"Would You Sign...?": AJ Styles

[terrylee]

Hey there guys. This is the first of hopefully a series of threads I'll be starting based on the concept of "Would You Sign..." so and so for the WWE.

Some of these may come off as no-brainers, but think from the WWE's perspective - would there be a place for them? Or would they just linger in the midcard and fade into obscurity? Christopher Daniels was apparently rejected by the WWE recently because of his age and size, so take that into consideration when thinking about signing someone for "your" company. The (somewhat) big name signing may be good initially, but will it help the company out in the long run? Or are you just wasting money on what could just be a flop signing?

For the sake of this series, we're assuming they would all want to come, so no need for arguing about whether or not they'd REALLY want to come. It's all hypothetical and we're under the assumption they'd be willing to sign, even if they're anti-WWE in real life.

The series will feature wrestlers from TNA, ROH, NWA, Chikara, NJPW - pretty much from around the world. For the first in the series, we'll start with someone pretty well known - "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles

Styles is almost without a doubt the best star TNA has produced - he came to them from Ring of Honor, I know, but as opposed to stars such as Sting, Kurt Angle, etc., who had already carved their reputation in either the WCW or the WWE/F, Styles was relatively unknown until he burst through the TNA stage.

Highly athletic with a terrific moveset, AJ Styles has been a dream signing for many a WWE fan - but would you sign him?

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So the questions are as follows:

1. Would you sign him?
2. Pretend you're face-to-face with AJ Styles and his agent. Convince him to join the WWE. What would you say? What promises would you make?
3. How would you debut him? Straight to FCW? NXT? Straight into the shows like Sin Cara? What would be his first feud? And so on and so forth...
4. What would his long-term career in the WWE be like? Eventual champion? Midcarder-for-life? Hall of Famer? Future endeavored from the get go?

Feel free to add any more details as you see fit, and if this first thread is a success, then I'll continue the series.

Go!

​

 

[jellmoo]

1) No. AJ is good in TNA, but he is undersized and too weak on the mic to be a major player in WWE. He's a big fish in a small pond, but the WWE ocean would eat him alive.

2) Simple. Would you like to make real money?

3) FCW first, for sure. He needs to adapt to WWE style. He needs to learn how to cut a promo. He needs to make a mark for himself amongst some WWE guys before hand.

4) Probably high end mid card. Good for Intercontinental style championship reigns and the occasional 6 man heavyweight match. Essentially, just like John Morrison.

 

[DarkLordFett]

Once TNA hit network TV, I started watching the promotion. Styles always hit me as a guy who's talent was sometimes wasted by their booking. He had some good promos and feuds, but it just seemed like they just weren't using him to the fullest. TNA's talent pool at that time was large, but lacked serious talent IMO. AJ was one of the exceptions. I'm not absolutely sure he could be a main-eventer right away, but a little time, the right angles and he could be in the hunt for either top title. I kind of see him on the Smackdown roster.

Yes, I'd sign him.
I don't know what I'd do to convince him.
I'd debut him at a PPV, kick off a feud with Swagger or Barrett (right now)
I'd start him out on a mid-card push, take the IC real fast then move up the ladder to the Heavyweight.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Would I sign AJ Styles? Absolutely, without a doubt. Granted, he is one of three or four guys from TNA that I would be interested in signing and I would have absolutely no interest in anyone else.

There would be no worries of not being able to find a spot for him. If he is as good as everyone says, which I believe he is, he'd force himself a spot on the roster. He would find his way into the main event, and represent himself well once there.

No doubt about it, AJ would be a welcome addition to the WWE roster. I doubt we will ever see it, but since this is all hypothetical, I give a resounding yes to the question at hand.

 

[closet_fan]

i would no. like jellmoo said, he's too small and his mic skills are subpar. he'd get lost like all the other undersized guys the E have brought in.

if he did sign, he would fall down the path of brian danielson.

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

1. Would you sign him?

YES! AJ is an incredible talent and would be able to hang with a lot of the newer talent coming in. He's not the greatest on the mic but he's not awful either. He would be a great addition to the smackdown brand which isn't over saturated by orton/cena.

2. Pretend you're face-to-face with AJ Styles and his agent. Convince him to join the WWE. What would you say? What promises would you make?

I'd promise him a prominent spot on Smackdown as a face which I feel he is better suited to be. I'd promise him feuds with the top stars on smackdown which would build to a hopeful world title run following a MITB win.

3. How would you debut him? Straight to FCW? NXT? Straight into the shows like Sin Cara? What would be his first feud? And so on and so forth...

I'd debut him straight to smackdown. He is coming from TNA so I'd trust he can work a match with some of the guys there. I'd maybe bring him in to feud with a smaller guy like Cody Rhodes (who is becoming one of the top heels on the brand).

4. What would his long-term career in the WWE be like? Eventual champion? Midcarder-for-life? Hall of Famer? Future endeavored from the get go?

As much as I enjoy AJ I don't see him in the hall of fame. I could see him possibly becoming champ through MITB if he's well received from the outset. It'd be tough for guys like him but if allowed to do a match his way he could really get over imo.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Absolutely. He wouldn't necessarily be a main event caliber guy, but in my opinion, he could be the missing piece to make the mid card scene what it used to be. I know everyone bitches about the Tag Team, Cruiserweight, and Diva's divisions, but in my opinion, the only part of the roster that really is in bad shape would be the mid card. The gap between mid card and main event talent used to be very small, but now the gap is bigger than ever. AJ could be the guy to help bridge that gap. His persona, his moveset, all of it would be something very fresh to the WWE. He's better than just about every mid carder they're using right now in both ring skills and mic skills. Maybe if his popularity skyrocketed, he could even be used as a main event player from time to time. Regardless, he would be a very valuable acquisition for the WWE there's no question about that.

 

[UnBEARaBULLfan]

1) No. AJ is good in TNA, but he is undersized and too weak on the mic to be a major player in WWE. He's a big fish in a small pond, but the WWE ocean would eat him alive..

Ever hear of Rey Mysterio he is undersized and is no good on the mic, but he has been built up to beat big man after big man and win multiple heavyweight titles. that being said.......yes I would sign AJ.

I would offer him more money and more exposure.

He could go to fcw, but I'de bring him straight to a main roster just for shock value, Tna's franchise guy comes straight to Raw or Smackdown you could put him in a fued with Ziggler those would be good matches I think everyone would like to see, or put him in a fued with Barrett on Smackdown.

He may not have the best pesonnality but he is a likeable guy that you can get behind and root for, I could see him eventually holding all the titles at some point like Jericho, another guy thats not so big and built his mic skills over time, and had a good career in the WWE.

 

[daqwanjamal]

1.) I would sign AJ Styles he is one of the top performers in the business today

2.) To convince him, I would pay him more money than TNA
Promise he will be in better storylines.

3.) Have him take acting lessons to improve his mic skills.
Have promos build him up
Have him come out to Daniel Bryans aid on Raw

4.)Start him out in the Tag Team division, with Daniel Bryan, to bring back life to the Tag Teams.
Eventually capture the IC title.
Then work his way up.. I would keep him as a babyface.

 

[rjoconnell]

i would no. like jellmoo said, he's too small and his mic skills are subpar. he'd get lost like all the other undersized guys the E have brought in.

if he did sign, he would fall down the path of brian danielson.

I dunno how Daniel Bryan is "falling down the path."
He came in and helped headline a pay per view, he had a good rivalry with The Miz, he had both Bella Twins hangin on his arms, he held the United States title for a pretty decent amount of time, and I'm sure he takes home a pretty awesome pay check.

You guys think everyone needs to be in the main event scene.

AJ Styles has amazing talent. I'd love to see him in WWE but I feel like it might not be a fit for him. In TNA, he's a big time player, always gettin matches at pay per views where he gets to show off his skills; you know, actual RING TIME.

In the WWE, he might not get that kind of exposure. The company doesn't even want to be known as a WRESTLING company anymore, and that's what AJ is.. first and foremost, a great wrestler. Again, I think AJ Styles is great and I love watching him.. but WWE.. prob not the place for him.. unless he's just looking to collect a pay check and get some TV time.

 

[jellmoo]

Ever hear of Rey Mysterio he is undersized and is no good on the mic, but he has been built up to beat big man after big man and win multiple heavyweight titles. that being said.......yes I would sign AJ.

I never thought that Rey Mysterio was heavyweight title worthy, nor did I think he held the title well, but that is neither here nor there.

That being said, I spoke too quickly when I said I wouldn't sign him. Clearly he has talent and could be a nice addition to the roster. Not signing him would be silly. I do think though, that unless he is motivated by a cash grab, he is strictly better off in TNA.

The problem is that he just isn't main event material. At least Rey Mysterio can bring in the latin market. AJ is just too lacking to be a main event player. He could be a solid mid card player, no doubt, and maybe be used on the periphery of the main event scene, but he just isn't WWE main event material.

 

[Brian in Austin]

Ever hear of Rey Mysterio he is undersized and is no good on the mic, but he has been built up to beat big man after big man and win multiple heavyweight titles. that being said.......yes I would sign AJ.

I would offer him more money and more exposure.

He could go to fcw, but I'de bring him straight to a main roster just for shock value, Tna's franchise guy comes straight to Raw or Smackdown you could put him in a fued with Ziggler those would be good matches I think everyone would like to see, or put him in a fued with Barrett on Smackdown.

He may not have the best pesonnality but he is a likeable guy that you can get behind and root for, I could see him eventually holding all the titles at some point like Jericho, another guy thats not so big and built his mic skills over time, and had a good career in the WWE.

Great comments and I'd have to agree with you. I would say, however, that he'd need to become a much bigger character in WWE than he is in TNA. The big fish in a small pond analogy used earlier was a good one. In WWE, with his size, he'd have to have that Jericho type of personality in order to really get over with the WWE fans. There's no question he's tremendously talented, but he lacks the mic skills right now that he'd need in WWE.

 

[dtroppe]

No way No way No way

Imagine AJ styles in matches with, Cena, Orton, HHH, Taker, etc...He would look like an old school JOBBER next to those guys.

This is a no brainer- AJ styles can work, but in my opinion he is boring in every other aspects, or more importantly the important aspects needed to get over in WWE.

His look is pretty plain and dull. His mic skills are less than desirable, and he doesnt have the physique. Why spend the money on the guy? He would go nowhere.

 

[Savior with faith 101]

I would certainly sign him for WWE, look at the reactions Evan Bourne gets and for all intents and purposes hes a jobber at the moment...

I would send him down to FCW for a month or so, have him work on his mic skills and build a bit of a persona, then have him debut in the Smackdown MITB match at the PPV as a surprise entrant. I wouldnt have him win the match but this would give him a great platform to debut and make a real statement using his offense from the start on the big stage, but without too much pressure on him. Have him hit some big moves, usual stuff for a ladder match but as his offence would be "new" then he would get a pretty decent reaction from the crowd.

After this have him chase after someone who "cost" him his MITB contract. Someone like Kane who knows how to work a match, is good at getting people over and can carry the work load on the mic too while AJ hones his skills.

Providing he does get over i can see him being the kinda guy who is in and around the main event scene for the multiple match Championships, Elimination Chamber, Fatal Fourway etc...

But for the money he is probably on in TNA, a pay rise would obviously be nice for him, the exposure and a spot at Wrestlemania may well be too much for him to resist. I honestly dont think it would take too much to convince him to move companies.

 

[neildittmar]

1. Would you sign him?

Absolutely not, as he would be a terrible fit. 8-10 years ago I may have said yes, given that WWF/E was focused just as much on athleticism as it was on entertainment. With the migration from "wrestlers" to "superstars" essentially complete, AJ's wrestling ability would be overlooked and disregarded. I don't believe Styles could ever be strong on the mic and charisma departments to elevate in WWE long term and become a superstar. Again, it would be a terrible fit.

2. Pretend you're face-to-face with AJ Styles and his agent. Convince him to join the WWE. What would you say? What promises would you make?

I guess I'll play along here. First, I would offer him at least as much money as he is making in TNA for a one year deal. Despite him being a star in TNA, I would offer him the opportunity to start in FCW for a 3 to 6 month stint. Reason being, AJ would need to at least learn the basics of the "WWE way of life" and thus throwing him into Smackdown or RAW immediately would be promotional suicide. Assuming he did well there, I'd give him the opportunity to join the Smackdown roster, with a debut against a "like-styled" wrestler (Justin Gabriel immediately springs to mind). Depending on crowd reaction and his assimilation into the WWE Universe, I'd at least keep him for the 1 year and cross the "renewal" bridge when it came up.

3. How would you debut him? Straight to FCW? NXT? Straight into the shows like Sin Cara? What would be his first feud? And so on and so forth...

I sort of answered this above already. It would be a contingency of his being brought on that he start in FCW, then a Smackdown "tryout" against a like-styled wrestler, then seeing where crowd reaction takes things post the 1 year mark.

4. What would his long-term career in the WWE be like? Eventual champion? Midcarder-for-life? Hall of Famer? Future endeavored from the get go?

Perhaps all of these. As explained above, I would take AJ on an initial "try before we buy" basis. At the very least, he can become fodder for "better" WWE superstars before he is future endeavored. This also knocks one of TNA's better known stars down a couple of pegs and might make a WWE star look "better" in comparison. If AJ really did well, I think a mid-card run with the IC or US title would probably be in order. I don't see him becoming a world champion (other than possibly a transitional one) simply because I don't think the WWE lifestyle is in him. AJ is an athlete first, personality a distant second. This is the exact reverse of what WWE would be looking for.

 

[superstitionstx]

I would sign him for sure.

I would offer him 15% more than what he is making at TNA, with perks and room for negotiations after 6 months, if things go well.

I would have him debut straightaway. Come in like the Radicalz, or early n.W.o, playing the fact that he may still be with the other company... the whole "He is not supposed to be here thing" Have incidents and promos and run in's happen for like 2 months while training at FCW. I would send him to Smackdown for sure...

Long term, I see a few stints with World Heavyweight Championship here and there... ala CM Punk

 

[silverbullet]

I would sign him.. but he is not believable as a champ.. only in TNA

he is one of my favorite wrestlers but he would get buried, unless they put him on smackdown and there is few big names left on the show, I don't see AJ making an impact in WWE, they had a try out match with him on metal awhile ago, but he has grown alot since then.. but still not enough to compete in the big leagues..

His recent stint with rick flair seemed to forced to me, he's one of them wrestlers that don't need to talk...

 

[Heavens Vibe]

I cant be asked to use your question template because I try not to type essays

I personally want him to be given a chance at WWE but he himself stated he isn't interested in the WWE I think, so who am I to try convince him otherwise

Note: I dont watch TNA anymore.

 

[tripleddd]

I would pay him what he was worth and as far as convince him - well if the biggest company comes knocking then why not?
How would you use him and where - now in my opinion I would introduce him very slowly lots of video footage before he arrives, where too - Smackdown of course and i would bring him along as they did to Angle when he first showed up get him invovled in the mid card scene first ic title /us title and also perhaps getting him invovled in tag teams with one of the big guys big show for instance. Also perhaps Drew McIntyre as I beleive he came from roh. In about a year to 18 months yes sure get him invovled in the main event and yes win the main tittle

 

[The Man They Call WMD]

Why would you not? The reasons I would sign him are endless, while he may not be the greatest on the mic, he is the best in the ring. With HHH taking over he is a lot more interested in ability. Anyone who watched his Top10 moves knows this is a Top guy in the business and he should be in the Top company.

 

[georgia wrestling 2]

yes I would sign AJ Styles if i were in WWE. As far as the undersized comment goes I refer to the new WWE hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. ( Funny how he got smaller over the years look at when he was in AWA with Marty Janetty) anyway I digress AJ definitely does not have the mic skills as a Shawn Michaels but his talent is always there. The match he and Kurt had on TV about a year ago as good as it gets. Look at some of the similarities too they could make his pele kick similar to sweet chin music his AJ driver. There have been glimpses of his ability to make decent promos here and there in TNA but seriously if you can push The MIZ as WWE champ on us there is room For AJ Styles

 

[PileDriver]

Yes, ofcourse I would sign AJ.
He needs to work on his mic skills.
And if he improves there, I see no reason why he couldn't be world champion one day (If other smaller guys like Mysterio, Punk and Miz can).
I think simply offering him more money would do the job.

That said. I also watch TNA and I hope he stays there, because TNA needs young stars too.