AJ Styles as a heel--Good or Bad for TNA?

[WhyTravisFelt]

I'm sure they wanted to put AJ over as heel because it's the closest thing to turning Hogan heel when they did that in WCW. I don't know if it can work. AJ's moveset will have to alter to fit the role and that will potentially take alot of his "star" appeal away. Flair can probably use his abilities on the mic to keep him over as a heel, but Styles, face or heel, is pretty limited on the mic. At any rate, it gives them a good excuse to put Daniels back over as a face since, obviously, it looks like he was right about AJ the whole time and considering the clusterf* of face/heel confusion that was his match against Morley, that could be a very good idea.

From reading the results it seemed like a lot of last night's matches were intentionally confusing as far as heel/face stuff goes: Kendrick/Red, Kennedy/Abyss, Tara/ODB, and most notable, Morley/Daniels. Generally speaking, I like shades of grey and nuance when it comes to characters, but they are going a little overboard in messing with the fans for the sake of messing with them, as opposed to trying to create something complex and interesting (assuming they did these things intentionally. They couldn't honestly be stupid enough to think that Morley was going to draw face going against Daniels, could they?)

Hopefully tonight they will clarify where everybody stands now. I personally would like to see Daniels go up as top face against Styles for Lockdown, (assuming getting cleanly beaten by a hasbeen midcarder hasn't completely squashed his momentum) and maybe sometime after that get D'angelo Dinero up at the front of the line for a title shot. And heel Flair hopefully will lead to a series against Sting.

 

[Supersayin]

Well ill be Damned, i love it. This has hogan written all over it, When WCW biggest wrestler (Hulk Hogan) turned heel, they became the biggest company in the world. Now they are doing the same with him, AJ Stlyes is the chosen one from the beginning. It could of been Joe if he didnt put on weight

AJ needed a charcter improvement, he has too much charisma to play a face always, i want to see the heel AJ. his moves are always unpredictable.

 

[Trill Co$by]

Turning AJ Styles heel was the best thing they could possibly do! Especially when it comes to giving him the mentor of Ric Flair at his side.

Here's the thing you all have to realize... AJ was TNA's biggest face. He wasn't going to go any further. So they HAD to turn him heel. Because unlike WWE, TNA knows when people need to be heel or face.

 

[Rayne]

As far as "big changes" to TNA go, this should have been one of the more obvious ones to all of us; and yes, I definitely overlooked it too. Think of Chris Jericho going heel back in WCW. It worked- brilliantly, and in spite of WCW's attempts to bury him in the low midcard, because fans had been so with him. He was an acrobatic face who didn't speak all that much and had fans solidly behind him.

Your best faces are often better heels, and one of the most potent weapons you have when you want to convince the fans to hate someone is betrayal. Betrayal of another wrestler is nice, but if you want to really get that heel over, you have to convince the fans that the wrestler has betrayed them. I look at Matt Hardy's short lived heel turn at the beginning of last year. (Short lived? He was still a face at this time last year.) Sure, his initial betrayal of Jeff brought some short heat, but he never really connected with the fans as a bad guy. I screamed at my television "NO! You made the wrong Hardy a heel!"

AJ Styles is going to be a great heel. And you are going to hate him.

 

[goldbergiswrestling]

I have to say I dont think they are pushin Morgan or Hernandez as Top Talent right now with all their new guys, they will consider them that in the future, but with the new talent coming in they arent thought of as such. Even if they were the top stars, they are faces, Hernandez was face and Homicide turned heel on him. Matt Morgan turned face when he got tired of puttin up with Kurt Angle's shit while he was trying to join the MEM

I have a question for u as well. Why do all the Anti-TNA guys have such a problem with Hall and Waltman? I get that they are drunks who have bad history, however the deal they have is limited and they are intended to be there for a short time. That being said, I dont consider them top heels either

 

[phlewfy]

I love it! I jumped up off the couch when Flair told AJ to hit Angle with the title. AJ is a great wrestler, but his mic skills are abysmal. I know people that don't watch TNA just because AJ has little to no personality. Teaming AJ with "The Dirtiest Player In the Game", Ric Flair, is brilliant for both of them. AJ can do all the wrestling and The Nature Boy can do all the talking. It will definately help AJ seem like he has personality. It keeps Slick Ric doing what only he can do. The clock is ticking on AJ. He's in his thirties and although is beloved by the die hard fan, is still a nobody to the casual wrestling fan. I don't think AJ could go any farther as the All-American, pretty boy, good guy. As a heel, and with Slick Ric leading the way, the sky is the limit. I just think it is about as smart a thing TNA has done in a very long time.

 

[dwith73]

I think most of you are not thinking of the big picture here. AJ used the title to win thanks to Ric Flair(The dirtiest player in the game). Flair is trying to show AJ the way. Do what you have to do to win regardless of who you hurt. Flair wasn't 15 time champion for nothing. He's trying to keep AJ'S title run with longevity. A long title run for AJ with Flair at his side will shoot AJ into the stratosphere. I think it's ingenious.
ONe thing i have noticed is the TNA world title changes hand's too often. The championship matches are as "OVER" as they should be. So if you have AJ styles who continuously winsand holds the title for whatever reason, then title matches that do happen have a lot more meaning to them.

 

[shaneoshea]

You will not know if AJ is a heel or face until the next impact. they are totaly confused on the heel face concept in tna. If you cheat to beat a heel does that make you heel. Then look at how Nash lost, he is going to be angry at hall waltman if he attacks them does that tun him from heel to heel because of their assiociation with the face hogan an bischoff. AJ will be a face in the classic terms becuase him and flair will get cheered ALOT. but in hogan eyes they will be heels because he cheated and he is against hogan.

 

[Dspiracy]

Well well well, AJ Styles heel? That was a shock lastnight, but I honestly dont know how good of a move that is. I mean, it could work. he does have the dirties player of the game Ric Flair by his side. I will like to see where it goes. If i was any of you, i wouldnt even focus on the roster now, because there is alot more acquistions out there that is yet to make an appearance. I mean, last night we say the Brian Kendrick and Mr. Anderson (Kennedy). So at this point, I want to know if Jeff Hardy going to be the antidote to what could be a poisonous decision.

 

[goldbergiswrestling]

You will not know if AJ is a heel or face until the next impact. they are totaly confused on the heel face concept in tna. If you cheat to beat a heel does that make you heel. Then look at how Nash lost, he is going to be angry at hall waltman if he attacks them does that tun him from heel to heel because of their assiociation with the face hogan an bischoff. AJ will be a face in the classic terms becuase him and flair will get cheered ALOT. but in hogan eyes they will be heels because he cheated and he is against hogan.

um incase u didnt know this but Angle has been face for about 2 months now. and as for AJ and Flair will be faces because they get cheered, Flair will get cheered because he is a legend and they respect him, but did HHH get cheered in evolution? no. did batista? no. did orton? no. Flair is the best guy to put in the corner of a heel because he is a natural heel that has earned GREAT respect.

 

[TheBestThereNevaWas]

This will be AJ's best chance to succeed as a heel. It will be interesting to see if fans will accept him as one. There have been a few wrestlers that are so over as faces that a heel turn never works. Sting, Rock n Roll Express, Ricky Steamboat, Dusty Rhodes, Tito Santana, and maybe the Von Erichs come to mind. I think for AJ to get totally over as a heel, he may have to beatdown and bloody Sting up something fierce in a interview segment situation.

 

[shaneoshea]

It was not a big enough swerve/ cheat to turn him heel. If AJ and Kurt were close than yes but they have been battling forever. for instance when Joe and AJ or Daniels wer together and then a turn Boom you have a legit heel.

 

[NSL]

This is a great move for TNA. Their top guy is a heel, and it will make anyone that faces him (win, lose, or draw) an instant fan favorite, and make them look good in the process.

But, for TNA, it's bad. Before last night, he was universally loved by every fan, and every member of the IWC. Now, with so many new fans coming in, they'll see him as a heel, and not know the entirety of his career. It makes future his future face turn less believable, and will cause some people to dislike him.

It's an odd move, but I won't say whether I love or hate it yet.

 

[goldbergiswrestling]

This is a great move for TNA. Their top guy is a heel, and it will make anyone that faces him (win, lose, or draw) an instant fan favorite, and make them look good in the process.

But, for TNA, it's bad. Before last night, he was universally loved by every fan, and every member of the IWC. Now, with so many new fans coming in, they'll see him as a heel, and not know the entirety of his career. It makes future his future face turn less believable, and will cause some people to dislike him.

It's an odd move, but I won't say whether I love or hate it yet.

Im confused by ur post, first its good for TNA and then its not, I think its good, HHA got super over when he went from being a face on Smackdown switched over to RAW when the Bischoff and Stephanie were introduced as the first general managers, he turned on Shawn Michaels and went on to form the best faction of the past decade Evolution. who was the first person he alligned himself with after his Summerslam Street Fight with Shawn? Ric Flair... hmm sound familiar? change in a company, bischoff, and flair alligning himself with a newly turned heel.

 

[mrrrrrrrrr. kennedy!!!!!!]

I dont think aj as a heel is good? I guess we will find out where they will take this but doesnt tna have enough heels? It just seems like all the top guys are heels.

The problem is aj is the man. He IS the best wrestler in the world today and he is the most over guy not just in tna but anywhere. The crowd is still going to cheer him and tna is going to do what they always do and thats bail on whatever storyline thats about to take place cuz its not going to work.

Another reason i dont think this works is cuz now aj is a heel so he will more than likely be beat by a face most likely sting or possibly joe but it doesnt appear that hogan wants to use joe so probably sting. The problem is that sting would have to beat aj cleanly and how does that work when aj is the best and sting hasnt wrestled a match since bound for glory.

I just see this as a thing thats destined to fail an its toobad cuz on jan 4 aj and angle put on what will probably end up being the match of the year and had they left aj where he was he could do that with anybody but now he is extremely limited.

On a side note why does flair have to be a heel? I know he is the "dirtiest player in the game" but honestly i thinks fans embrace that when it is admitted on camera almost like its cool(see eddie guerrero lying cheating and stealing). Flair in my opinion was brought in mostly to be a mouthpiece not for aj but for tna, to get the word out that tna is up and coming, iv seen the word ambassador used. So how can flair do that when he is the mouthpiece to the new top heel? Doesnt make sense to me.

 

[bigpawpa27]

I think the idea of AJ being heel is good for him & TNA. Yes now it seems like most of the roster is heel. But it also opens up door for new faces to be brought up and built. I think in the end this will all work out hell he might even be hated by the heels as well once this is all over with.

 

[Notorious718]

I only started watching TNA in 2008 during the last days of the Angle Alliance and towards the end of AJ's heel run. It's like they say, first impressions do count and I was not at all impressed with AJ as a heel but maybe that was because I was a TNA noob. I thought AJ was a phenominal athelete (pardon the pun) with a moveset that for some reason didn't make me buy him as a heel. As a heel, he seemed like Kurt Angle's redneck crony. As a face, he was UBER over with the crowd. I always thought it was amazing the way he could draw a reaction from the TNA fans. I didn't watch Genesis but when I heard he made a heel turn, needless to say I was pissed at first. I'm not sure if TNA can make AJ the face of their company but before I start passing judgment, I'll see how this plays out first.

 

[Chrome]

Yeah AJ as a heel is gold. He needs to act Cocky and let him hit that next level. Having Ric Flair in his corner helps that. Its all about the World Championship... and I HAVE IT!.. (I loved that line at genesis)