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Post by The Kevstaaa on Feb 23, 2018 8:21:46 GMT -5
AJ Styles has been on cruise control since the Shane match. His promos are largely the same, spoken in monotone, or he tries to ramble on to get to a punchline that never hits with the zing he intends it to be. AJ's matches have not been anything special. The feud with Owens was largely not very good, full of lethargic promos and matches that took ages to get going. You could blame SmackDown creative, I guess? Just remember that when Raw creative was actively hurting the show in the fall of 2016, Kevin Owens was still a beacon of light. He still persevered despite bad creative. He had really creative promos and put on consistently good matches on TV and PPV despite bad booking. AJ has not been a beacon of light on a bad SmackDown, and in almost every week's case, he's felt just as lifeless as the rest of the show. Remember when AJ beating Jinder was supposed to be the cure for SmackDown's bad show? It wasn't. The show has been just as, if not more, lethargic as it's ever been. And yes, some of it is attributed to the show being basically a rerun every week. But if you look at the individual people appearing on the show, you have Liv and Naomi doing Lucha spots every week trying to stand out. You have The Usos cutting strong promos, trying to stand out. And you have AJ, doing legitimately the same thing he's been doing for almost a year. It's great that you like him, I do too. But I just think that he hasn't been nearly as good as he was in 2016 or the first quarter of 2017. I'd take a great Jinder match over an average AJ Styles match no matter what. Kevin Owens was a beacon of light from a promo standpoint on Raw 2016. His matches, outside of HIAC and the Royal Rumble 2017, were largely flat and average. AJ beating Jinder was never going to fix Smackdown and whoever thought that didn't realize there were far more problems on Tuesdays than the top champion. The ONLY thing Smackdown has done good since 2016 is the tag team division. The women's division has been lethargic, the World Title picture has either been awful (see: Nakamura/Jinder feud) or disappointing and revolving around authority figures (KO/Zayn/AJ). As has been stated, everything AJ does with KO is average at best, yet bad Smackdown creative keeps shoving them together. Sometimes, two very good pieces just don't connect well. Again, it's also hilarious that there can be an entire thread based on AJ phoning it in (even though, again, he had great stuff outside of the KO feud), yet KO gets off the hook and nobody talks about him.
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Post by ClashOfStyles on Feb 23, 2018 9:08:30 GMT -5
They want to save all the interesting stuff for the PPV, but it doesn’t help that the PPV matches are the same as the ones that are on TV every week. Creative is boring and complacent, not AJ. It doesn’t help that he’s booked like sh*t either. I'm not sure about that. Ideally you should do the best with what you have been given and he hasn't really been doing that lately. The thing is he has been doing exactly that, but just as the story starts to build up steam, creative pulls the rug out from under him. That’s what happens to every big star on both RAW. and SDL, and that’s the reason why the shows are so boring.
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mutafan
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Post by mutafan on Feb 23, 2018 9:15:28 GMT -5
there is only one wrestler in the wwe who is a waist and that is Roman Reigns. he has been given everything chosen by Vince himself the idiot has only a limited move set and sucks on the mic. the only way this moron can be cheered is when he is with rollins and ambrose..... AJ Styles is one of if not the most talented athletes in the WWE today. so who ever said AJ is a waist is a idiot. Where to start.... 1. *waste 2. His move set is fine, I have no idea why everyone complains about it, the guy is huge and you can't expect him to pump out a shooting star press every match. Also, Braun Strowman and Dean Ambrose have about the same number of moves and no one complains, just jumping on the bandwagon I see? 3. The way in which Vince McMahon or the WWE creative team have tried to get him over hasn't worked, and that isn't Roman's fault. I don't think he's brillaint and i'm not a fanboy by any means but please, don't jump on bandwagons and talk rubbish. thats total BS, Roman never paid his dues and look where his sorry butt has gotten because of his size and who his relatives are Rollins was on the indie scene and was in ring of honor and Ambrose busted in you know what in combat zone wrestling done even get me started Dean has bleed more times than most wrestlers will ever know. oh yea thanks for the spelling lesson.
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Dante, The Voc
Main Eventer
If I'm not online, I'm on the toilet
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Post by Dante, The Voc on Feb 23, 2018 9:21:24 GMT -5
Where to start.... 1. *waste 2. His move set is fine, I have no idea why everyone complains about it, the guy is huge and you can't expect him to pump out a shooting star press every match. Also, Braun Strowman and Dean Ambrose have about the same number of moves and no one complains, just jumping on the bandwagon I see? 3. The way in which Vince McMahon or the WWE creative team have tried to get him over hasn't worked, and that isn't Roman's fault. I don't think he's brillaint and i'm not a fanboy by any means but please, don't jump on bandwagons and talk rubbish. thats total BS, Roman never paid his dues and look where his sorry butt has gotten because of his size and who his relatives are Rollins was on the indie scene and was in ring of honor and Ambrose busted in you know what in combat zone wrestling done even get me started Dean has bleed more times than most wrestlers will ever know. oh yea thanks for the spelling lesson. Neither have you. And to get back on track, blaming creative is a lazy argument. This is such an odd hill to die on. Cody Rhodes took a non-existent midcard on SmackDown in 2011 and flourished because he changed things up and did things to stand out, and it was rewarded with a lengthy IC Title run. JBL cemented his legacy on an abysmal SmackDown roster by changing things up and doing things to stand out. AJ Styles has had all the opportunity to stand out and change things up, and it's been the same "Champ that Runs the Camp" promo week in and week out, the same insults week in and week out, and it's been lethargic.
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Post by TheSystem 1.5 on Feb 23, 2018 9:45:26 GMT -5
Where to start.... 1. *waste 2. His move set is fine, I have no idea why everyone complains about it, the guy is huge and you can't expect him to pump out a shooting star press every match. Also, Braun Strowman and Dean Ambrose have about the same number of moves and no one complains, just jumping on the bandwagon I see? 3. The way in which Vince McMahon or the WWE creative team have tried to get him over hasn't worked, and that isn't Roman's fault. I don't think he's brillaint and i'm not a fanboy by any means but please, don't jump on bandwagons and talk rubbish. thats total BS, Roman never paid his dues and look where his sorry butt has gotten because of his size and who his relatives are Rollins was on the indie scene and was in ring of honor and Ambrose busted in you know what in combat zone wrestling done even get me started Dean has bleed more times than most wrestlers will ever know. oh yea thanks for the spelling lesson.
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Post by marino13 on Feb 23, 2018 10:02:54 GMT -5
I like AJ. Think he's great. But IMO the real problem is, he really needs some new people to work with. Turn Orton heel. Move Finn or Rollins over to SD. Give him something good to work with and we'll see how he does. As much as I love Kevin & Sami, they're just too lovable to be the most hated guys in the company. SD (WWE in general) needs hated villains. Nobody wants to be that evil SOB anymore (Jinder tried). And because of that, the faces suffer.
You have no idea how tired I am of EVERY god dang thread turning into a Roman bashing thread. But since it did, complaining that he "didn't pay his dues" in 2018 is asinine. There are so many wrestlers who didn't struggle on the indy scene for years before making it to WWE. Braun, Orton, Cena, and even The Rock were all signed to WWE from the get go. So save that s**t for the next thread that has nothing to do with Roman.
There is a lot of arguing here. And chances are it's gonna end up locked. So please try to keep it civil.
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Post by McBlake on Feb 23, 2018 10:53:10 GMT -5
Let’s see if anyone tops this after his match with Nakamura at Mania. I doubt it.
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Feb 23, 2018 10:55:44 GMT -5
there is only one wrestler in the wwe who is a waist and that is Roman Reigns. he has been given everything chosen by Vince himself the idiot has only a limited move set and sucks on the mic. the only way this moron can be cheered is when he is with rollins and ambrose..... There are still people on this train about Roman Reigns? I still don't care for his promo work (though a lot of is WWE never going full cocky face with him), but he's great in the ring. On a daily basis, the dude is putting on high quality matches at a level almost nobody else is. Was he handed stuff early in his career? Sure. His 2015 Rumble win was WAY too soon. But, he spent the last three years having bangers and being one of the most consistent performers on the planet.
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Deleted
Joined on: May 18, 2024 21:26:50 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2018 11:01:40 GMT -5
Once again Wfigs turns on a great talent because it's not "cool" to like him now he's in WWE. Get over yourselves.
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Post by Bandalero on Feb 23, 2018 11:02:14 GMT -5
AJ phoning it in? Did he fly a whole bunch of hours sick from South America to put on a classic with Balor at last year's TLC PPV with NO BUILD to that match? And then shows up on RAW the next night to work another stellar match that's not even his brand? He deserved the WWE title to end the year. If you're picking on the guy for a lackluster story line with sweethearts Owens/Zayne because they choose to focus on Shane/DB instead, then that's not AJ's fault. AJ can wrestle a broom and make it entertaining.
Who's phoning it in is Ownes, Nakamura, Ziggler, Shane, DB, and most of the SD roster because they realize this is now a dead-end show.
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Post by TheSystem 1.5 on Feb 23, 2018 11:11:53 GMT -5
Let’s see if anyone tops this after his match with Nakamura at Mania. I doubt it. There's an entire show from the night before that will probably be better
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Post by alanpartridge on Feb 23, 2018 11:20:01 GMT -5
Smackdown is bad at the moment due to the confusing storylines with Owens/Zayn/Shane, the random Jinder push and Orton still hogging the spotlight. If WWE invested more into Roode, Breeze and Rusev then smackdown would be great. Roode and Rusev should be booked as main eventers and Tyler Breeze should be a mid carder similar to his NXT run. Also Dolph Ziggler should be released. He's making Smackdown boring by him just being on the show. He's been doing the same stuff now for years. Also Baron Corbin shouldn't be booked as a threat. RUSEV SHOULD! AJ Styles is literally keeping Smackdown alive.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2018 11:34:53 GMT -5
AJ’s weekly content is really all I tune in for right now. I still get a kick out of his normal TV matches. It’d be nice, however, if he had a greater variety of opponents. AJ’s programs with KO have gone on way too long, and they haven’t featured much story or character motivation.
It was a refreshing break when AJ fought Tye Dillinger, Baron Corbin, and then Jinder. Additional different opponents would’ve been great. Adding Sami to the matches with KO freshened thing up a little, but it still feels so much like the US title feud from earlier in the year.
AJ’s 2016 matches with the New Day, for example, made me want more. A feud between AJ and Kofi or Xavier could be terrific. But his programs with KO just kept going. As a super fan, I would’ve even been okay with AJ losing the world title to Kevin and Sami so that he could start a new rivalry with someone else.
I don’t perceive any particular wrestler causing a problem with WWE TV. It’s that WWE weekly TV, particularly Smackdown right now, doesn’t really have those wrestlers doing very much beyond what feel like repeat matches. It’s hard to maintain interest in wrestling characters if they don’t get to demonstrate some dynamism and versatility.
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Post by MacReady on Feb 23, 2018 11:41:53 GMT -5
What? AJ BAD?
You're kidding right?
The dude is money, consistent money.
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havoc7179
Main Eventer
What is this?
Joined on: Oct 16, 2012 9:11:18 GMT -5
Posts: 4,189
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Post by havoc7179 on Feb 23, 2018 11:50:24 GMT -5
As a contrarian, I know it's fun to go against the grain, but no. Sorry.
The problem is that the D-O-Double G is doing nothing with anyone and the payoffs have been meh. How many months did we have the Fashion Files allude to 2B? Not even real closure on it after the Bludgeon Brothers annihilated them in 2 matches. The program with them and the Ascension never manifested. And, how many Bludgeon Brother squash matches must we see? It's literally the same formula each match for them and they are not getting loud pops.
Now we have a storyline with a guy who can't be cleared to wrestle, feuding with a guy who can. Just like when Bryan and Miz were trading barbs, there is no payoff here. It was entertaining but thankfully not a big part of the show. Here, the entire SDL revolves primarily around this storyline.
Throw in some pointless stories about a Ranking System that has no real reason for existing, and characters playing weird roles, and you have a problem.
Sami is a face. Book him as one. Whiny boil leach is not working (although it is entertaining) Roode is a heel. Book him as one. Smiling goofball is not working. Ziggler is a heel. Book him as one. Whiny I can do it all wrestler is not working.
SDL is a mess once Roadie took over. I still watch because of AJ and his entertaining matches. He's hardly phoning it in.
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Post by J12 on Feb 23, 2018 12:05:27 GMT -5
AJ Styles phoning it in is still better than the majority of the roster. And I don't even think he's phoning it in.
He's a victim of Smackdown's atrocious state, just like everyone else on that roster. No one is rising above it.
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crashholly2002
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Post by crashholly2002 on Feb 23, 2018 12:12:10 GMT -5
kinda hilarious when smarks would be frothing at the mouth for AJ vs KO/Sami Zayn matches
oh how the tides have turned...
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Post by Deleted on Feb 23, 2018 12:17:52 GMT -5
That said, I understand if you don’t prefer AJ as world champion or want someone else in the lead spot. I never got into CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, or Edge. Sometimes you just prefer different personalities or stylistically different wrestling work. Heck, even much of the crowd in Japan has turned against Okada now. Fans crave variety.
I likely wouldn’t enjoy AJ as much as I do if I hadn’t rooted for him for so long in TNA. He’s probably not meant to carry a TV show as a frontman. But when it comes to match performance, there’s still no one I’d rather watch.
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Post by k5 on Feb 23, 2018 13:34:51 GMT -5
Once again Wfigs turns on a great talent because it's not "cool" to like him now he's in WWE. Get over yourselves. kinda hilarious when smarks would be frothing at the mouth for AJ vs KO/Sami Zayn matches oh how the tides have turned... it’s ONE PERSON’S OPINION. clearly the majority of wf is still 100% behind styles.
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Post by tylerbreezee on Feb 23, 2018 13:41:22 GMT -5
Yeah, I mean I’m sure AJ personally requests for chitty promos and storylines. It’s all him that’s the problem. Makes sense
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