Is AJ Styles the '96-97 Bret Hart?

[Rasha]

When I look at AJ Styles and his place in IMPACT, I can't help but draw a comparison to the pre-WCW career of Bret Hart. Like Bret in the mid-90s WWF, AJ is many fans' favorite guy to watch in the ring. He even has an edge on The Hitman due to his flashy style. But, also like Bret, Styles has some limitations in his charisma. He's adequate on the mic and can even be somewhat engaging at times, but he's prone to sounding flat and awkward.

When you think back to the post-Hogan, pre-Austin era for the WWF, Bret was really the backbone. The revisionist history that Vince likes to do has since glorified men like Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker as being his top guys of the era, but anyone who was watching during that time knows Bret was the man. Sounds a bit like AJ Styles during TNA's early years, right? Not always in the main event, but usually the show-stealer and the guy many people were paying to see.

Now in the present, AJ's place in IMPACT reminds me of Bret in 96-97. Here's this guy who's been the workhorse of the company for a while but now appears to be falling behind. Just as HBK and Austin were much more dynamic and charismatic than Bret, AJ is looking at guys like Angle, Anderson, and the up-and-coming Roode as either already being or soon-to-be ahead of him on TNA's depth chart. He's still the guy you want to watch wrestle, but is that enough?

Imagine if Bret had never left the WWF. How long could he have stayed in the top of the card with DX, Austin, and The Rock? I'm not saying he couldn't have kept relevance and been a great contributor, but could he have been the flagship? Everyone keeps calling for AJ to get the push that he "deserves," but does he really have that ability? Can he consistently stand across the ring from guys like Angle or Roode and not seem like a lesser entity? Just like Bret's style would have seemed dated and out of place in the Attitude Era, I think AJ is in danger of being passed by as TNA continues its move toward a more mainstream audience. He just sounds so amatuerish on the mic sometimes, with last week's promo against Bully Ray being a good example.

Obviously the parallels aren't exact. Bret was much older than AJ at these respective points in their careers. Bret held the WWF Championship much more than AJ's been TNA Champion and was in more Main Events. But that's largely because TNA has been obsessed with trying to attract fans and putting older, established guys in front AJ. The WWF still the top dog for most of Bret's time there. I'm drawing this comparison based more on the fan perception/response to the figures and where they place them in the heiarchy. I'm also basing it on similarities in ability and potential.

 

[dtroppe]

No chance! Im not a big Hart fan, but I can honestly say Bret Hart was a main event guy on a big stage. Bret was great in the ring, had a decent character in the cartoon era and a cool heel character at the beginning of the attitude era. He had a decent look and more than mediocre mic skills- Hogan even said he was the best mic guy around 98- Bret wrote that in his book and said he was flattered but knew Austin had that title.

Now AJ Styles is good in the ring. But thats it. And that hardly matters in the grand scheme of things. His look is dull and plain. His ring name sounds,IMO, as minor league. His mic skill and charisma are less than desirable. He is a big fish in a little pond. Hart was a big fish in 2 big ponds. Hart still gets standing ovation and fans respect. Will AJ Styles get that 12 yrs after he retires...only time will tell but my guess is only a few smarks will remember the guy and be happy to show up in a high school gym to say hello.

Cant compare the two. Its night and day.

 

[BritishLion]

I would say you are wrong about AJ. Sure, he isn't the most amazing talker in the world, but he is decent and not too bad. However much I love Bret, I have to admit that he's a lot worse than AJ and most people on the mic. AJ just seems to be taking a break from the main event and will be back soon. Anyway, it's not his fault, it's the fault of TNA's fucked up booking.

 

[OwenHart100%legend]

Im sorry not meaning to be rude or cause offense while I respect that everyone is entitled to their opinion, comparing Bret Hart to AJ Styles is like comparing RVD to Shawn Michaels or Matt Morgan to the Undertaker, there not in the same league! Bret carried the WWE during the early-mid nineties and is one of the greatest (top 5 IMO) to have stepped in the ring. AJ is nothing more than a solid preformer in a poor company and anyone with any kind of half decent ability is going to stand out a mile within that collection of has-beens and wannabes in my opinion, however Im sure people will disagree with this post also! Good post though

 

[Rasha]

Okay, I think you guys are missing my point. I'm not saying AJ is as good as Bret. I'm comparing the position AJ finds himself in right now in IMPACT to the position Bret was in at the dawn of the Attitude Era. I certainly don't think AJ had the same level of charisma that Bret did. Sorry for not making that clear.

I probably should have titled the thread better, but I was trying to keep it simple.

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

if you are comparing AJ to Bret in WCW then I'd have to disagree as far as them being in similar positions. A big difference is that WCW could have built their entire company around bret and been successful, I think Bischoff said the plan was to use Bret as the focal point of Thunder. In hindsight it seems a lot of ppl have something against bret, but go back to that time, you know he was one of the best and his mic skills were fine for that time period, not the best, but hardly as bad as ppl make it out to be. Anyways though, my point is, TNA cannot build the company around AJ, he's a great addition, and could be like a shawn michaels of the company i.e. steal the show damn near every night, but he won't be the big money maker. WCW had the single hottest commodity coming over after Montreal and they pissed it away and then pissed it away further rehashing the NWO over and over again. Had they used Bret properly and really used him as the big commodity he is (wonder if there are any threads on what ppl would have done with Bret at that time) then they could have gotten more use out of him. AJ was just never that big a name to become the focus of a company and it'll be a while till he's in that position, Bischoff and company are right in bringing in guys like Sting, Hardy, Anderson, RVD to the fold, they are the ones who will sell tickets.... If anything really, Kurt is similar to Bret in WCW only he was handled much better as TNA did make him a big focal point of the company.

 

[BritishLion]

Now AJ Styles is good in the ring. But thats it. And that hardly matters in the grand scheme of things. His look is dull and plain. His ring name sounds,IMO, as minor league. His mic skill and charisma are less than desirable. He is a big fish in a little pond. Hart was a big fish in 2 big ponds. Hart still gets standing ovation and fans respect. Will AJ Styles get that 12 yrs after he retires...only time will tell but my guess is only a few smarks will remember the guy and be happy to show up in a high school gym to say hello.

Cant compare the two. Its night and day.

Night and days means the polar opposites. That would be Bret Hart and Great Khali. AJ has a dull and plain look? His look is deffinitely more interesting than, say, Ted Dibiase. AJ has the signature tights, he has the hooded jacket. He had one of the best looks in TNA before Hogan came and turned him into mini Ric Flair. If you think the look is boring, are you saying that you want every wrestler to wear over the top outfits like the Gobbeldy Gooker? That's not the point of wrestling.

You say that he is good in the ring but that's it. Last time I checked I was talking about WRESTLING . In WRESTLING you should be good at WRESTLING. Nothing else matters, except for mic skills. And AJ has good enough mic skills. I watch WRESTLING for the WRESTLING, not for the promos and segments/skits. I don't watch Football for the coach interviews. It's fans like you who forget what WRESTLING was built on who are ruining the fan base.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Very, very good comparison, Rasha.

I realize a lot of users are looking past the direction of your OP and only seeing Bret Hart = AJ Styles or AJ Styles = Bret Hart, which obviously wasn't your intention (and they'd know that had they actually read your entire post without angrily replying to the thread title or first few sentences), but I think you're pretty spot on with the analysis here.

Hart, at that time period, was a dwindling main-event performer who's success was largely being taken from him due to the move to the "Attitude" era, mainly because his personality (and I am a huge Hart mark despite his short comings) wasn't as large as life as the DX's, Austin's, Rocks' and even Foley's of the time. Those men dominated the landscape because of their ability to talk, not wrestle, or in some cases their ability to do both, but without that over-the-top personality to accompany whatever else they brought, no man was going to break into, let alone maintain a main event status in the company at the time.

Styles is the modern day version of that very same man Hart was then. Incredible technical prowess, fantastic ability to engage the fans, high work rate and visionary ability to construct a match, but lacking tremendously in over-the-top personality. Now don't get me wrong here... AJ has taken major strides to improve his work on the mic over the last three years, but despite those strides, he's still far behind the more naturally gifted men there like Anderson, Sting (who is one of the top-10 promo guys in history IMO), and others dominating the TNA main event right now.

 

[vampireblade]

AJ is an amazing wrestler with the ability to do just about anything as far as mic skills go eh so so being from the south myself i dont notice the thick southern accent yall say he has although im sure he does hell we all got that down here but he doesnt need to get rid of it hell he can play off it but as far as him being compared to bret hart id say so so again just because he is the hardest worker TNA has and the most devoted hes the one people pay to see but he isnt main event right now but i believe he could be there again one day

 

[It's Damn Real!]

It's not his accent that hinders him, it's just the way he speaks. Having an accent is not a prerequisite for failure or incompetence, and it's not even really a hurdle unless you speak with an impediment, which isn't the same.

AJ's problem is his timing and the emotion (or lack there of) behind his voice when he's trying to convey anger and retort.

 

[Karilas]

Very, very good comparison, Rasha.

I realize a lot of users are looking past the direction of your OP and only seeing Bret Hart = AJ Styles or AJ Styles = Bret Hart, which obviously wasn't your intention (and they'd know that had they actually read your entire post without angrily replying to the thread title or first few sentences), but I think you're pretty spot on with the analysis here.

Hart, at that time period, was a dwindling main-event performer who's success was largely being taken from him due to the move to the "Attitude" era, mainly because his personality (and I am a huge Hart mark despite his short comings) wasn't as large as life as the DX's, Austin's, Rocks' and even Foley's of the time. Those men dominated the landscape because of their ability to talk, not wrestle, or in some cases their ability to do both, but without that over-the-top personality to accompany whatever else they brought, no man was going to break into, let alone maintain a main event status in the company at the time.

Styles is the modern day version of that very same man Hart was then. Incredible technical prowess, fantastic ability to engage the fans, high work rate and visionary ability to construct a match, but lacking tremendously in over-the-top personality. Now don't get me wrong here... AJ has taken major strides to improve his work on the mic over the last three years, but despite those strides, he's still far behind the more naturally gifted men there like Anderson, Sting (who is one of the top-10 promo guys in history IMO), and others dominating the TNA main event right now.

I wish I could just leave it at "^This." That pretty much says it for me. Nice thread, apt comparison in the terms you've stated, really.

I'm a huge fan of Styles and Hart, sadly due to growing up without satellite television in the UK I didn't really get to see Bret's glory years. Just the Nitro portion of his badly booked WCW run. Aaaah, Nitro. That match Bret had with Benoit in honour of Owen was fucking amazing. For years I marked out to the intro to Malcolm in the Middle because of that. Still do a bit.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I would say that the comparisons are pretty much spot on. AJ's strength is his work in the ring just like Bret Hart. He can drag almost anyone to a great match and is really very innovative in the ring.

On the mic he may not be the most natural speaker but he does have a great connection with the TNA fans most of whom have looked upon Styles as the franchise player of the company from the moment he debuted in TNA. That connection does help him in getting the desired reaction. As a face he comes across as an honest guy who speaks from the heart and as a heel he comes off as a douche who has betrayed his fans. That is again similar to Hart's modus operandi on the mic. In both cases it is their connection with the crowds that makes their promos seem better.

A small difference I can see here though is that TNA are almost forcing an Attitude Era-esque atmosphere upon themselves. They seem hell bent on pushing guys like Anderson even though the audience is still clamoring for the likes of Styles to be pushed. That was not the case in the Attitude Era. The change from a kid friendly era to a more risque era was natural back then and that was something that made Bret's heel character even more appealing as the guy who was losing that touch with the fans that he was once known for.

 

[ABMorales787]

AJ falling behind? That's not what I'm feeling? I see the guys in the main event and beside Kurt and Sting, I can't spot a single guy capable of performing in-ring or story-wise like AJ. Are you really gonna tell me RVD is better on the mic than AJ? Anderson? Maybe. Anyone else. Big Fat No. AJ to me seems more like Chris Jericho than a '97-esque Bret Hart. AJ is highly versatile and fits anywhere on the card with zero problem. He could be a jobber one week and be in the main event the next. Just look at him now. He's in the upper-mid card. 6 months ago, he was in just the mid-card being pinned clean by Tommy Dreamer at BFG. And 9 months before that, he was the main event.