AJ Styles: "Better Than The Best In The World"

[ABMorales787]

[youtube]u4xmd5mLvxo[/youtube]

Are you behind him now? On this past edition of Impact Wrestling, AJ Styles addressed the rather jarring decision of teaming up with the Main Event Mafia and going from perpetual loner to a team player in an instant. It was very simple. "He likes being the go-to guy".

In mere minutes a year's worth of character development that seemed to just go unexplained for a while was fleshed out in a way that got the crowd behind him. It's clearly a worked shoot that incorporated TNA's seeming lack of trust for their very own golden boy as well as the recent contract dispute that seems to be up in the air. There was even a jab at CM Punk that seemed a bit odd and out of nowhere. Simply put, AJ Styles delivered his very own Pipe Bomb and is likely winning next week's 20 Point Gauntlet match and the Series itself.

On a personal note, I felt this promo was way overdue. After Slammiversary, AJ's loner character fell to the wayside badly. He went from playing a role similar to Sting in 1996 to pretty much being Raven without his Flock. It was becoming detrimental to AJ's momentum and it seemed more likely that TNA stopped caring for him once again. Well they decided to prove us wrong and use their very own wrong doings to once again put AJ Styles' new character over. The question is, and it's a pretty important one, do you buy into him?

Despite the attempt to give him a more stand out character, he has not been the most over guy on the roster. Despite his consistent performances he's not TNA's top merch seller. That's always been Jeff Hardy. He's not been TNA's best babyface. To my believe, that's James Storm. He's not TNA's best promo cutter. That's in my eyes, Austin Aries. But he is a total package though. He's covered enough to get over that last hurdle and be the genuine top star once again and to me all that it takes is the right storyline, which has been in the works for a year, and getting as over as possible with the TNA crowd. Is he doing the latter? Only the next few weeks will tell. But they are crucial for the future of the man who is "Better Than The Best".
​

 

[BenChillin]

The promo had it's highs and lows but it was dope. Since back in ROH Aj's been one of the better top wrestlers. He's obviously gonna win that gauntlet and the belt at BFG but lets just hope that he can maintain a good, memorable run.

 

[terrylee]

... fleshed out in a way that got the crowd behind him.

Y'know, apart from the "boring" and "wrap it up" chants. And the fact that the only time that the fans got really involved was when they did the Daniel Bryan "Yes!" chants...

It was a decent promo, but nothing too mindblowing. The promo from the "other" AJ this week was better. Only saving grace for Styles' promo was the fact that he didn't have the Bella Twins screeching at him.

I hope Impact Wrestling does invest more time into Styles though. He's the heart of the company, and I'll be sad if he leaves. The promo itself was nothing really special though.

 

[Fire Marshall Bill]

I don't think it was bad by any means, but as I was watching it, even I thought it started to drag on briefly. That is, until he picked it up at the end. AJ Styles' mic skills have never been his strong suit. He's much better than he used to be, but he's still beaten by many people in the business.

As for the content of the promo, I think it might've been overdue as well. He said a lot of things that needed to be said. At the same time, when this gimmick started, it was a clear rehashing of Crow Sting, and how often did he cut a promo? Frankly, his demeanor during his match against Roode made that promo feel even better in my eyes. He dominated a lot of that match and I feel his cocky, but not heelish, attitude really fit well with his promo. I think the timing of the promo actually works out well with the build to BFG entering the final stretch.

As for the "CM Punk jab," eh. Maybe. There's not a lot of ways to say you're better than everyone else out there without getting too long-winded or just plain corny. Look at Austin Aries; he's one of my favorite wrestlers right now, but "The greatest man that ever lived" is a bit of a stretch for a moniker.

 

[Wald]

See this is why Styles isn't as good as Punk or Bryan. The guy is meant to be cutting a work/shoot promo and he doesn't react to the audience whatsoever. Loads of them took a dump on him during this and yet he doesn't address the boring chants, nor the boos, nor the wrap it up chants, the crowd's answer of Daniel Bryan being the best in the world.

I know he's meant to stay face but the best way to do that is to show some fire and address anyone who questions how good he has been for TNA. That will get fans onside more than sticking to the script.

 

[Weems2k]

That crowd was just one more example why Cleavland is such an embarrassment, and just how low of IQ some wrestling fans have when a stupid "yes" chant is the only thing that can get a mid card at best knob over.

Styles promo in the beginning may have been dull, but he picked it up big time later on. This mix of Loner AJ, and Pheom AJ is actually pretty interesting.

 

[Con T.]

I love AJ Styles, and he's perhaps my favorite wrestler in wrestling.

This promo was fucking atrocious. There are two ways about it. Blame the crowd all you want (and believe me, they were pretty justified...), AJ rambled for what felt like hours. You know a situation is bad when two AJs cut shoot promos, and AJ Styles comes in second. A fucking distant second.

Let's address everything that went wrong.

1. AJ still looks completely uncomfortable doing promos. See him pacing the ring? Stopping to put his hand on his head, almost like he's trying to remember what to say? Those aren't good signs. In fact, they're the signs of a man who's way in over his head.

2. AJ spends about five minutes talking about how he has such a crappy job (all the while burying the wrestlers, the company, and the new direction), a job most would love to have, in a time when unemployment is what it is, and then goes to say he loves said crappy job. Why is never really explained, but we're supposed to take it at face value.

3. Shoot names, brother. In two thousand and fucking thirteen.

4. And most importantly, the crowd turned on it. See how rabid the fans were at the beginning? AJ already had them in the palm of his hand, and managed to talk them out of cheering for him.

This is actually why AJ isn't better than the best. When it comes down to it, AJ is one of the best high flying wrestlers to ever exist, but he still has issues cutting promos. If anything, maybe he should go to Triple A, instead of WWE

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Dear AJ Styles,

I like you, you are great in the ring but my god YOU SUCK AT PROMO'S. I agree with a lot of what you are saying but your delivery is an abomination. You didn't come off like CM Punk, you came off as CM Punk's whiny little brother who gets picked on too much.

In closing it is beneficial to your career if you stand in front of a mirror and actually work on your delivery and believably. If you do that then the "boring" chants or the "yes" chants (used by a guy who can actually deliver a solid promo) will disappear and fans who don't just suck TNA's tit will be able to get behind what you are saying. Who knows? You may get a few more fans to your side, maybe you will become the face of TNA again and maybe, just maybe you will find a way to be entertaining outside the ring.

Sincerely,
deanerandterry

That is how I feel, that is the truth on AJ Styles promo. Just saying things that are "real" and things that "fans want to hear" isn't good enough. In life (and wrestling) it's not about what you say its how you say it.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

While the promo wasn't all that bad for me, I think AJ made the cardinal sin of not really getting the audience involved in it. He just shuffled from one camera to another and you could see the audience not really liking being snubbed.


See when you cut a "shoot" or any promo, you have to get the crowd behind you. "This guys is fucking with me" says the wrestler to the crowd; people go "Fuck the guy who is fucking with you; we are with you AJ/Punk/Bryan". Styles however managed to alienate the fucking crowd and quite honestly rambled vaguely for them.

Now I have never really been a fan of his current gimmick, and I have given it a chance. He just looks outta place as the lone wolf. Just not menacing at all. That promo, what can I say, the crowd turned on it.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I don't blame the audience for the bad reception as much as I blame AJ. Of course, there appeared to be a small group of drunk assholes who kept shouting things throughout the whole night, but overall there were a few thousand people who really didn't give a damn. That's where I blame AJ.

In general the promo was cool. He said interesting things, furthered his character, answered some questions. However, AJ's lack of mic work showed so greatly in this promo. He showed everyone that it's not just about what you say or your content. It's also about how you structure it in order to engage your audience to boo or cheer or whatever - make some noise.

AJ has no timing, he takes too long to get a few words out, takes these silence breaks and is just going on auto-pilot on and on and on. You could tell he didn't have a line of script in that promo since it was so badly structured. He started with one thing, then went back to another, then repeated that other thing, then rambled on, then we stopped listening, then he said something cool and before you know it you were looking at your watch.

Moreover, he didn't really say anything new, did he? After last week I believe we all expected a different AJ. The old AJ. But this week we got dark AJ again. He was only a bit more respectful to the MEM. That's it. Heck, the guy came off heelish, he was getting booed. But then he got cheered 3 second later.

I don't think that was intentional. I think that was just AJ improvising, saying what he thought was necessary hence he gave the audience mixed signals. Confusion is the reason why no one really cheered. They didn't know if he was a bad guy to boo him hard or if he was a good guy to cheer him on. He flip flopped all the time so people were silent, listening for cues whether to boo or cheer.

I didn't mind it but I get why the audience died down when he was talking. But, they weren't all that excited through the whole night either so who knows. E

Either way, in a recent post I said I was wishing for some amalgam between old AJ and badass AJ and I think (?) that's what we got this week. Yeah he had some of his old attributes but he was still all about himself and THANK GOD he didn't say anything about "I do this for the money". It's so cheap and so lame. Everyone does it for the money, AJ. It doesn't make you special. Or interesting.

Also, there could be a third party here that caused all of this. TNA. Surprised? Well, listen, we all know the decision to have AJ help out MEM was hyper sudden and came out of the blue, especially for AJ. This week I bet they thought they had to explain why he did what he did and just told him to come up with shit so there's not a hole in the plot. Then in like two weeks AJ, who is no mic master, has to muster up reasons as to why his character would help MEM. I think they just threw him to the dogs out there for the sake of clearing up why he helped MEM, why he seemed like the old AJ and all that shit and that's why he was kinda confused and just said "fuck it" and said whatever came on his mind.

Clearly this is the end of AJ and MEM's "alliance". They filled a spot because of Angle, now he cut ties with them and it's over. The result is that promo and a tweak in AJ's character. I don't think they anticipated that. They did it on the spot and now they're stuck with it. Fuckin' Kurt.

I just hope he improves his mic work and wins the BFG Series. He's willing to learn I guess and he has people to learn from in TNA so we'll see.

Gotta say though, that "I'm better than the best in the world" line - that was some real shit AJ was feeling. That look in his eyes and the way he says it? AJ only gets this fired up when he says things he feels. Good to see AJ take a little pride in his skill. I wish he'd be more cocky about how good he is. He is better than Punk (in the ring), and since Punk prides to be the best WRESTLER in the world (not sports entertainer) I think AJ has a lot on him in this case so it was good to see and hear him say it.

 

[5000]

[youtube]u4xmd5mLvxo[/youtube]

Are you behind him now? On this past edition of Impact Wrestling, AJ Styles addressed the rather jarring decision of teaming up with the Main Event Mafia and going from perpetual loner to a team player in an instant. It was very simple. "He likes being the go-to guy".

In mere minutes a year's worth of character development that seemed to just go unexplained for a while was fleshed out in a way that got the crowd behind him. It's clearly a worked shoot that incorporated TNA's seeming lack of trust for their very own golden boy as well as the recent contract dispute that seems to be up in the air. There was even a jab at CM Punk that seemed a bit odd and out of nowhere. Simply put, AJ Styles delivered his very own Pipe Bomb and is likely winning next week's 20 Point Gauntlet match and the Series itself.

On a personal note, I felt this promo was way overdue. After Slammiversary, AJ's loner character fell to the wayside badly. He went from playing a role similar to Sting in 1996 to pretty much being Raven without his Flock. It was becoming detrimental to AJ's momentum and it seemed more likely that TNA stopped caring for him once again. Well they decided to prove us wrong and use their very own wrong doings to once again put AJ Styles' new character over. The question is, and it's a pretty important one, do you buy into him?

Despite the attempt to give him a more stand out character, he has not been the most over guy on the roster. Despite his consistent performances he's not TNA's top merch seller. That's always been Jeff Hardy. He's not been TNA's best babyface. To my believe, that's James Storm. He's not TNA's best promo cutter. That's in my eyes, Austin Aries. But he is a total package though. He's covered enough to get over that last hurdle and be the genuine top star once again and to me all that it takes is the right storyline, which has been in the works for a year, and getting as over as possible with the TNA crowd. Is he doing the latter? Only the next few weeks will tell. But they are crucial for the future of the man who is "Better Than The Best".
​

I thought it was a shot at CM Punk and the wwe

Ric Flair-Tna won't be around much longer

what if their setting up backstage TNA shutting their door's and finally during The WWE/TNA invasion angle even though that's 90% unlikely I hope so because TNA is losing it but the show's and the wrestling have been pretty decent and they even have a minitron now

 

[hatehabsforever]

There's no doubt in my mind that the comment was a thinly veiled "shot" at CM Punk. Having said this, I'm equally confident that it was a worked shoot and that AJ Styles isn't going anywhere. Clearly working the smarky crowd in attendance as well as the IWC who likely know of his contractual status and his potential frustration with it. At the end of the day, if there was much of a chance that he was leaving the company, I can't imagine he would be able to come out and cut a scathing promo like that. And coincidentally, there's the absurd announcement by Hogan of extending the BFG series for one more week. Tailor made for the dramatic victory and qualification for the final four of the tourney.

A lot of people hated his promo last night and were very critical of it. I didn't mind it at all, though it did tend to drag on for a little too long. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't exactly WWE worthy but for a TNA promo, I thought it was OK. Let's not get into silly comparisons between his delivery and that of the best in the world. But I did think his promo was better than some are giving him credit for.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

The "shot" at CM Punk, the way I see it, was an allusion to the comments Styles made days earlier when he asked fans on the internet "where he should go next". This lead to plenty of conjecture and rumor that he'd be leaving TNA for WWE where fans were obviously hoping for feuds with guys like Punk. That makes this a work, even if it is based in reality.

I found Styles' promo to be one of the best of his career personally — if not the best.

 

[Con T.]

A lot of people hated his promo last night and were very critical of it. I didn't mind it at all, though it did tend to drag on for a little too long. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't exactly WWE worthy but for a TNA promo, I thought it was OK. Let's not get into silly comparisons between his delivery and that of the best in the world. But I did think his promo was better than some are giving him credit for.

The "shot" at CM Punk, the way I see it, was an allusion to the comments Styles made days earlier when he asked fans on the internet "where he should go next". This lead to plenty of conjecture and rumor that he'd be leaving TNA for WWE where fans were obviously hoping for feuds with guys like Punk. That makes this a work, even if it is based in reality.

I found Styles' promo to be one of the best of his career personally — if not the best.

Among the Sting/Bully Ray talk I got confused to what week it was, so this is easily possible. But did we all watch the same promo last night?

A recap of all that came from that promo;

1. TNA got buried for its ineptitude in bringing in the "next big thing" and the "new direction"

2. AJ buried himself as being a guy who likes to be abused in his workplace. He came off as CM Punk's masochisitic brother. Then again, he did seem whiny so maybe he's not so masochisitic.

3. Shoot names. Did you hear that pin drop when he said Allen Jones?

4. As noted, the crowd died multiple deaths.

How could this possibly be the best anything AJ Styles has done?

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I thought the promo was flat out atrocious.

First of all, AJ contradicted himself throughout the promo, by shitting on TNA, then he inexplicably turns around and professes his love for TNA? That didn't make sense. And if he was going the shoot route, then AJ failed miserably. A shoot is supposed to look and feel real. AJ's promo last night felt and looked forced. AJ's uncomfortable and awkward body language was very noticeable, and after a while, it looked like he was struggling to come up with something else to say, as he rambled on. Plus, AJ sounded way, way too whiny to the point, where you couldn't rally behind him.

Plus, AJ sounded horribly redundant. I'm not only talking about the material he constantly regurgitated last night, but we've been hearing this "nobody cares about me" shtick from AJ since he returned, so there wasn't any real shock value behind his words.

Lastly, I do believe AJ took a little slight shot at Punk, but who really cares? Punk is miles and miles ahead of AJ in every way shape or form right now, so AJ's shot will mean absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things.

 

[Desyar]

That was just awkward to watch. I'm no big fan of Punk but this guy just can't compete.

He just had to say that he's better than the best in the world.. he lost it there.

Props to the crowd for chanting those. And he really can stay with TNA for all I care, WWE doesn't need a cheap imitation of Punk.

 

[sufyaan05]

Was a bit of a mess promo wise.

But in terms of in ring entertainment.

I do prefer to watch him over Punk.
I think he is probably better in between the ropes.

Needs some work on the mic though.

 

[Harthan]

Remove the crowd and the promo was fine. I don't understand why the crowd was so negative toward him. The only thing he's guilty of is not engaging an obviously smarky crowd (judging by a "Yes" chant at a TNA arena).

 

[Cena's #1 In My Heart]

I think you're being a bit harsh on it honestly.

The content was phenomenal. The delivery was questionable. The crowd was fired up by some of what he said as it was controversial. He started a war with CM Punk, The Cult of Personality, and his cult fan base. Of course there is going to be CM Punk fans at a wrestling show and they are going to be vocal for their leader. I know, I'm in the CM Punk cult lol. I'm also a die hard wrestling fan and think AJ Styles is damn near the greatest thing I've ever seen inside a wrestling ring.

If you really watch the video you can see the majority of the crowd is enjoying and supporting AJ throughout this promo. Yes a small group of probably like 10 people in the back of the arena started echoing the boring chant, but there was more people cheering by the end of it. I think the "Yes" chant defiantly had more to do with the people agreeing with Styles than randomly bringing Daniel Bryan into a CM Punk/AJ Styles subject. "Yes" has just become a means for the fans to express themselves at wrestling shows, and its effective.

Back to my beginning point of his questionable delivery, sure he lost his train of thought, but I think he was just looking for the right words. That's just the signs of a man searching his soul for the right words to express his emotions. Sometimes it can be hard to say what you want in the best way. So that's just more proof that a lot of this was a worked shoot and a lot of it was truly coming from his heart. It's almost like he was telling Dixie why he should deserve a big money contract. When he did have something concrete and important to say though, the delivery was phenomenal. I'm especially talking about the part where he said he was better than the best in the world, and the parts where he was telling Dixie and Mike he deserved better. It was shaky at times, dragged out at times, seemed like it lost it's point at times.. but by the time it was all set a done, it made sense and had a point. I think this shoot was a great idea and it really needed to be done to save AJ Styles' character in TNA.

I also want to bring up something I have considered and that this is the WWE and TNA working together. TNA's working with Bellator so they are open to partnership, WWE not so much. Either way if AJ is WWE bound, this did create a spark and buzz towards a Punk/Styles feud which I consider dreamy in this day and age. Plus if Styles went to TNA, it would be a win-win... WWE gets an amazing talent and TNA gets to say one of their stars finally went on and did something in the WWE. Remember they kind of swapped Christian and Flair for a moment there. And I wonder if this Ted Dibease not resigning is WWE's way of slightly working TNA back for this. WWE hasn't shyed away from Ted leaving. This is just speculation and I'm interested to know if any of you feel this could possibly be happening too. Wrestling still always is attempting to shock and awe us in this day and age, and they are often successful, could that be in the works?

Either way, I think this ultimately is a good promo for AJ Styles and his character development. Despite what the haters are saying. His fan base wanted to hear him confront his issues.

 

[Con T.]

Remove the crowd and the promo was fine. I don't understand why the crowd was so negative toward him. The only thing he's guilty of is not engaging an obviously smarky crowd (judging by a "Yes" chant at a TNA arena).

Sorry, Harthan, I'm not buying this at all.

Did you hear the pop AJ got when he came out? That crowd wanted to love him, I say. Wanted. The crowd turned on him when AJ started yammering about how much being in TNA sucks.

It was near astounding to see, really. It was reminiscint of the Warrior promo on Nitro, where the crowd burst at the sight of Warrior. And when he started to speak, the crowd turned, and it turned fast.

It may have not been as bad as that. May

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

First of all, AJ contradicted himself throughout the promo, by shitting on TNA, then he inexplicably turns around and professes his love for TNA? That didn't make sense.

This is what I gathered from it. AJ was originally disgruntled about constantly being pushed to the wayside but then his perception of the business changed. Now he says he doesn't mind being the go to guy, because deep down Styles knows he is the best. So it doesn't matter if he's at the top, as long as he can feed his family Styles will carry on doing what he's doing.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

How come nobody complained when CM Punk wiped his ass with the WWE?

Mind you, AJ never shat on TNA. He shat on Dixie Carter and Mike Tenay. He criticized Dixie for what she did to TNA.

Punk, however, shat on the WWE. He shat on the people who run it, the people in it, its fans and wanted to take off with their belt acting as if he's bigger than them. That, however, was somehow cool and WWE fans loved it. Contradictions galore. Even the fans shat on the WWE by cheering him on, chanting his name and agreeing with it. "Yah, finally someone says how shit everything is! Yay! I can't wait to buy more WWE related things now!". When AJ started talking shit about Dixie and the state of TNA he got booed and got a "you suck" chant. Only I'm not sure if it was because they thought he really sucked or they disagreed. Could've been both.

Still, we're acting like AJ usually cuts amazing promos and now he flopped. For an AJ Styles promo this is pretty damn good. Compare him to other guys and ... well ... just imagine a fart noise right now.

His words outweighed his delivery, that's the root of all evil. For words this powerful they had to be matched with a powerful delivery. Now it's mismatched and it doesn't sit well with some people. We wish he really kicked its ass but all we got was a good promo that could've been great and would have been if someone else was cutting it.

 

[Con T.]

How come nobody complained when CM Punk wiped his ass with the WWE?

Mind you, AJ never shat on TNA. He shat on Dixie Carter and Mike Tenay. He criticized Dixie for what she did to TNA.

Punk, however, shat on the WWE. He shat on the people who run it, the people in it, its fans and wanted to take off with their belt acting as if he's bigger than them. That, however, was somehow cool and WWE fans loved it. Contradictions galore. Even the fans shat on the WWE by cheering him on, chanting his name and agreeing with it. "Yah, finally someone says how shit everything is! Yay! I can't wait to buy more WWE related things now!". When AJ started talking shit about Dixie and the state of TNA he got booed and got a "you suck" chant. Only I'm not sure if it was because they thought he really sucked or they disagreed. Could've been both.

Still, we're acting like AJ usually cuts amazing promos and now he flopped. For an AJ Styles promo this is pretty damn good. Compare him to other guys and ... well ... just imagine a fart noise right now.

The main difference is, AJ's always been a company guy. He's always been that sort of person, to support TNA no matter what.

CM Punk never has. He's made no bones about calling out stupid things in the WWE. This isn't near the same thing at all; if anything, it's more comparable to if John Cena were to go on TV and rip the WWE a new asshole

 

[Poop Master Flex]

How come nobody complained when CM Punk wiped his ass with the WWE?

Mind you, AJ never shat on TNA. He shat on Dixie Carter and Mike Tenay. He criticized Dixie for what she did to TNA.

Punk, however, shat on the WWE. He shat on the people who run it, the people in it, its fans and wanted to take off with their belt acting as if he's bigger than them. That, however, was somehow cool and WWE fans loved it. Contradictions galore. Even the fans shat on the WWE by cheering him on, chanting his name and agreeing with it. "Yah, finally someone says how shit everything is! Yay! I can't wait to buy more WWE related things now!". When AJ started talking shit about Dixie and the state of TNA he got booed and got a "you suck" chant. Only I'm not sure if it was because they thought he really sucked or they disagreed. Could've been both.

Still, we're acting like AJ usually cuts amazing promos and now he flopped. For an AJ Styles promo this is pretty damn good. Compare him to other guys and ... well ... just imagine a fart noise right now.

I doubt the fans disagreed with what he said. I also agree with this was a decent promo considering its AJ Styles but in all honesty if the guy sucks at promo's he shouldn't get more than 2 minutes on the mic, get him a manager but don't give him 7 minutes on the mic and let him suck the life out of the building. I get what they were trying to do with AJ Styles but damn that was bad last night.

People didn't shit on Punk because it was fresh. It wasn't the 1st shoot promo in WWE but it was the first one in a long while on their flagship show and people didn't expect it. They thought Punk was legitimately leaving so it came off very organic. The biggest reason however it came off so well was once again the delivery. Punk can give a great promo, he can give that promo with great believability and he knows how to get the fans into his promo just by his actions and delivery of the promo.

If you give The Rock a promo, give him a menu from Chili's and have him recite it word for word it will be a million times better than a AJ Styles promo when they have given him the greatest material in wrestling history. I'm not comparing AJ to The Rock or anything because that's unfair but at the same time I don't believe in giving the guy slack because its "not as bad" as his usual promo's. If he's bad on the mic why does he have it in the first place? Why does he get 7 minutes on the mic when he can't do more than 2?

 

[Cena's #1 In My Heart]

You guys always rip the TNA fanbase, so why hasn't anyone brought up the fact that maybe a portion of the stupid fans thought he was turning heel and couldn't see the direction this was actually going?

Hardy said on twitter that what Styles said will go over a lot of the casual viewers heads. It's more to please his hardcore fan base, and he did receive a decent amount of cheers too after he finished.

He's still going to continue to be AJ Styles like he has always been, hell, he WILL even be getting a bigger reception in his next arena because he called out to his hardcore fans who will then in turn maybe want to see him now that he is getting more of the focus.

The crowd in Cleveland was mainly hulkamaniacs if you hadn't noticed while you were busy hating. Meaning probably more older fans that had bought a ticket to see him and aren't as familiar with the TNA roster. So they weren't really as invested in Styles as other were, Styles' fans liked it and that's what matters for Styles.