411 Fact or Fiction Wrestling: Is AJ Styles The Wrestler of The Year?

Welcome back to the latest edition of 411 Fact or Fiction, Wrestling Edition! Stuff happened, people loved/hated it and let everyone else know. I pick through the interesting/not so interesting tidbits and then make 411 staff members discuss them for your pleasure. Battling this week are 411’s Mike Chin. Jack Stevenson and Wyatt Beougher!

Questions were sent out Monday.

Participants were told to expect wrestling-related content, as well as possible statements on quantum physics, homemade pharmaceuticals, the Turtle Total Trip Theorem, pizza and hydroponics.

1. AJ Styles winning the WWE Title was absolutely the right call.

Mike Chin: FACT – In general, like Dean Ambrose as much as the next guy, but whether it’s the booking, the performer, or the combination of the two, after the electricity of his Money in the Bank cash-in, I’ve found him oddly stale at the top of Smackdown. On the flip side of the coin, after delivering in the ring opposite Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns, WWE really got behind AJ Styles heading into his feud with John Cena. The man and his creative have been on fire throughout the summer, and he’s absolutely the right choice for champ on Smackdown right now. Add to all of that the heelish way in which Styles won the title, and there’s every reason for Dean Ambrose to keep pursuing him, not to mention that the dickish way he keeps reminding us he beat John Cena is probably paving the way for Cena to challenge Styles, too, down the road. All of this adds up to more opportunities for Styles to put on great matches at the tip-top of the card.

Wyatt Beougher: FACT – Over the past three years, Styles has cemented himself as a world class talent, becoming the first man to hold the TNA heavyweight championship, NJPW’s IWGP heavyweight championship, and WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship. In his eight months in WWE, he’s more than proven that he is capable of working within WWE’s constraints and still having fantastic matches. Perhaps more importantly in Vince’s sports entertainment company is that he has either crafted a memorable character or proven that he can at least convincingly portray the character that someone else came up with for him. I’ll admit to being terrified of Styles’ career trajectory once the pop generated by the initial surprise/novelty of his debut wore off, but he has more than demonstrated that he has everything necessary to be a top-level WWE Superstar for the foreseeable future, and putting the title on him at Backlash felt like a suitably huge moment for the blue brand’s first solo Network Special. Honestly, the only way I see this being a bad idea is if AJ is nothing more than a transitory champion who drops the title to Cena at No Mercy, but since that’s the least desirable option of the three

Jack Stevenson: FACT – Dean Ambrose’s title reign never really got off the ground in all honesty. It was overshadowed by the return of the brand split, the creation of the Universal Championship on Raw, Finn Balor’s momentous victory, immediate injury, and then Kevin Owens reaching the top of the mountain. In all that time, Dean Ambrose had two good PPV matches, but not much else. Week to week the quality of his work is variable, and I think he’d benefit immensely from going rule-breaker and being a bit nastier. AJ Styles is in magnificent form, coming off the back of a clean victory in a superb match with John Cena, he’s massively exceeded all but the most optimistic expectations for his WWE run, and he’s a fine choice to be Smackdown’s champion. Styles vs. Ambrose vs. Cena at No Mercy should be surreal and electric and wonderful!

2. Alberto Del Rio’s WWE return was not only a failure, but also a complete waste of time and money.

Mike Chin: FACT – Excluding the initial buzz of Del Rio’s surprise return and going over Cena clean, his 2015-2016 run in WWE was directionless, unentertaining, and ultimately forgettable. I don’t know that I’d even mind all of that if it weren’t for seeing him on Lucha Underground and recognizing that he’s actually capable of being a wildly entertaining performer. While I place most of the weight of this failure on the creative team, it seems clear Del Rio and WWE are simply not a fit for one another at this time and his work this past year was truly a waste for both sides.

Wyatt Beougher: FACT – Were I Watry, I’d simply link you to the column I wrote last November in the wake of Del Rio’s return where I basically outlined why it would be a failure and just say that I “called it”. (Truth be told, ol’ Watry would probably just repost it with some filler at the beginning and consider that a good column for the week.) Instead, I’ll attempt to look at it with the perspective of hindsight and tell you why I think it was a failure and a waste of time and money. For starters, WWE ostensibly brought Del Rio back to be the Hispanic/Latino face of their brand. Aside from the actual night of his re-debut, when he took the United States Championship from Big Match John, was there any point in the ensuing ten months where ADR’s booking would suggest that that was actually the case? From the Mex-America angle with Zeb Colter to months of losing in the League of Nations (and not even being its most important member) to basically wandering aimlessly through the midcard, did WWE actually put the effort behind Del Rio that would have given them a return on their money? AJ Styles is proof that WWE can still make stars, and if you compare Del Rio’s work at Alberto El Patron in Lucha Underground with Styles work in New Japan, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that what ADR was doing was a lot closer to what we’ve come to recognize as “WWE Style”. He was a fantastic fiery babyface railing against the WWE machine, and it would have been the easiest thing in the world to shift the focus of that fire to the Authority, but instead he ended up as a disposable pawn working for them. Even if WWE failed on capitalizing on Del Rio’s popularity outside of the company and on making him their Spanish-speaking face of the company (and they did), there was still the potential for this to be FICTION if it wasn’t a complete waste of time and money, but in the interest of not going too terribly long here, let me just ask you this – what did Del Rio do in the past ten months that couldn’t have been accomplished more cheaply by Kalisto, a guy who, in theory, has a longer future in the business and also has the bonus of having a mask, which WWE tends to view as an automatic merchandise mover? I can’t hate on Del Rio for taking the offer, but WWE really wasted their money on this deal.

Jack Stevenson: FACT – I award this a fact with the caveat that Alberto Del Rio and Paige have presumably seen each other without any clothes on and thus probably considers his second run one of the most rewarding experiences of their entire careers. On screen, however, there’s no denying that it just didn’t come together for Del Rio at all this time around. His initial momentum from beating John Cena and winning the U.S. Championship in his first match back was completely squandered by the inane MexAmerica gimmick, and then he transitioned into the League of Nations faction, which really should have worked considering the talent involved, but instead repeatedly failed to ignite. Following that, a month or so of drifting aimlessly around the midcard, persistent rumours about his future, a wellness policy failure, and ultimately his release. He’ll probably get his mojo back on the independents and have a nice little run like he did last time out; I’m certainly more excited for what El Patron’s future holds than I was for Del Rio’s at any point over the last four years or so. I just hope for his sake he doesn’t have to spend a single second longer in Norwich than he absolutely has to. That’s enough to send anyone scurrying back to the comfort of WWE midcard obscurity.

3. WWE Backlash was a surprisingly good show.

Mike Chin: FACT – Here’s the thing–on paper, Backlash did look like it ought to be a good show, it’s just that, as a fan, I didn’t feel a lot of buzz going into it. Particularly with Raw bearing the electricity of Kevin Owens arriving at the top of the card, and Bayley moving up to the main roster, the Smackdown landscape felt pretty flat. WWE made the very best of a meh situation. When the storylines are lukewarm, the best result you can have is a strong wrestling show. The bottom line? This show did delivered, with every match but the Bray Wyatt kerfuffle either meeting or exceeding expectations, with the added bonuses of Becky Lynch and Heath Slater having their moments, a mark out moment for us smarks when AJ Styles took the WWE Championship, and Miz and Ziggler synergizing at a higher level than I ever would have predicted.

Wyatt Beougher: FACT – I almost went FICTION here just because Backlash looked pretty good on paper, but I’ll admit that in spite of expecting the show to be decent, it still exceeded those expectations. Was it the best show of the year? By no means, but honestly, it didn’t have to be. Like much of Smackdown’s post-Summerslam, post-brand split 2.0 run, Backlash was much more enjoyable than anything we’ve seen from the red brand. (Though, to be fair, RAW hasn’t had a Network Special of their own yet to really compare it to.) There was plenty of good-to-great wrestling, feel good moments with Becky Lynch and Heath Slater finally getting their respective dues, and, of course, the most memorable moment on any WWE programming this year – TNA guy AJ Styles winning the WWE championship with all of the lineage and prestige. All in all, unless you were expecting Backlash to be the show of the year, I can’t see how you didn’t come out of it at least pleasantly surprised.

Jack Stevenson: FICTION – I think it was basically about as good as you’d have expected it to be. A solid if unspectacular undercard, leading up to a world class main event between AJ Styles and Dean Ambrose. It certainly helped that Backlash featured three championship changes; it gave the event more credibility and value to have hosted in particular AJ Styles’ and Becky Lynch’s first few moments at the top of the mountain. The Dolph Ziggler-Miz match also overachieved, but counter balancing that, the Randy Orton-Bray Wyatt non event was cheap and duplicitous, and led into a Kane-Bray match that few would have been excited for. On the whole, it was a good first solo outing for Smackdown, and that’s more or less what the card promised.

SWITCH!

4. Heath Slater and Rhyno winning the tag team title at Backlash was not the right call.

Jack Stevenson: FICTION – Rhyno and Heath Slater are an enjoyable odd couple tag team and as fine a choice as any to become the first Smackdown Tag Team Champions. Of course, it would have been great to see American Alpha pick up the gold, and I’ve always been a big fan of the Usos and they’ve been on top form since their heel turn, but there’s plenty of time for both of those teams to hold the straps. It feels like Rhyno and Slater’s moment is now. They’re hardly going to main event WrestleMania together but the comedy in their act has won them supporters and momentum, and that needed to be capitalized on. In a year’s time, there’s every chance Heath will be losing singles matches inside three minutes and Rhyno will be President of the United States as his campaign to become state representative for Dearborn suddenly turns into the greatest, most phenomenally popular political movement in the history of the country. So, it makes sense that their title run would happen right now, I’m glad it has, and I hope they have a nice little reign with the belt, perhaps before dropping it to a more viable long term tandem.

Wyatt Beougher: FICTION – Look, let’s not get too crazy here – as entertaining as Heath and Rhyno have been, they’re the champions for one simple reason, which is to solidify the Usos heel turn and set up everyone’s favorite low-flying Samoans to feud with American Alpha. Would I rather see Slater/Rhyno feud with AA? Absolutely, but in the Usos’ defense, they actually seem committed to this heel turn and it might be exactly what they need to freshen up an extremely stale act. While I doubt it’ll be a similarly beneficial change to the one their cousin underwent when he morphed from plucky babyface Rocky Maivia to the Rock (what, you thought I meant Leakee to Roman Reigns?), I think it was still badly needed. And what better motivation for some truly underhanded deeds than losing the chance to become the first Smackdown tag team champions to a thrown-together team of guys? Between the reactions Slater and Rhyno are getting and the fact that they’re probably being used to set up something bigger, I don’t mind Slater/Rhyno winning the belts at all. THEY’RE THE TWO-MAN ZOO, BAYBAY!

Mike Chin: FICTION – I was very, very on the fence about this one. WWE was launching a new tag title, and having a makeshift, largely comedic team take the titles first seems like an immediate step toward devaluing that championship. On the other hand, Heath Slater has been working hard and getting himself over to ridiculous degree, and particularly for those fans who cheer the faces and boo the heels, this moment, paired with Becky Lynch winning the Women’s Championship was a nice result to balance the Styles and Miz victories. On top of that, practically speaking, this match paid off Slater’s free agent angle, and gives a logical reason for him to stay on Smackdown. In the longer term, if this win is a stepping stone toward The Usos winning the title (maybe kayfabe injuring Rhyno and taking him off the main roster in the process), and setting up the brothers for a heated, extended program with American Alpha, then I find the Backlash outcome perfectly inoffensive. If, on the other hand, we’re in for a lengthy reign for Slater and Rhino, then I’m not loving this call.

5. As of this writing, AJ Styles is the Wrestler of the Year for 2016.

Jack Stevenson: FICTION – I am fickle and change my mind on this sort of thing all the time, and there is no denying that AJ Styles is a brilliant pro wrestler and one of the best in the world for sure. If you asked me this again in a week you might get a different answer. But, it’s incredibly hard to say with any certainty who the best in the world is. There’s just so much amazing wrestling! And all of it is being worked in different styles with different aims in front of different crowds with different expectations, and that makes it difficult to make direct comparisons. I mean, this year I’ve really got into Dragon Gate in a big way and kind of assumed come the year’s end my wrestler of the year would come from there, but my favorite thing about that promotions are the intricate, collaborative multi man tags which invariably descend into a whirl of bodies and high flying mayhem. Trying to pick the best wrestler in those situations is difficult, difficult, lemon, difficult. So, here’s my wavering, equivocating answer- AJ Styles is really great and he might be the best pro wrestler in the world but he might not be. If I had to pick one competitor whose mere presence on the card is enough to make me interested in watching it though… Chris Hero. That’s not necessarily the same as being the best in the world, but it’s the closest I think I can get to an answer.

Wyatt Beougher: FACT – Look, I’m the biggest Lucha Underground fanboy around, I love NXT and the CWC, and I stay abreast of a ton of other wrestling, but this one is an easy FACT for me. Even if he hadn’t continued to be one of the best (if not THE best) in-ring performers in the world within the much more limited confines of “WWE Style”, but he also displayed an ability to play a character and get the crowd consistently into whatever he’s doing. You could make a case for a few other wrestlers, sure, but the early part of the year was special because he made his WWE debut, the summer was amazing because he proved he was on Cena’s level, and the fall is maybe the best because of the scenario I mentioned earlier – a true professional finally gets paid off by winning arguably the biggest prize in the game. In my opinion, AJ’s year has been on par with anyone’s.

Mike Chin: FACT – Both in terms of his work and his kayfabe accomplishments, I think Styles has to be considered the front runner, at least in WWE (and there isn’t anyone who really leaps out at me from outside WWE for this spot, either). Time will tell of Styles’ creative will hold out, but barring injury, I expect he’ll continue to hold up his end in the ring and on the mic, and wouldn’t be surprised at all if he’s the consensus pick as *the man* in 2016.

6. CM Punk isn’t a hero for stepping into the octagon, he is a guy that used his celebrity to live a dream and make $500,000.

Jack Stevenson: FICTION – Hero can mean different things in different situation. Obviously, CM Punk choosing to fight in MMA was hardly a selfless act, he got paid extremely handsomely for it, and there’s an obvious hypocrisy in him accepting a spot in the UFC with no previous fighting experience whilst simultaneously railing against the proliferation of part time wrestlers hovering up main event spots in WWE. But, let’s not turn into that person on Facebook who gets their panties in a twist whenever someone uses the word ‘hero’ without referring to THE TROOPS. If CM Punk had gone and established a charity that saved millions of lives in the developing world, he’d be a hero, but you can also brandish that term for smaller things without cheapening it. I wouldn’t call him one because I don’t especially like the guy, but I can recognize the bravery in completely jacking in something you’re very good at, something that has made you successful and beloved and wealthy, in order to pursue the thing that deep down you’ve always dreamed of doing. That’s pretty inspirational, and obviously not all of us have the finances and the privilege to do it, but you can’t begrudge Punk for giving it a go and you can’t deny that it took some guts to do it. He took a beating and was embarrassed in front of the world and in the press conference afterwards he cracked self deprecating jokes and seemed genuinely happy. That’s worthy of respect. Whether or not ‘hero’ is an appropriate adjective is entirely up to you.

Wyatt Beougher: FACT – I’m a huge Punk fan, even after the way he left, but even if he had won his first fight, I don’t think “hero” is the right word for him. Don’t get me wrong – I respect the hell out of him for actually following through on the fight and stepping into the Octagon. That takes a lot of commitment, especially if Punk actually bought into all of the predictions and expected to lose to Gall. The isn’t PRIDE, where half of any fighters losses can be explained away by the Yakuza and/or odd performance-enhancing thing, but it’d be nice to see you again too, so if you ever have time, help yourself, the fire is where it’s happening.

Mike Chin: FACT – To be clear, I’m all for someone stepping out of his comfort zone and chasing a dream. Furthermore, I won’t deny that participating in a shoot fight in front of a huge audience, many of whom want you to fail and want to laugh at you requires a combination of guts and iron will. On those notes, I respect CM Punk stepping into the Octagon this past weekend. To be realistic, though, Punk had an opportunity here that only someone famous could really afford himself. To make an imperfect comparison, say someone offered me half a million dollars to have a fight in UFC. The money alone would compel me to do that. I’m no hero. I’m just a guy who would subject myself to a beating and probable injury for $500,000–and fighting MMA isn’t even an ambition of mine. So, I don’t begrudge Punk this choice at all. I respect the training he went through and that he didn’t let the “haters” deter him from his goals. The label of hero is really stretching it, though.

7. WWE asking Randy Orton to get busted up by Brock Lesnar at Summerslam was not only more “barbaric” than a blade job, but completely stupid considering current concussion related litigation against them.

Jack Stevenson: FICTION – I’m setting myself for a fall here because my medical knowledge is minimal, particularly in comparison to my knowledge of people in their underwear pretending to fight. But, from my admittedly uninformed perspective, I have no idea how letting someone get battered repeatedly in the head is in any way safer than a swift, neat, clean blade job. I assume there must have been a reason why WWE chose to do it the way they did, but personally, if you asked me whether I’d prefer to give myself a small cut with a razor blade or have Brock Lesnar bash me with his concrete fists, I’d go for the former. Although, in all honestly, neither of them are particularly appealing.

Wyatt Beougher: FACT – Considering how this ended up with Kane winning a match against Bray Wyatt in 2016, is there really any other answer.

Mike Chin: FACT – I’m all for thinking outside the box, and don’t object to blood, but actively planning for someone to get opened via fists and elbows–let alone the fists and elbows of a monster of a man like Lesnar–seems outdated and misguided. I suppose WWE was aiming for a blurry worked shoot moment that put more buzz around Lesnar, but for a worldwide company that’s so openly concerned and subject to criticism about concussions, this was a pretty baffling choice. A decisive win, followed by a wicked (but safely worked) post-match beat down could have accomplished much of the same result, including the Shane McMahon element of the angle, without putting Orton at this level of truly reckless risk.