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

[Big Nick Dudley]

I think Flair COULD have been good for AJ. I like AJ's heel turn. Before his heel turn, AJ was the least interesting face, on the mic, in TNA. In the ring, he's golden. He's the best guy in TNA, maybe in pro wrestling. But on the stick, I found him to be boring. He really had nothing to say, and didn't have much of a character. He was a get-it-done-in-the-ring kind of guy, and that was cool. But when I would see him pick up a mic, I didn't care.

Since the Flair partnership, he's become much more entertaining on the mic. He's actually funny, who would have known. As much as his character is a total Flair rip-off, he actually has a character now (outside of the ring).

The only problem I have had so far with this heel turn is...Flair. Flair is one of my top five favorite wrestlers of all time, but he has become a distraction in TNA (distraction from AJ). He's bleeding every five minutes, he's talking too much, he sweats like he's about to have a heart attack. As much as I like Flair, he needs to take more of a backseat to AJ.

The focus of this partnership should be on AJ, not Flair. I know Flair is the more well-known name, and is somewhat of a draw still, but he's just doing wayy too much. I thought the whole point of this partnership was for AJ to improve on the mic, and get additional exposure? While he has improved on the mic, Flair is getting an equal amount of exposure, and I'm not liking it.

I think this partnership had all kinds of potential. Flair is a damn good manager. But at this point in his career, that's all he needs to be..a manager. Right now, Flair is being too much of his own character, having his own storylines. The only storyline Flair should be involved in is one pertaining to AJ. He should be helping AJ get over, not himself. I would like to see less focus on Flair, more on AJ.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

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.

1. I wasn't comparing Cena and Styles when it comes to character OR mic skills. I compared them as figureheads of their company, which no one can disagree with.

2. Never said Cena was boring either...my thoughts on Cena has absolutely nothing to do with the topic. I mentioned him as an example; that is all.

3. Borrowed charisma beats no charisma?? I notice you are a little bias with Styles, but give the guy a break he is one of the most over stars of TNA to be homegrown talent. He isn't like Sting or Angle- yet again just examples. He made his name in TNA, and even with the Hogan/Bischoff takeover where was Styles? Still in the major scene, whether you like his promos or not.

It's this Flair impersonation angle that I have a problem with.

 

[shattered dreams]

I think Flair COULD have been good for AJ. I like AJ's heel turn. Before his heel turn, AJ was the least interesting face, on the mic, in TNA. In the ring, he's golden. He's the best guy in TNA, maybe in pro wrestling. But on the stick, I found him to be boring. He really had nothing to say, and didn't have much of a character. He was a get-it-done-in-the-ring kind of guy, and that was cool. But when I would see him pick up a mic, I didn't care.

Since the Flair partnership, he's become much more entertaining on the mic. He's actually funny, who would have known. As much as his character is a total Flair rip-off, he actually has a character now (outside of the ring).

The only problem I have had so far with this heel turn is...Flair. Flair is one of my top five favorite wrestlers of all time, but he has become a distraction in TNA (distraction from AJ). He's bleeding every five minutes, he's talking too much, he sweats like he's about to have a heart attack. As much as I like Flair, he needs to take more of a backseat to AJ.

The focus of this partnership should be on AJ, not Flair. I know Flair is the more well-known name, and is somewhat of a draw still, but he's just doing wayy too much. I thought the whole point of this partnership was for AJ to improve on the mic, and get additional exposure? While he has improved on the mic, Flair is getting an equal amount of exposure, and I'm not liking it.

I think this partnership had all kinds of potential. Flair is a damn good manager. But at this point in his career, that's all he needs to be..a manager. Right now, Flair is being too much of his own character, having his own storylines. The only storyline Flair should be involved in is one pertaining to AJ. He should be helping AJ get over, not himself. I would like to see less focus on Flair, more on AJ.

I think a lot of people feel like this. While it is only one week, last night Flair cut one short "behind the scenes" promo putting AJ over and other than that was not seen at all while AJ cut a good in ring promo and wrestled a match. Is that not what people are asking for? If so why is it not being acknowledged much if at all. This is an odd trend in the IWC regarding TNA. Complain about how they should do something different, yet when they actually do it, instead of acknowledging it much, simply move on to the new topic that is complaint worthy. Flair is still useful on TV so he had/has to do something. Maybe they use him to help Wolfe out for a while to build him up like they did AJ. I do not really think if used correctly Flair having a character excludes AJ from being able to have one as well.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's a bit of a mixed bag in my view. Styles has gotten something of a rub from Ric Flair but, simultaneously, Styles is often overshadowed by Flair's antics inside the ring and his promos. Styles' biggest weakness has always been his mic skills, he's cut some truly awful promos in his time. While he has improved, he's not doesn't have nearly the mic strength to be TNA's top heel.

When it comes to cutting spirited and energetic promos, it's hard to beat Ric Flair. Even though I almost imagine he's sometimes going senile while doing them these days, he's still entertaining to watch. It's just that he's so far and above Styles when it comes to promos, he just eclipses Styles.

Personally, I don't know if Flair's absence would have made any improvement or not. I've always had trouble buying into Styles as a heel. He just doesn't seem the least bit authentic to me. Maybe he's spent much of his career as "the face of TNA" or maybe I simply don't think he's a good heel, I'm not entirely sure. I think part of the problem is that Styles has become something of a weak and cowardly heel rather than one that's compotent and confident in his abilities. Styles has gone from a face that can hang with anyone in TNA and win to a heel that seemingly needs outside interference to win a match. For someone that's often referred to as one of the best in-ring wrestlers in the world, it can be hard to watch them portray a character that undermines what they can do in the ring.

 

[DDPandNWOfan]

AJ Styles is actually his own enemy. No matter how good he is in the ring he still doesn't have a look, charisma or mic skill. And I don't think he's improved at all with Flair by his side which pretty much shows that he's reached his potential as far as ever developing a marketable character.

I really don't understand why he's a main eventer. They have Robert Roode and Desmond Wolfe who could have become top guys if they were in AJ's position right now.

 

[Lyson Rayne]

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

Excuse me, but I'm a grammar nazi and I'd like to point out the incohesiveness of this post. Now that that is out of the way, Aj was good enough on the mic. I never had a problem with Aj's promos and found them to be better than alot of others. Why everyone is so critical of promos I will never know, I mean, yes they make up ALOT of the business now, but not everyone is The Rock. Aj's just as good now as he was before, I havn't noticed a change except he was yelling alot there for a while. Flair could've helped Styles just as much without being on camera with him, you know backstage, that place where you spend most of the show and noone can see you make mistakes. No, no, no. Aj was one of the best in TNA, Orton and Batista weren't shit before Evolution, BIG difference. I doubt you payed attention to Styles pre-Flair, or you'd never make that connection, or please explain further, I'm incredibly hard pressed to see where Flair's influence on Aj was even close to that.

 

[a0161613]

The Flair thing has been discussed all too often. Yes it's laughably bad and AJ was the wrong choice.

But looking beyond that, AJ is working his ass off and it's clear. He has got the required reaction out of the crowd at the Impact Zone (no mean feat) and he is able to cut an aggressive promo. I don't feel that outside of the figure-four and his entrance robe, he is infringing on Flair's gimmick too much.

In short, I remain unconvinced that anyone could do a better job than what AJ has been asked to do alongside Flair. He isn't the best choice and I still don't think it should've happened the way it did.

Nonetheless, I remain entertained by AJ Styles. He flies better than Hardy and Van Dam and will be a better choice as champion in the future.

AJ is the future of TNA and the future of the business, even if he is being booked to look like RVD's chump at the moment. I am certain that he will emerge a better character and a better champion for it.

My questions:

Is AJ going to be able to survive the Flair storyline and stay in the main event?
Is the AJ and Flair alliance including Beer Money going to continue to be booked poorly?
And what does the future hold for Styles? It would not be a surprise if he is used in the King of the Mountain match but could he win it? Will he be booked in the mid card for a while while Hardy and RVD and Anderson get the spotlight?

 

[X]

...What? How in the WORLD has AJ Styles been booked poorly? The man just came off the longest TNA World title reign of all time and continues to work the main event of almost every single show, and get significant promo time as well. Seriously, only on the internet would you read something so outlandish. I'm not sure it's actually physically possible for AJ to have been booked better over the last 6-8 months.

Like, seriously? 6+ month world title reigns is now considered being booked poorly? I'm at a complete loss for words here.

AJ isn't leaving the main event scene anytime soon. I have no idea why you'd think he would be when he's clearly the top heel in the company right now.

 

[a0161613]

My reason behind it is that AJ has been put across as Flair-lite, instead of being his own man who is using Ric Flair and his advice to his own ends. He has taken non title pinfalls to Hardy and others which were unnecessary and poorly timed. Since Flair has come in, he has had no momentum and floats inconsistently from unnecessary loss (Pope) to weak results against inferior talent (Abyss) and has not furthered any other storyline but Hogan's.

X, I'm not hating on AJ - I love the guy and he is my favourite performer in the industry. His booking until around the time of his heel turn was fantastic. His series with Angle has feud of the year written all over it and he had classic after classic with him.

His world title reign was a total mixed bag; he had a stellar first few months and then nothing. This thing with Flair has had bad timing written all over it. I just see that it's been done to satisfy egos and I think AJ could have benefitted from it being done a little differently.

I will say that his promos have remained great and that is one aspect along with his ring work where he has thankfully not kept the Flair attitude.

Just a personal opinion that's all. I just reckon AJ would have been a better choice as a face in the Hogan / Flair against a wrestler who has more Flair-like attributes.

Edit: I've just watched the main event of the pre-PPV Impact and saw AJ pin RVD so maybe I could adjust the wording of the title. I do think his booking since the Hogan era has come in has been weak and that AJ is good enough to be the focus of the show instead of being a tool in the Flair / Hogan saga.

 

[brighamosity]

I could not agree more. A.J. Styles has been arguably TNA's greatest asset for more than 5 years now. He does not need a mentor and giving him one makes him look inferior. It would be like if The Rock went back to WWE and tried to mentor John Cena, with John Cena copying all of his stuff. It would hurt Cena's push more than it helped. Styles is above that. Styles has been too successful in TNA to be someone's sidekick, even if it is Ric Flair. I agree that this is just plain poor booking.

But that's the attutide TNA has had ever since Hogan took over. I remember when Hogan came in, and he kept going around saying how TNA has such great young new wrestlers (I'm paraphrasing obviously) when referring to Styles. I think it would be safe to say that Styles is right there alongside Bryan Danielson as hugely successful non-WWE wrestlers. I don't follow independant wrestling, but I knew who A.J. Styles was back in like 2002-2003 I think. Honestly, it feels like TNA is booking as if every person who watches TNA is a new fan who wouldn't know who AJ Styles (and Abyss for that matter) are so they are starting from scratch. That's how it looks to me. Others may disagree with that.

 

[a0161613]

I wouldn't make the Cena/Rock comparison because The Rock is in a totally different situation to Hogan and Flair. I certainly agree that pairing Styles up with Flair or Hogan could have been done better but I was never against the idea of an association. I loved the first couple of shows where Flair and AJ's relationship was very hush hush and behind shut doors.

Because if you can't learn something from a Flair or Hogan then you shouldn't be around. I just feel that their feud is overshadowing and belittling the ability of AJ and others like Beer Money and Wolfe. Because while AJ was World Champion until recently, Beer Money and Wolfe are being made to look absolutely pathetic.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

He held the title for over 200 days, setting a company record. He beat Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, D'Angelo Dinero and Sting in that run. Aside from the Flair gimmick, how in the flying fuck could you consider that bad booking?

No way in hell he leaves the main event for anything short of death, severe injury or act of God.

Champion or not, he'll be a major contender for it regardless for the foreseeable future regardless – that much is certain.

 

[a0161613]

He held the title for over 200 days, setting a company record. He beat Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, D'Angelo Dinero and Sting in that run. Aside from the Flair gimmick, how in the flying fuck could you consider that bad booking?

My entire point is that I consider it poor booking because of the Flair thing. Disregard everything up until mid January because I loved his series with Joe and Daniels and think his matches with Angle even better. If I hadn't already made that fricking clear.....

And in the names you list, you also neglect to mention that he needlessly lost to Pope and Hardy. Neither of which led to anything, especially as Pope had to earn his shot in the 8 Card Stud.

So aside from the Flair thing, I would say that the booking can be short sighted at times. I just can't believe that anyone thinks he has been booked strongly in matches since before the Abyss thing. Because while he is being booked better than most, he still had a much better start to his reign and the end was lacklustre.

To fans tempted to watch due to the Hogan relationship, why would this make AJ seem credible? I say it's because he is extremely talented that he is having to work hard with the average material he has been getting.

 

[itpays2bsryaboutyrdamluck]

my first time post, but I had to comment...I agree with the original poster. Ever since the Hogan era, the TNA originals have been made to look weak. I do like the team of AJ, Beer Money, Desmond wolfe w/ Flair , but I don't like how they are being used. Example, Hogan coming to the ring and taking them all down with one fist is just ridiculous, considering he is physically unable to wrestle anymore that was absolutely horrible. I almost thought about giving up on TNA altogether because of that. I didn't watch the 2nd hour of the last Impact... I am fed up of seeing them being made to look so pathetic just to feed Hogan's massive ego.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

To some degree, I have to agree with Numbers. Overall, Styles' booking has been a bit of a mixed bag in my opinion. He's had the longest TNA World Championship run since the title's creation and, for most of his reign, he was a very strong and very compotent champion. A lot of TNA fans, particularly fans that'd been watching TNA for a very long time were practically dying for the title to be put onto Styles and it happened. For most of his title reign, however, AJ Styles was a babyface and not a heel.

I just don't buy into AJ Styles as a heel, he's just never convinced me that he's a "bad guy" that I can take seriously as a "bad guy". Since his heel turn, Styles has been transformed from a very compotent champion and one of the best in-ring workers in the world to being a heel that simply cannot win a match without some sort of outside interference, mostly from Ric Flair. I can see why a lot of Styles' fans aren't all that thrilled about that. It's hard for some to watch a guy they like go from being able to hang with anyone to not being able to handle anyone without help.

For me, I think that Ric Flair overshadows Styles too much when it comes to cutting promos. Styles just isn't anywhere near Flair's level when it comes to mic work and it comes across whenever they're both in the ring and promos happen.

 

[burnout4200]

AJ Styles has improved tremendously since being managed by Ric Flair. He's doing the best promo's of his career after an extremely short period of time. Whether you look at it as poor booking or not his noticeable improvement makes it all worth it. AJ Styles is one of my favorites but like all wrestlers he still had areas he could improve upon. Seeing AJ as a heel before seemed impossible but with the right guidance he's figuring out how to pull it off. We all questioned if AJ would be able to get over as a heel or not. Hell most of us said it wasn't possible. But he's doing it. He's getting booed more and more at every show.

The thing people refer to as bad booking can also be looked at as a learning process. Things might appear a bit sporadic but AJ is just learning alot of different things at once. AJ is proving he has more talent beyond his in ring skills and this does nothing but further solidify his spot in future main events. Besides with all of the immediately over baby faces they brought in they need a top heel like Styles to make it work.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Is AJ Styles going to be able to survive the Flair storyline and stay in the main event? Ummm, yes. AJ has been given the most prominent position among wrestlers in TNA. He was Hogan's champion, and top heel. Hogan put Styles with Flair. The only people who can push AJ out of the spotlight are Hogan and Bischoff, and they seem to be quite happy with him. If they were not, why would he have been champion during several months under their control?

AJ lost the title because..it happens. Belts change hands. Maybe it was done poorly, I can agree with that. But just because AJ isn't champ, doesn't mean he isn't the top dog in TNA. In all honesty, I don't see anyone besides AJ beating RVD for that title (maybe Anderson). AJ Styles is a constant main eventer now, he is the future of TNA. No way he being pushed aside, no way.

You say the Flair angle has been laughably bad and AJ was the wrong choice as if we all just automatically agree. I don't. I think AJ was the perfect choice. He was doing nothing in terms of having a character before Flair. I think he's one of the two or three best wrestlers in the world today, but on the mic and character wise, he had nothing before Flair. Turning him heel was perfect. Who else could have done it? Wolfe? Pope? Matt Morgan? Who? I don't see anyone besides AJ who needed that role more. Because now, when he turns face again, it's going to be huge. It has given him experience in interviews and dialogue, and he is working side-by-side with one of the greatest talkers of all time (Flair).

You said in your first post that the only things Styles has really taken off of Flair were the robe and the figure four. But in your next post, you call him Flair-lite? So which one is it? I think Styles is using the Flair-persona, in an updated fashion. I think you were right when you originally said the only things Styles has really taken would be the figure four and robe. I wouldn't refer to him as Flair-lite.

And how can you say he isn't the best choice to be with Flair, and then say he has done a better job than anyone else could have? I just don't get it. You said yourself, he is getting a good crowd reaction, so what's the problem? That's what counts, no?

The only problem with the Flair-Styles partnership has been Flair. I like Flair, but we are seeing far too much of the man, week in and week out. He's bleeding like a stuck pig, wrestling once a month, etc. They need to cool it, and put the focus on AJ. AJ is doing fine, and I believe this is the best thing they could have done for him at this time. Do they need to adjust some things, put Flair more in the background? Absolutely. But I'm not convinced (and you don't seem to be either) that anyone else could have done as good of a job.

How is he RVD's chump? They are booking RVD as their top face, so he has to beat Styles to start off, correct? To bring RVD in, and have him job out to Styles wouldn't be smart. Styles is established in TNA, RVD isn't. Styles is a heel, so he can lose a lot and not suffer, credibility wise. RVD is a face, and needs to pick up big wins, after just entering the company (assuming they are booking him as their top babyface).

TNA needs fresh feuds. They need guys who draw. AJ was running out of big-league faces to feud with. Hardy is going to court for drugs, who knows how that's going to turn out. Angle is out, and has had a huge feud with Styles in the last year anyhow. RVD is a draw, and can feud with up-and-coming heels, and in turn, hopefully give them the ability to draw someday. I don't have a problem with RVD being champ, but I would like to see Styles regain sooner as opposed to later.

I do agree that the whole Team Flair (Beer Money, Wolfe) angle hasn't been great. Beer Money hasn't done anything besides do Flair's dirty work, and Wolfe is involved with that idiot Abyss. I wish those guys were doing something different, I agree with you there.