AJ Styles Speaks to the Claire/Carter/Daniels Story Line

[It's Damn Real!]

http://www.prowrestling.net/artman/publish/TNA/article10026063.shtml

On if there was any thought to dropping the storyline with Dixie Carter after the appearance of Claire: "Absolutely. I thought, 'This did not go as planned and didn’t come out the way we wanted it to.' But there’s a backstory to it. It’s almost a blessing in disguise, and I wish I could tell you what hopefully is going to happen, and you’ll be a lot more excited about it because it’s more than you know. There’s so many unexpected things that are about to happen that you never would’ve thought A.J. Styles may have done."

On the storyline in general: "People can say what they want like, 'Oh this storyline sucked.' You watched it. And the thing is, trust me, there’s been a lot worse storylines than this one. At least these guys who are in it, and the women that are in it, are really into it. We believe it."

On Claire: "Here’s the problem: Nobody knows who Claire is. She’s not important to anybody. We’ve invested zero time in her, but that’s going to change. You will get to know her, as you should. Like I said, there’s a backstory to everything that’s going to happen and has happened. We’re not going to leave any holes. The only hole that I need to address is Serg punching me in the face, which is fine because he punches like a little girl, so I’m OK with that. We never did address that, the fact that it came out and I still haven’t received an apology from him on the phone, text, or anything like that. But like I’ve said, he might as well have hit me with a cotton ball."

--

So it seems like the internet fans aren't the only ones a little disappointed with the direction this angle has taken, or perhaps with the angle from the start of it, but it does seem like TNA creative have every intention to come full circle with it, which is more than can be said of what they did with unfavorable stories like this in the past.

Thoughts?

 

[Lowdown]

I've said time and time again that this storyline has run its course. AJ can say he's into all he wants, but he's not denying that it sucks either. And he also hit it on the head stating no one knows who the hell Claire is. Its like she was thrown into the mix for the sake of keeping this going. Truthfully, she's not needed to add to this feud with Daniels, and Kaz is just there. For the umpteenth time, END THIS STORYLINE!!!!!

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

I like reading these kinds of interviews and after what Styles has said I have faith it's going to pan out well although I'm slightly skeptical on the "Getting to know Claire more" thing I think after her cringeworthy debut it's gonna take me a lot to get invested in her.

 

[TUFFY54]

I think the best way TNA could deal with the Claire mess is to move on and not mention it again. I would put it up there with the May Young hand incident as the most head scratching moments in wrestling.

I normally try to look for the positive in something, but everything about the angel was horrible. The Dixie-Styles affair started off as a good idea. Those two have always had on screen chemistry. I was watching Impact live wanting to see what the big reveal would finally be. Then we had a pregnant drug addict that had never been seen before climb into the ring and cut what could well be the worst promo in the history of wrestling. Everything they had done to build up the feud was wasted at that moment. You simply cant come back from a mistake that bad. Do we really want to spend the next few months seeing top stars and TV time devoted to fighting over a bad actress that NO ONE cares about?

If TNA wants to go in the right direction they will just pretend this whole thing never happened and cut their losses. Unfortunatly, I have the feeling we haven't seen the last of Claire.

 

[Giddy]

I'm not gonna lie. I love TNA, but after watching this I actually said aloud "F**k TNA"

It just disappointed me so much. TNA had been doing so great lately, and this is obviously a big storyline for them, so I hoped it'd turn out well but then that happened.

Hopefully Styles is right. I mean, I'd much rather have the entire storyline dropped and Claire disappear, but that's obviously not gonna happen as TNA still has faith in this story, so hopefully Styles is right and this takes a turn for the better. I fully believe nothing can make this a good storyline, but hopefully something can pull it out of the toilet.

 

[waylon p]

Maybe Claire knows that Daniels is probably the father of her child, but is not telling because she already lied about knowing Daniels.

Then Styles gets hit with a seemingly unrelated storyline, or even some sort of "dixie cannot trust you anymore because you cheated on your wife with this girl and lied about it and you are losing your wife and kids now " storyline.


Finally, it turns out that Daniels is behind it all, to ruin AJ's life, and he has reformed The Prophecy (perhaps under another name since this is TNA, not ROH) with Kazarian and maybe some other folks either brought in or not being used for anything. Samoa Joe comes to mind. I know he was never a member, but was affiliated for a while. So was Homicide, and it would be cool to see him back. (I'll be at a show with Simply Lucsious this weekend. Maybe they could bring her into this. Right. They already have ODB for whatever they'd need her for)

But either way, I see it going in A direction. I hope that whatever they have planned is at least as solid as this, but I am not getting my hopes up.

 

[JoeMallard]

if Claire could actually act, i wouldn't have a problem with it. One moment she realizes she is 'pregnant' then the next she is like it's whatever.

 

[NC Wrestling Nut]

I didn't know what was going on when they started that storyline now when I watch TNA its great wrestling all night which is new for them but when AJ comes out it suddenly changes from wrestling to Maury which pisses me off thats not a good wrestling storyline who the hell is claire where did they find her the Orlando community theater things like this is why WWE is the top dog
screw AJ we need more on tv

 

[Jatkuva]

I thought they could have buried it after the first week of meeting claire, but at this point it's not happening and if it's leading to an AJ heel turn I think it's to important to drop, and should just let it carry out. If it establishes KAZ and Daniels as Main event mainstays then it has to be carried out. These are 2 good talents that have always been stars of the x-division when the belt was involved but kaz never really shined outside of it and daniels only really did when wrestling AJ. KAZ and Daniels in this shitty storyline are still better than any heel we are getting from WWE right now except Bryan Daniels, so as long as they continue to do good work, Lets see where they go with this.

 

[HBsam31]

If Claire could act, I don't think people would think it is so bad. Like another poster said, if it gets Daniels, and Kaz over as main eventers I won't mind it at all. It has disappointed me the last couple of weeks, but I still want to see where this thing goes. I hope I am not let down in the end.

 

[Harthan]

How has TNA continually managed to fuck up their greatest talent time and time again? I mean, really. He's the best thing they have going for them, but what good does he ever do? It's like drafting a star quarterback and playing him as a left tackle. The only time they ever gave him the world title as a face - the only thing he should ever be - was when either nobody cared (NWA) or when they didn't care (pre-Hogan). Then they turned him heel and used him as a vehicle to get Flair on television. Jesus, what's he even done since then? Mucked about in meaningless stable feuds and now this abortion of a storyline. What is the difficulty here? I mean seriously, where's the fucking mental block with the writers? Put the title on AJ, main event him against heels for the next goddamn year, and take it all the way to the bank. It's seriously not difficult. I don't want to watch AJ Styles take part in some weird coke fiend/boss crossover soap opera. I want to see him kick some ass. Why isn't he wrestling Bobby Roode like, every single night? Impact could literally be nothing but a series of two hour Iron Man matches every week contested between the two and it would be miles better than this slop.

Hell, Impact could be a series of Iron Man matches between AJ Styles and Doink the Clown and still be better than this.

EDIT: Because I have even more to say about this, it makes that angry, it does. Here's an idea, pitch this to Hogan, alright - Impact is replaced by the AJ Styles Wrestling Challenge. It's just AJ Styles wrestling whoever the fuck you brought in that week for two hours. I can almost guarantee it will be of higher quality than this nonsensical storyline, because people want to see AJ wrestle. I mean, really, have you ever seen AJ wrestle? It's like watching Emeril cook. It's like watching Magnus Carlsen play chess. It's like watching LeBron James play basketball. It feels right. It's as if the universe has brought together a single man and the one thing he has always been meant to do in perfect harmony. Sometimes you're not sure what's happening, but it's okay. You're suffused with the feeling that as long as this is a thing that continues to happen, everything will be alright. AJ Styles literally brings order to the universe by the mere act of his wrestling. When that is a thing that happens, there's no need to muck it up. You just need to facilitate its happening by the simplest possible pathway, and this is indeed the very opposite of what is currently occurring.

 

[Rayne]

0.8 Vick.

AJ Styles broke the one rule of public relations: never insult the product you're trying to push. Never admit that it hasn't lived up to expectations, or that there's a group of people that even think that. If you're still trying to sell it, it's the greatest thing out there. In trying to promote it, he's acknowledged its flaws.

In television, you don't implore people to be patient. People simply don't want to absorb hours worth of backstory for a few minutes of payoff. Yes, we don't know anything about Claire. It doesn't appear many people want to know anything about Claire, either. (Not everyone- there are some people who will buy anything.) I hate to say, AJ, I'm not watching it. I'm actually walking away from the screen when I see this angle. I think I'm actually embarrassed for myself to have been caught watching a program that would sell this kind of story.

Take Claire and put her wherever Samoa Joe's kidnappers went. This is a storyline which has every right to be buried in the "let's pretend this never happened" folder.

 

[snoopy]

I like the storyline, The Hardcore fans are always going to dislike storylines like this but they need to realize that this story is for the casual fan. The fan that is more willing or if not more capable of following a storyline like this.

I'm looking forward to seeing it through and seeing where it goes and then judge it. People complain,Hardcore fans complain, But this storyline was the highest rated segment a couple of weeks ago and stories like this if done right can bring in casual fans and help the company grow. It's not the hardcore fan that grows companies because it's just not that many of them, It's the casual fans that grows companies!

So I think any true Tna fan should be rooting for this storyline to payoff. Because this is what casual fans like and to a certain degree they are the key for a company's growth. And I think Hardcore Tna fans should be more realistic and open minded to storylines like this because the WWE didn't get to where their at by depending on the hardcore fan.

 

[IT Factor]

I am willing to keep an open mind if this storyline has a payoff and makes sense to conclusion. If it helps put over Daniels as the mega-heel superstar he should be, I'm all for it. If this is just another way to bury Daniels and it keeps being as awful as it has been, I'm against it. AJ Styles hasn't been that great throughout thus far and Dixie/Claire are horrible at acting. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if that same van that kidnapped Joe swung back by the TNA parking lot and got Claire, Dixie, and Kaz while they're at it. He's worse than either chick in the storyline and he's just bland. I'm surprized TNA has kept him around this long......

 

[New Hot Fed]

Here's the thing, this storyline is horrible, cartoonish and daytime soap operaish but for whatever reasons Daniels has really shined throughout all this and it showed how good a heel he can be. I hope TNA management has taken notice of this. And then they had this cool Last Man Standing match last sunday between AJ and Daniels and it made the whole thing almost worth it.

 

[Dirk]

Have to agree 100% with the last poster. This angle only showcases Daniels as a heel. His dramatic appreciation for the story is great.

The angle as a whole is awful, however. How the hell did this plot not resolve after it was confirmed that the affair was a lie? It then took a turn for the Jerry Springer-ish. What's next? Claire and AJ being first cousins? I'm sure that the casual fan will not enjoy this. I find it extremely trashy...

 

[Doctor Awesome]

I have to agree with the majority here that this angle sucks. The story line that was focused before the swerve would have been a much better sell w/AJ and Dixie having an affair. At least that is two people we are familiar with and could really get some legs behind it. I guess that I'm one of those hardcore fans that fast-forwards the soap opera-ish story lines because I know too much but good god I can't see any saving grace with this. There are much better ways to take characters in a new direction than to bring in some broad who I can't imagine is a wrestler and by what we have seen the past month doesn't have the ability to be a valet or any type of on-air personality for the company. Then there is talk of this can be a way of turning AJ heel, does that mean that Daniels comes out and says "I told you so" and everyone loves him because he's right? Um, no. Their match on Sunday was believable in that you truly could suspend disbelief and a casual fan would think those two hate each other's f'n guts. I'm really beside myself at how this company is getting quite a bit right at the moment but they are wasting precious tv time on this rubbish. You wanna turn AJ heel, have him come out and say "yeah, I'm nailing the boss...so what, screw you all!" Just really hard to watch and it shows how vulnerable he is when asked to work outside his comfort zone. A great wrestling mind once said that w/each talent you "accentuate their positives and hide their negatives." AJ couldn't be on a terrible soap opera w/his terrible acting skills. Let the dude wrestle and end this steaming pile of bantha fodder, please.

 

[snoopy]

I have to agree with the majority here that this angle sucks. The story line that was focused before the swerve would have been a much better sell w/AJ and Dixie having an affair. At least that is two people we are familiar with and could really get some legs behind it. I guess that I'm one of those hardcore fans that fast-forwards the soap opera-ish story lines because I know too much but good god I can't see any saving grace with this. There are much better ways to take characters in a new direction than to bring in some broad who I can't imagine is a wrestler and by what we have seen the past month doesn't have the ability to be a valet or any type of on-air personality for the company. Then there is talk of this can be a way of turning AJ heel, does that mean that Daniels comes out and says "I told you so" and everyone loves him because he's right? Um, no. Their match on Sunday was believable in that you truly could suspend disbelief and a casual fan would think those two hate each other's f'n guts. I'm really beside myself at how this company is getting quite a bit right at the moment but they are wasting precious tv time on this rubbish. You wanna turn AJ heel, have him come out and say "yeah, I'm nailing the boss...so what, screw you all!" Just really hard to watch and it shows how vulnerable he is when asked to work outside his comfort zone. A great wrestling mind once said that w/each talent you "accentuate their positives and hide their negatives." AJ couldn't be on a terrible soap opera w/his terrible acting skills. Let the dude wrestle and end this steaming pile of bantha fodder, please.

Yeah the problem with having Aj just come out and say he's nailing Dixie is the fact is that they are both Married! And that Great Wrestling mind I guess you're speaking of had similar storylines like this one with worse talent.

And he started this soap opera stuff that WWE copied and saved the Pro Wrestling business so we could have Pro Wrestling today.

 

[Roadblock316]

did anyone notice last nite on impact when claire drove up in her car for the interview she was smoking a cigarette

 

[The Unforgiven]

Yes I noticed that to. I think the crowd started to chant something like that when she came out. I think her smoking will be used in the story. The interviewer will question her about it and she will deny it then AJ and Dixie will pick up on it to. I think in the long run she will be revealed to be wirking with Kaz and Daniels the whole time to ruin AJ. Maybe that she isnt really pregnant or something.

 

[ヒュー　G.　レックション]

Yes I noticed that to. I think the crowd started to chant something like that when she came out. I think her smoking will be used in the story. The interviewer will question her about it and she will deny it then AJ and Dixie will pick up on it to. I think in the long run she will be revealed to be wirking with Kaz and Daniels the whole time to ruin AJ. Maybe that she isnt really pregnant or something.

Ah....her faking the pregnancy didn't think of that.... I thought she was just gonna turn heel and say she didn't give a damn about her baby lol

 

[Workrate]

How has TNA continually managed to fuck up their greatest talent time and time again? I mean, really. He's the best thing they have going for them, but what good does he ever do? It's like drafting a star quarterback and playing him as a left tackle. The only time they ever gave him the world title as a face - the only thing he should ever be - was when either nobody cared (NWA) or when they didn't care (pre-Hogan). Then they turned him heel and used him as a vehicle to get Flair on television. Jesus, what's he even done since then? Mucked about in meaningless stable feuds and now this abortion of a storyline. What is the difficulty here? I mean seriously, where's the fucking mental block with the writers? Put the title on AJ, main event him against heels for the next goddamn year, and take it all the way to the bank. It's seriously not difficult. I don't want to watch AJ Styles take part in some weird coke fiend/boss crossover soap opera. I want to see him kick some ass. Why isn't he wrestling Bobby Roode like, every single night? Impact could literally be nothing but a series of two hour Iron Man matches every week contested between the two and it would be miles better than this slop.

Hell, Impact could be a series of Iron Man matches between AJ Styles and Doink the Clown and still be better than this.

EDIT: Because I have even more to say about this, it makes that angry, it does. Here's an idea, pitch this to Hogan, alright - Impact is replaced by the AJ Styles Wrestling Challenge. It's just AJ Styles wrestling whoever the fuck you brought in that week for two hours. I can almost guarantee it will be of higher quality than this nonsensical storyline, because people want to see AJ wrestle. I mean, really, have you ever seen AJ wrestle? It's like watching Emeril cook. It's like watching Magnus Carlsen play chess. It's like watching LeBron James play basketball. It feels right. It's as if the universe has brought together a single man and the one thing he has always been meant to do in perfect harmony. Sometimes you're not sure what's happening, but it's okay. You're suffused with the feeling that as long as this is a thing that continues to happen, everything will be alright. AJ Styles literally brings order to the universe by the mere act of his wrestling. When that is a thing that happens, there's no need to muck it up. You just need to facilitate its happening by the simplest possible pathway, and this is indeed the very opposite of what is currently occurring.

Took the words right off of my keyboard.

One of the main reasons that I've never been able to fully invest in TNA is because they refuse to invest in their greatest talent. AJ Styles is to TNA what Shawn Michaels was in his prime to the WWE, except quite possibly more talented in the ring and certainly more free to be creative with his move set. He's the kind of guy you put the belt on for 6-10 months at a time, the kind of guy that should never drop below main event caliber storylines. Storylines that involve Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian are fine, except Styles should be elevated to the point where those storylines solidify Daniels and Kazarian as main event superstars. He's that good.

 

[IT Factor]

Took the words right off of my keyboard.

One of the main reasons that I've never been able to fully invest in TNA is because they refuse to invest in their greatest talent. AJ Styles is to TNA what Shawn Michaels was in his prime to the WWE, except quite possibly more talented in the ring and certainly more free to be creative with his move set. He's the kind of guy you put the belt on for 6-10 months at a time, the kind of guy that should never drop below main event caliber storylines. Storylines that involve Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian are fine, except Styles should be elevated to the point where those storylines solidify Daniels and Kazarian as main event superstars. He's that good.

I think you guys hit the nail on the head here. AJ Styles is, was, and always has been the face of TNA[whether he was in title contention or not]. Fans recognize him as being great and TNA have failed to project that to the audience. This is precisely what is wrong with current TNA. This whole Claire Lynch storyline is beneath AJ Styles. For what reason they decided this was a good idea, I'll never understand.

I would have rather seen the whole Dixie Carter/AJ Styles affair play out than to have this Claire chic anywhere near TNA television. She's worse than Dixie at acting, if that's possible. I'm totally 100% not interested in this storyline and TNA should cut their losses and move on. They need to have Daniels reveal that Claire was a plant and that she'd been lying about the baby thing to cover up the original AJ/Dixie affair. That would be a way to set up more Daniels/AJ matches while also kind of explaning some of the past elements of this whole thing. If not, this storyline will keep sinking lower and making fans suffer for nothing.

 

[snoopy]

Took the words right off of my keyboard.

One of the main reasons that I've never been able to fully invest in TNA is because they refuse to invest in their greatest talent. AJ Styles is to TNA what Shawn Michaels was in his prime to the WWE, except quite possibly more talented in the ring and certainly more free to be creative with his move set. He's the kind of guy you put the belt on for 6-10 months at a time, the kind of guy that should never drop below main event caliber storylines. Storylines that involve Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian are fine, except Styles should be elevated to the point where those storylines solidify Daniels and Kazarian as main event superstars. He's that good.

And You know this storyline won't elevate anybody how? There are people out there that are enjoying this storyline and are getting the chance to see how good Daniels really is on the mic and how good Kaz is in the ring.

Both guys are in one of the biggest storylines are being talked about by casual wrestling fans just because of this storyline. Just because the majority of the " IWC " the hardcore wrestling fans doesn't like it, Doesn't mean everybody else feels the same way.

I personally like the storyline, It's a good T.V. drama. And showing sides of guys like Daniels I didn't think he had. I didn't know he was this good on the mic and so versatile. And I didn't know Kaz was that skilled of a wrestler, Not to mention them being a Damn good tag team with such great chemistry. And I've been watching Tna since 2002.

 

[snoopy]

I think you guys hit the nail on the head here. AJ Styles is, was, and always has been the face of TNA[whether he was in title contention or not]. Fans recognize him as being great and TNA have failed to project that to the audience. This is precisely what is wrong with current TNA. This whole Claire Lynch storyline is beneath AJ Styles. For what reason they decided this was a good idea, I'll never understand.

I would have rather seen the whole Dixie Carter/AJ Styles affair play out than to have this Claire chic anywhere near TNA television. She's worse than Dixie at acting, if that's possible. I'm totally 100% not interested in this storyline and TNA should cut their losses and move on. They need to have Daniels reveal that Claire was a plant and that she'd been lying about the baby thing to cover up the original AJ/Dixie affair. That would be a way to set up more Daniels/AJ matches while also kind of explaning some of the past elements of this whole thing. If not, this storyline will keep sinking lower and making fans suffer for nothing.

AJ styles has done everything in Tna! He's been the best wrestler in the world, Champion, The longest Reigning World Champion, The first X Division champion, The grand slam champion, He's been a lackey to Tomko,He's been Ric Flair's protege, He's done it all!

Where in the hell has that gotten him or Tna! You the Hardcore fan love him because he's a great wrestler.But the casual fan wants more than that,They need to get to know the personal side of these characters and invest in them emotionally. And that's what this story is trying to do.

More people love Tommy Dreamer and some would cry when they meet him just because of the stories he was involved in. And he couldn't do half things AJ styles can in the ring. If you want Tna to grow then you need to let the stories do, what they are intending to do!

And people wonder why fans don't buy pay per views ,It's because they are not emotionally invested.