*MERGED* Is Ric Flair actually BAD for AJ Styles? Yes he is.

[It's...Baylariat!]

Look, AJ Styles is a top caliber wrestler. He's one of the more entertaining people inside the ring and has numerous accolades to back it up. However, since his association with Ric Flair, seems as if Styles has actually been mediocre. And this is because Styles isn't his own brand of heel. He's basically trying to sound like Ric Flair, use his mannerisms, wear a ridiculous robe, and do the things Flair did. Only problem is that it isn't believable for Styles to be like that.

He was actually better as a crybaby heel. At least he was entertaining. His acting as the smug heel is bad, and Flair isn't helping matters. I think they should try to have Styles mold into more of a callous heel who tries to hurt people and get his way... and not act cowardly. It doesn't suit Styles to do that.

So what do you think? IS Flair bad for AJ Styles? Is he good? Do you like his character at the moment? What changes would you make to it?

 

[klunderbunker]

As I said from the day he turned heel, Flair was not going to help AJ more than just a bit. Tonight, AJ came out in a suit and sunglasses, saying how great he was. If he had slowly become more of a self-obsessed and obsessed with holding the belt champion that became cocky over time, he would have been fine. AJ was world champion and widely considered the best wrestler in the world. What was FLair supposed to do: make him the best wrestler on Venus too? AJ was slowed down by Flair as he was made to try to be Flair, which simply didn't do anything.

 

[Lyson Rayne]

Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if the turn wasn't overnight. Flair debuts, Styles turns heel, complete 180 for his character. There was no real development and it went horribly, just like Abyss going from crybaby jobber bitch to Hulk's "Next John Cena" (except Aj's turn had a chance of actually getting over). Aj could've been a huge, huge, face and was considered TNA personified, but instead of building new heels, they swapped a face and hired more faces. So many other guys could've stepped up where Aj is now and done it better: Matt Morgan, Desmond Wolfe, Anderson, (though the same style turn would only fit Morgan, since he's basically a 7 ft tall flair without the robe and ****es). That guy could've feuded with Aj. Back on topic, Flair did hinder Styles, as he could've had a gradual CM Punk style heel turn over time after Hardy and RVD came in and the crowd slowly starts to turn in favor of them. IMO that kind of turn would've been better for Aj than an overnight Flair mindfuck.

 

[TellMeWhy]

I don't think Ric Flair can be bad for anyone. Ric Flair gave AJ a rub and a stamp of approval. I think it's good that a wrestler can be diverse and not be 1 dimensional ala Cena. It just adds to who AJ Styles the character can be. We know he can be a smug heel, cowardly heel, a whiny face, and a super super face. I think it's good for him. Plus he gets great heat in the Impact Zone. AJ has really made himself hated and has given himself a hateful aura, something hard to accomplish in this day and age. And let me add that TNA didn't look at any short term effect. They're looking at a long term effect and hoping that this heel turn and Flair rub can help add to his character in the future so when he becomes a face he can actually be well rounded and have a persona and not just be a whiny and upset face world champion. So in the long run, this will only help him out.

 

[MB1025]

I think it is just fine. The whole Impact Zone chants AJ Sucks so he is getting over as a heal and Ric Flair helped with that. TNA is trying to show off their product to a new audience and the way Styles was going as champ was not going to get over to that audience. With Flair he can be taken more serious and then when he turns face again people will love it when he flips on Flair.

 

[Kenny Powers]

I don't think it was a bad idea to align Styles with Flair, but Flair does overshadow Styles a lot. Also it doesn't help that AJ is pretty much a Nature Boy knockoff. If AJ was allowed to be his own man without acting like a second rate Nature Boy, then I think he would be more convincing. I don't think he is a bad heel, I just wish we could see him as more aggressive and less of a coward.

Wrestling has evolved over the years. Not every heel has to be a coward. The biggest heel heat a wrestler can get is when they are ruthless. TNA is trying to rely too much on Flair as a crutch. I liked seeing AJ come out tonight without Flair. They need to more of that. Give him a more aggressive character without cheating to win every match with Flair on the sidelines.

 

[TokiRKO]

AJ Styles is to Flair as Abyss is to Hulk Hogan. I worded it like that because I was taught those things in school....but I was wasted all through High School so I don't remember what they're called. Any way, Abyss is trying to BE Hogan and Styles is trying to BE Flair. The two old bastards caught us with a loop hole. They promised not to wrestle (much) so they take two younger guys and turn them into Flair and Hogan Junior. POS I say. Scrap the whole ordeal. Have them turn against their mentors and be themselves. No one wants to see this shit

 

[16mikeytot]

I think it is just fine. The whole Impact Zone chants AJ Sucks so he is getting over as a heal and Ric Flair helped with that. TNA is trying to show off their product to a new audience and the way Styles was going as champ was not going to get over to that audience. With Flair he can be taken more serious and then when he turns face again people will love it when he flips on Flair.

Oh so your talking about the same impact crowd who chants we want Jesse Neal. Oh you also spelled heel wrong. But back to the subject Aj does nothing for me as a heel. I think his character is just very forced he's out of his comfort zone. So they put Flair with him to take pressure off him. I believe Aj doesn't need flair anymore but they needed Flair to help get Aj over as a heel.

 

[PhD]

I've found Styles a lot more interesting since his heel turn. I just remember those awful promos he cut with Sting about "passing the torch" back when he first picked up the belt. Without the Flair makeover, I'm not sure I would have found him credible as a heel.

I guess I don't mind seeing Flair on TV, as the whole "dirtiest player in the game" thing seems to be what has rubbed off on Styles the most. The fact that he went from a goody-two-shoes to a pen-stabbing groin-shotting wrestler seems more credible to me with Flair as his mentor. I think that making him Ric Flair Jr. was a nicely antagonistic move that played on the fact that AJ's character was so milquetoast before the move, as he's now, as others have noted, 180 degrees the opposite.

 

[The Main Event]

no he wasn't .. just look at the mic skill of aj before Ric comin .. it was Realy Sucks .. Now from few weeks ago .. ( the week after rvd became new whc ) .. in opening .. i wuold sayd he's mic skill was THE best .. he was Better than Hogan , RVD and hell even Flair ..
The Gmick is a thing that don't gonna be Aroung Aj too long .. don't worry About it .
Aj learned some cheap shots From Ric ..
Ric absaloutly Helped Aj .. as much as he helped Batista and Orton .
WOOOOOOOO

 

[TokiRKO]

no he wasn't .. just look at the mic skill of aj before Ric comin .. it was Realy Sucks .. Now from few weeks ago .. ( the week after rvd became new whc ) .. in opening .. i wuold sayd he's mic skill was THE best .. he was Better than Hogan , RVD and hell even Flair ..
The Gmick is a thing that don't gonna be Aroung Aj too long .. don't worry About it .
Aj learned some cheap shots From Ric ..
Ric absaloutly Helped Aj .. as much as he helped Batista and Orton .
WOOOOOOOO

.....spell check, buddy. The red underline is there for a reason.

But to reply to your ''comment'' about AJ's mic skills. They suck now. They sucked before too, but they've become horrid as of late. At least when Ric Flair cuts a promo he's entertaining....He's about as understandable as a drunk Ultimate Warrior having an argument with Yoshi Tatsu, but it's his demeanor and antics while he babbles that makes Flair fun to listen to/watch. Listening to AJ cut a promo makes my ears beg to be raped by a needle. RVD doesn't do the cookie cutter ''wrestler promo'' and neither does Hardy. Hell, most of the TNA roster doesn't cut ''promos''. They talk, like people. There aren't many Macho Mans in TNA....cept Jay Lethal, but he's the exception. AJ needs to keep his mouth shut and far, FAR away from a microphone.

And to comment on the crowd chanting AJ sucks. It isn't because he's a heel, it's because he's cheating and stabbing people with writing instruments....and because he sucks on the mic

 

[MB1025]

Oh so your talking about the same impact crowd who chants we want Jesse Neal. Oh you also spelled heel wrong. But back to the subject Aj does nothing for me as a heel. I think his character is just very forced he's out of his comfort zone. So they put Flair with him to take pressure off him. I believe Aj doesn't need flair anymore but they needed Flair to help get Aj over as a heel.

NO there is about 20 guys that chant we want Jesse. The whole crowed at the Impact Zone chants AJ sucks. The grammar police thing is over used and a waste of time. I made a mistake and there is no need to call me out on that because your all butt hurt over something. If you watched Impact tonight Flair himself said AJ doesn't need me to win. Stop over analyzing things and see that there is a bigger picture to AJ/Flair then just Ric Flair over powering AJ Styles. Week after week AJ has gotten more and more time in the ring by himself to cut promos and have matches. His character is forced because he is an over the top heel which makes him easy to hate.

 

[MB1025]

.....spell check, buddy. The red underline is there for a reason.

But to reply to your ''comment'' about AJ's mic skills. They suck now. They sucked before too, but they've become horrid as of late. At least when Ric Flair cuts a promo he's entertaining....He's about as understandable as a drunk Ultimate Warrior having an argument with Yoshi Tatsu, but it's his demeanor and antics while he babbles that makes Flair fun to listen to/watch. Listening to AJ cut a promo makes my ears beg to be raped by a needle. RVD doesn't do the cookie cutter ''wrestler promo'' and neither does Hardy. Hell, most of the TNA roster doesn't cut ''promos''. They talk, like people. There aren't many Macho Mans in TNA....cept Jay Lethal, but he's the exception. AJ needs to keep his mouth shut and far, FAR away from a microphone.

And to comment on the crowd chanting AJ sucks. It isn't because he's a heel, it's because he's cheating and stabbing people with writing instruments....and because he sucks on the mic

Isn't cheating and and stabbing people with instruments the 1 and 2 on the list of being a heel, but you say he isn't a heel. He is a very good heel and had very good interaction with the crowed tonight during his match. It is a work in progress, but people judge wrestling these days from day to day instead of the big picture.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

I can tolerate Styles aligning himself with Flair and turning heel practically overnight. To me it's just one of those shockers that a company can do to try and keep you interested.

I cannot however tolerate Styles re-enacting "The Nature Boy". I hate that above all else. He was fine being his own person and has the skills to impress the TNA audience. Hell he's dubbed "The Phenomenal One" after all. Styles did NOT need Flair to come along and reshape his character the way that it is viewed now. That is something I wouldn't pay money to see.

Picture if you will an over-face and figurehead of your company. ex. John Cena. Now hire on a WELL-known veteran who has done nothing for your company in any way previously and have Cena mimick him week after week. Sounds fairly terrible to me.

 

[PhD]

Picture if you will an over-face and figurehead of your company. ex. John Cena. Now hire on a WELL-known veteran who has done nothing for your company in any way previously and have Cena mimick him week after week. Sounds fairly terrible to me.

I would disagree with the comparison of Cena with Styles, because Cena has a character that he's actually good at playing (no matter how boring you think he is, how could he possibly do better with what's asked of him?), not to mention he's always good on the mic.

I think Styles is getting way too much credit here for his ability to be interesting when he isn't wrestling. Most of his promos are still crap (I'm thinking specifically of the one where he jumped up and down while talking about do-overs), but I'd rather see him do his version of Ric Flair than see any more of the boot-licking humble hero crap he was pulling the last quarter of 2009. Borrowed charisma beats no charisma.

 

[Derrtown]

One things for certain though since hes been associated with Flair.. his promo cutting has increased 10 fold. He doesn't go out there and do the "Wooo" or dance around like a mad man so i dont really see anything Flair like in his promos except the yelling and smugness.

 

[Chrome]

I've found Styles a lot more interesting since his heel turn. I just remember those awful promos he cut with Sting about "passing the torch" back when he first picked up the belt. Without the Flair makeover, I'm not sure I would have found him credible as a heel.

I agree with all this..

no he wasn't .. just look at the mic skill of aj before Ric comin .. it was Realy Sucks .. Now from few weeks ago .. ( the week after rvd became new whc ) .. in opening .. i wuold sayd he's mic skill was THE best .. he was Better than Hogan , RVD and hell even Flair ..
The Gmick is a thing that don't gonna be Aroung Aj too long .. don't worry About it .
Aj learned some cheap shots From Ric ..
Ric absaloutly Helped Aj .. as much as he helped Batista and Orton .
WOOOOOOOO

I also agree with ALL this too....

AJ was a good wrestler before Flair, what was holding him back was his promo skillz.. anyone who says otherwise is nothing more than a lame duck mark who can't see the problem with AJ. A flair rub can only help AJ, and I LOVE his heel run, the way he dress's and talks and gets emotional. If your a first time viewer to TNA you look at AJ and believe it!

If your a dumbass IWC Smark you find fault in anything and everything. In this case AJ has had more personality (outside the ring) by being with flair, and it seems like they are starting to form a stable around him to make things interesting.. (Beer money/Flair/Wolfe/AJ) this is interesting stuff...

Before we had Bland AJ with Bland Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe (ALL with horrible mic skillz) Headlining Spectaular Main events. There in ring product is GREAT! MAKE NO mistake about it.. but what TNA needs to bring them to the top is more work OUTSIDE the ring with production values and Promo's from there talent.

AJ got a lot of heat on Impact the other night, I am actually PROUD of AJ and how much better he has gotten on the Stick and I wish him the best to keep it up. As once he turns baby face again it can only help him MORE than before. (mark my words)

Look at how interesting Pope and Mr. Anderson are? and in my opinion NEITHER of them are the wrestler that AJ is. BUT they get more attention based on there OUTSIDE stuff... AJ with Flair is doing nothing but good things for AJ. ITs the IWC Smarks that need to get there head out of there asses.

Here is something for the IWC to chomp on.. .we all love Ric Flair now.. but when he started biting nature Boy Buddy Rogers gimmick.. people said the SAME crap about Ric that we are now saying about AJ. (What if Ric Flair stopped that and became someone else?) All wrestlers are similair to other wrestlers.. Jesse Ventura and Hulk Hogan to Billy Graham (how did that turn out for Hogan?).. Stone Cold Steve Austin to the sandman? How did that turn out for Stone Cold? Bigshow to Andre, Randy Orton to Jake Roberts/DDP etc etc this list goes on and on.. in time these guys were able to mold there gimmick to there own style. People love to complain.. but fail to realize just how much better AJ is getting on the stick.. long term this is GOOD for him. Face it.. AJ is EVOLVING.

We just have to see where AJ takes this once Flair is gone. Otherwise I think AJ is doing a great job. He has really worked his art of talking on the mic and I bet Flair has really helped him.

 

[Vintage]

Jesse Neal actually having fans has what to do with Flair and AJ? I think that's cool btw, he's essentially a nobody that has a little cult following, must be doing something right.

Ric Flair mentoring AJ would have worked out better if AJ wasn't so bad at being Ric Flair. Pretty much if anyone else would have taken that role it would have been a grand slam. AJ has to work that much harder because he is just naturally a nauseating good guy. Now in his defense, he has found a bit of a balance lately but he's way more believable as a heel when he isn't talking. What AJ needs is a flunky.. and enforcer. He has a mouth piece he should use at all times, now he needs someone at ringside to protect him and help him draw more heat providing distractions so AJ can cheat.

 

[Harry Trashbins]

I agree with you that Styles is unbelievable in his current role. At first his mic skills are too mediocre or worse than that. Second, he must be his own heel character, not trying to be Ric Flair. About his more boring moveset he uses these days: I think he does that on purpose, to make sure the spectators don't enjoy his matches as they used enjoy them. His goal is to get a negative response and get booed. Well, he succeeded in that, I suppose, but I don't know if that's a good point. I'm more looking forward to watching Flair cutting promos and managing AJ than to watching AJ wrestle.

 

[excel_excel]

How can people say Ric has actually improved AJ's mic skills? He hasn't had a chance to even get on the mic with Ric hijacking every segment they're in.

I've always believed that AJ improved tremendously on the mic following his heel turn alignment with Kurt. When he turned face again, imo he was one of the those guys who when he talked, you listened. Is he a Shawn Michaels or Edge on the mic? No, but then neither were plenty of other top guys like Bret.

Now he's taken a backseat to Flair who just goes crazy, being Ric Flair. He has no point except rambling on, making no sense and bleeding heavily. He's completely overshadowed AJ and that's the problem, as well as AJ's ridiculous character change aswell.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I don't think Flair is necessarily bad for AJ, I just think the idea of creating the "next Flair" wasn't the smartest idea for his character. Evolution created Orton, and Orton didn't emulate Triple H or Ric Flair, or even Batista, so why does AJ have to emulate Flair?

I wouldn't bail on this duo just yet, I'd just be weary of how often I have AJ really emulate him. If he lost the robe and went back to his standard ring attire, but still kept his alliance with Flair, I think the angle would work just fine.

 

[MWRedskins]

my problem with AJ Styles and Ric Flair is how AJ Styles is acting like a younger Ric Flair, that's the mistake and that's also my same problem with Abyss. As for Abyss, the best way to build him is have Abyss be the monster that he is and dont have him acting like younger Hulk Hogan, have him act like the monster (in other words, 1999 or 2000 Kane). As for AJ Styles, the best way to handle Styles and Flair is for TNA to watch tapes of Flair and HHH and to use Flair like that, have him manage Styles, but not mentor him to the point that Styles is like a copycat, have Flair manage him and act like a friend, not like Dr. Evil with his mini-me.

 

[smalltownfan]

You're kidding, right? How can aligning with Flair be a bad thing? Especially when you're a young guy like AJ? His mic skills have improved 10-fold since Flair came aboard, his attitude and arrogance have really shot up, and his in-ring skills have even improved. He's more intense, more focused, and more driven to be the best. He's even added the figure-four to his arsenal. Flair helped shape Orton and Batista into the main-event mega-stars they are today and the same will be done for AJ Styles.

 

[befair2flair]

All those who think AJ has not benefited from Flair have evidently not been watching the show, because his mic skills are 100 times better than they ever were and I believe Flair helped with that. Before all he was is a great wrestler but you could care less what the country boy from Georgia said. When he turns face it will go over well because of all the heat Flair has helped him gather with the fans, however personally I hope it is not a while from now

 

[shattered dreams]

It has not been good all the time but overall I think the Flair-AJ relationship has worked. When they started this angle it was relatively surprising which is usually viewed as a positive. To continue to push AJ at the top they had to do something. His style/look was not going to work as the top babyface that only lets his wrestling do the talking and he had nothing of interest going on character-wise before. So they slowly turn him into the next nature boy but clearly took it too far at times. I do think based on what we have seen recently they realized that error and are starting to push more of an AJ influenced by Flair instead of emulating him. I think the heel turn was exactly what AJ needed and without Flair I doubt he would have been able to get over as one. Now that the new character is established for AJ they are letting him carry it more on his own.