Has AJ Lost His Passion?

[GLS1412]

I just finished watching last nights PPV and I thought it was very good.

Upon reading people's thoughts on what they thought of the PPV on this site and a few others, people have mentioned that AJ has lost his passion and really wasn't on his A game.

What are your thoughts?

I thought AJ's match was pretty awesome apart from when he went for the springboard and got his foot caught in the ropes and crashed onto the match.

I thought he was pretty mcuh bringing his A game and I dont think he has lost his passion at all.

I really thought Daniels was going to win but glad AJ finally won a match - its been a while

 

[A Mod's Best Friend (aka Bitch)]

Definitely not. A fight with Christopher Daniels seems to bring out the best in both of them and I thought the main event last night was nothing short of excellent. That being said, I have been a mad fan of AJ the last 3 years and tonight was the first time i've seem him botch a springboard which might tell you he tried a little TOO hard tonight.

That being said, look no further than about a month back where he jumped off the steel about 20 feet in the air and elbow dropped Bully Ray through a table. Then tell me he has lost his passion.

The man is a star!

 

[Zeven_Zion]

I don't think AJ lost his passion as much as he became a smarter wrestler. He recently commented on his leap off the steel pole (against Bully Ray) and said that he was being stupid for putting his body on the line like that.

I've heard AJ say numerous times that he now understands what the vets were telling him back in the day to slow down and not go as crazy and as fast as he used to.

AJ simply became a pro wrestler. Not a high flyer or a spot monkey. He's more methodical, he kept his best signature moves, he does them on a regular basis (saves up the Spiral Tap for special occasions), and adds psychology to his matches. It's good for him and for us because if he kept going like he did years ago he'd be in Jeff Hardy's position right now. Longer career for AJ, better for the fans.

I know that it kind of seems like he's not fired up anymore. Maybe that's what sparked those comments. Perhaps so, but I think AJ is simply more calm now that he's established. He's over, he's having great matches, he's got nothing to prove to anybody. Like he said in that same interview, he's being himself now. Alex Jones, AJ Styles, same thing. He was younger, healthier and hungrier before. It happens to everybody.

As long as his matches are good AJ will never lose his passion. Can't have a good match without passion.

Now bring on the "AJAY LOST HIS PASION COZ BISHOF AND HOGEN ARE DER AND DAT'Z Y HE LOST IT COZ DEY JOOB HIM 2 DAT FAT ARSE BITCHY REY! GO TO TEH WWEZ AJ, U CAN ONLY B A STAR DER! OR TO ROH WER U KEN RASLE LIEK IN 2003 COZ IN TNGAY TALKING MATERS!!1!"

 

[Dzone]

I dont think AJ has lost his passion but I'm not one to judge seeing as TNA has just fallen off the path for me as of late and so has wrestling in general if I'm honest (apart from a few nice angles keeping me watching).

By now AJ must be a bit tired of not seeing progression in the company (not small bursts but long term progression) and he may well have lost some passion or it might just be they dont show enough of AJ so thats what we're led to believe.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

AJAY LOST HIS PASION COZ BISHOF AND HOGEN ARE DER AND DAT'Z Y HE LOST IT COZ DEY JOOB HIM 2 DAT FAT ARSE BITCHY REY! GO TO TEH WWEZ AJ, U CAN ONLY B A STAR DER! OR TO ROH WER U KEN RASLE LIEK IN 2003 COZ IN TNGAY TALKING MATERS!!1!... only kidding

If anybody is using last night's PPV as indicating AJ has lost his passion? Did they miss AJ versus Bully Rey? The reasons last night's match wasn't to the level of previous best can be accounted to different factors:

1) The earlier matches were THAT good; seriously, how do you improve on what came before? Even HBK and the Taker couldn't manage that accomplishment.

2) Readjustment to environment. The six sided ring is a completely different environment to the squared version; rope tension, turnbuckle shape due to the more obtuse rope angle and bumps in the ring are meant to be more severe (judging from the way the two boys improvised after the slip by AJ, he was hurt).

3) Readjustment to style. AJ has spent the majority of the last year and a half working against larger non X Division guys. Working against larger guys (like Dreamer or Ray) requires a whole different mindset to competing against a similar sized foe like the Fallen Angel.

4) The crowd. After some truly great outings on the Destination X card, the crowd appeared cheered out after the first couple minutes of the Main Event. Personally, I'd have had either the Bucks / Young & Shark Boy or the Williams / Haskins match second last (a tactic WWe has used on numerous occasions).

5) Trying too hard. This was TNA / Impact's first ever X Division only PPV, the Main Event featured (arguably) their two greatest pioneers and the match is very likely to have a bearing on the future of this division. Personally, I think that is an amazing amount of pressure for AJ and Chris.

This was still a high quality clash, I don't believe he has lost an iota of passion. I will, however, be interested to see what's next for him though; is it back to the Ray feud, will he simply be involved in the BFG series... whatever it is, I'm sure his contribution will be (as always) PHENOMENAL!!!

 

[Havoc6241]

This was the "problem" with calling it an X-Division PPV.

I would say a good portion of the audience expected spotfest after spotfest. This was the first real wrestling match I've seen in a long time. I would say it had the ring psychology of an Angle and the Canadian who should no longer be named because WWE likes to hide history match. I thoroughly enjoyed this match.

If you want to talk about passion, what about RVD and Lynn? I personally felt they were phoning it in the entire match.

 

[Philly88]

I havent thought A.J. has been as good for a long time but he is getting older and probably does not want nor should he be taking big risks since he probably hasent got paid that much. Im a huge RVD fan but his matches are a far cry from what they used to be.

 

[CaptainZaltan]

If anyone actually came out of last night's main event questioning AJ's passion, than they surely did not see the match that I saw. Sure, AJ didn't wrestle a spot-monkey match (and maybe that's what some people were expecting). But then again, he never really did. Styles and Daniels matches have always been more well rounded, filled not only with high spots but also technical wrestling, pacing and ring psychology. It's what has always separated the greats in the X division (Daniels, AJ, Joe, PETEY) from the rest. Last nights match was quite simply incredible, and I saw absolutely zero evidence that AJ has lost either an ounce of passion, or ability.

If the issue is the crowds reaction to the matchup, people need to keep in mind that not only was the crowd exhausted by the final match, but that both AJ and Daniels were working as faces. And if the crowd were anything like myself, they were fairly divided on who they wanted to pick up the victory.

If the issue was AJ's slipping off the top rope, than people need to keep in mind that not only was AJ working in a now-unfamiliar environment (6-sides, and god knows how that didn't cause more fuck-ups for everyone than it did), but that this was a long and extremely athletic match that left both men visibly exhausted. Critics should go back and watch AJ from the time he broke a Daniels submission by lifting him off the mat and dumping him through the ropes; that move visibly took a LOT out of AJ. Sure, we've seen guys do it before (which doesn't change how damn difficult it is to do), but rarely from a completely prone position, and rarely in a match of this length and caliber. Which is the point: most matches I've seen of this length involve more rest-holds, and a much slower pace. Whereas Daniels and AJ wrestled a fast, highly athletic match for over 30 minutes. Keeping this in mind, yes, AJ slipped once...maybe twice (delivering a suplex from the apron). This was likely due to a combination of unfamiliarity with the ring, and exhaustion. But, he still managed to make both slips look good and like a planned part of the match, and to recover without injuring himself or his opponent. That's the mark of a true professional.

Personally, I think AJ and Daniels deserve whatever wrestling's equivalent of medals are, as I've rarely (if ever) witnessed two guys give more for such an extended period of time, or do so as brilliantly. The critics (and I know they are out there) need to go back and watch that match again, as I honestly don't think they fully grasp what they saw last night.

 

[Pedigree1]

AJ is the man in TNA no question or argument... He busts his ass out there night in and night out!! His matches i never find boring he can go and go! As far as how much money he makes if he jumped ship to wwe he could be making a whole lot more!! But how many of the wwe universe have actually heard of this guy?? I wonder if the wwe universe watches both?? I watch impact have never ordered a tna ppv!! Personally i would love to see AJ in the wwe!! But i wonder how the WWE would use him!! Would he be a midcarder? Major title holder?

 

[Zeven_Zion]

AJ is the man in TNA no question or argument... He busts his ass out there night in and night out!! His matches i never find boring he can go and go! As far as how much money he makes if he jumped ship to wwe he could be making a whole lot more!! But how many of the wwe universe have actually heard of this guy?? I wonder if the wwe universe watches both?? I watch impact have never ordered a tna ppv!! Personally i would love to see AJ in the wwe!! But i wonder how the WWE would use him!! Would he be a midcarder? Major title holder?

Well!! Judging by how WWE uses every other great pro wrestler!! I think he will be misused!! His legacy will be stained!! He will be watered down!! Limited!! Binded in stupid VinMan rules!! They'll stick him with a dumb name!! Something like Jack Alexander!! He'll be a made an example of just like everybody else who comes from TNA to WWE!! He'll get fired!! And go back to TNA!! Do you think I'm right?? I enjoy typing like this!! HOLY MOTHER OF CRAP EVERYTHING IS SO EXCITING!!

 

[It's Damn Real!]

First of all, I LOL'd hard at Zion's reply to Pedigree1 — err, sorry, I mean I LOL'd!! hard at Zion's reply!!? to Pedigree1?!?!!

As to the OP, no way in hell has AJ Styles "lost his passion", are you nuts? There are a handful of competitors on the TNA roster who match or exceed the passion of AJ Styles in the ring no matter what match he's in and no matter who he faces. That's one of the things that makes AJ so great to begin with — he could be wrestling D-Von or the Brooklyn Brawler and still put in more work ethic and passion into his matches than a large majority of performers today.

 

[Dizzy]

Lol at Zion's post!!1

He didn't lose his passion but I think he is becoming a smarter wrestler. He's not throwing his body around unnecessarily. They still made it an exciting match. We had 1 hour and a half of spotfest wrestling. No need to do it for the main event. They spent a good 10 minutes doing mat style and the 20 other minutes doing high flying moves.

I really love AJ Styles. I found my self thinking how great it would be if he was the face of Impact Wrestling but the sad facts are he just doesn't attract people to his character.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I haven't really been watching TNA much lately, and I didn't see last night's PPV, but based upon what I have seen over the last period of time, I think the idea of Styles losing his passion for the business is ridiculous. I have seen nothing to indicate any such loss of passion for the pro wrestling business. He may have adjusted his style, as most guys eventually do due to age, nagging injuries, etc., but that hardly constituted any loss if passion. You have to really admire that in Styles, because if there was ever a pro wrestler who could be forgiven for losing his enthusiasm, it would be AJ. Despite wrestling in the impact zone to less than stellar ratings and stagnant PPV sales, he remains the consummate professional. Even though he should be the face of the company, but isn't and likely never will be, especially under the Hogan regime, he manages to persevere and put off excellent matches, like he did last night from what I understand. It takes passion and dedication and a lot of patience to do what AJ does, and you have to respect him for that. I'm not so sure I could do it if I was standing in his shoes.