as a heel.

Unfortunately, now they have AJ as the whiny baby fighting with Kaz for Flair's attention. I find it painful to watch.

I would rather have Kaz join AJ, Wolfe and Beer Money under Flair guidance as a heel stable than kicking AJ out and turning him babyface. With the recent turn of Mr. Anderson, the top of the card is crowded with babyfaces and I don't think there is a good spot for AJ. He would be better suited for now to stay as a top heel, but he's gotta stop being shown as a whiny, baby.

 

[Suneeboy]

This angle is another example of TNA switching gears in the middle of an operation to try and see what works.

Unfortunately when they initially brought Kaz in as an X-Division face, and turned AJ Styles into a cheesy knock off of Ric Flair, they didn’t think long term when it came to the development of the character, and how much the characters in those incarnations would be able to draw and intrigue the audience.

The abysmal booking of the upper mid card and main event heels of TNA has cost the AJ Styles a lot of credibility. Turning him face and getting him as far away from Ric Flair as possible will cover up some of the damage done over the past 6 months, but there are too many other problems brewing afoot and too many mistakes have already been made for this to draw any kind of interest from the audience, increase ratings, or increase PPV buys.

This is one of those situations that we need to let play out before we can either get our hopes up, or formulate any type of expectation regarding these characters. TNA has repeatedly changed course at the snap of a finger without explanation, reason, or build so until I’m shown otherwise I expect more confusion and pointless nonsense to ensue for these characters and this pending feud/angle.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I've never really bought into the idea of AJ Styles as a heel, or really even as Flair's protoge`. Styles just isn't a credible heel, he just doesn' thave the spark in my eyes that's needed to be a heel. Styles has come off the past few weeks like a clingy, whining little bitch and watching Flair dress him down last night as if he were some green 19 year old kid that'd never done anything in his life only reinforces that view.

I think the best thing for Kaz would be to turn him heel, but I think that Flair will overshadow him far more than he has Styles thus far. Kazarian is someone that's not really gotten over all that well, despite him working in TNA off and on for years. He's not in Styles' league and I'm worried that Flair's presence will just nulify Kazarian's just as it did during iMPACT! last night.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I've never really bought into the idea of AJ Styles as a heel, or really even as Flair's protoge`. Styles just isn't a credible heel, he just doesn' thave the spark in my eyes that's needed to be a heel. Styles has come off the past few weeks like a clingy, whining little bitch and watching Flair dress him down last night as if he were some green 19 year old kid that'd never done anything in his life only reinforces that view.

I think the best thing for Kaz would be to turn him heel, but I think that Flair will overshadow him far more than he has Styles thus far. Kazarian is someone that's not really gotten over all that well, despite him working in TNA off and on for years. He's not in Styles' league and I'm worried that Flair's presence will just nulify Kazarian's just as it did during iMPACT! last night.

People said the same of Flair & HHH in Evolution with Randy Orton, and fancy how that turned out, eh?

I actually think personally this is exactly what Kaz needs. He's a weak personality who's incapable of getting himself over, so who better than Ric to help him do so while he's still quite green with respect to being a strong mic worker or character outside of his pure wrestling skill?

Kaz needs no help in the ring – there he's fine – but he needs a lot of it outside the ring, IMO, seeing as he's barely capable of eliciting half a cheer or boo verbally right now.

AJ turning face in the process is just an added bonus as he never really should have been heel in the first place.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

People said the same of Flair & HHH in Evolution with Randy Orton, and fancy how that turned out, eh?

Orton was completely fresh. He was extremely young and hadn't really developed his own persona. Kazarian has been coming to TNA for nearly seven years. TNA fans are familiar with him, they know who he is. The possibility that he just simply doesn't have "IT" is there.

I actually think personally this is exactly what Kaz needs. He's a weak personality who's incapable of getting himself over, so who better than Ric to help him do so while he's still quite green with respect to being a strong mic worker or character outside of his pure wrestling skill?

I agree that Kazarian has a weak personality and needs help. The problem with Ric Flair is that, just as with AJ Styles, he'll completely overshadow Kazarian if they keep using the same formula. Last night on iMPACT! was a perfect example. Flair was the one in the spotlight, not Kazarian. Flair was the one that was the center of attention, not Kazarian. Flair was the one that was using the younger guys to get over instead of the other way around. When Flair was in Evolution, he wasn't booked that way around Orton or Batista. He helped them get over, he wasn't booked to make them look inferior. I like the idea of Flair having a mentor type of role to younger wrestlers. It worked in Evolution and it can work with Kazarian if done right. Last night, in my view, wasn't the right way to go about it.

 

[shattered dreams]

I really enjoyed the way they handled this last night. I am not convinced this means face turn for AJ, especially immediately. I think it is at least as likely that they use this for AJ to become his own heel and shed Flair's influence. I did not feel like Flair overshadowed Kaz. Kaz has not shown one ounce of personality since he came back as himself or arguably ever. That is until last night. I was shocked but excited because if he can coax some personality out in this storyline suddenly his in-ring ability is a lot more valuable.

 

[Pepe Silvia]

AJ doesn't work as a heel in TNA for two reasons:

AJ helped build TNA to what it is today. The hardcore, old-school TNA fans will still cheer AJ, the same way they cheered Double J when he was supposed to become a heel with Foley after Hogan joined. It's not going to work. You gave them this company, they have too much respect for AJ to boo him. The newer fans might be able to get behind heel AJ and start to hate him, but here's where the second factor comes into play.

AJ's almost in the same boat as guys like Matt Sydal for one reason: in the bigger companies, where there's less guys who can do the amazing things that both of them can do, it's a natural reaction to cheer for them. They're the little guy who does these, according to Douglas Williams, are "selfish and attention grabbing." Be that as it may, they work. AJ is definitely an X-Division performer, regardless if he's in the main event or not. when you see someone pull off a spiral tap, your first reaction isn't "Well he's a cunt, who gives a shit," it's "GOD DAMN THAT WAS AWESOME, AJ! AJ! AJ!"

Those two factors make AJ a more viable option for a megaface than a heel, at least in TNA. He's got too much of a following to be seen as a villain.