wrestling / Columns

Csonka’s Top 10 AJ Styles Matches

May 19, 2016 | Posted by Larry Csonka

WELCOME: Welcome one and all, Larry here, and I will be presenting some top 10 columns until I can get someone to replace Kevin on a more permanent basis. Today, I have decided to take a look at AJ Styles and some of is VERY best work. AJ has been one of my favorite wrestlers for years, and to me, I have loved watching his evolution as a performer. Over the years, Styles has had a ton of excellent matches, and it would have been difficult to try and claim that this is some sort of definitive list. What I want to present today is a play list of sorts, a collection of matches from TNA and NJPW that those of you that aren’t very familiar with Styles should seek out and enjoy.

10. Lockdown 2005: Six Sides of Steel Cage Match: AJ Styles vs. Abyss [****½] – Now this may be hard for some of you to believe, but I do not remember every match that has ever taken place in the history of TNA. But I do remember this match for a few reasons. First of all this was the first match I watched where I really liked Abyss, and not only liked him but thought he could be a valuable part of the main event roster. This was before the character went through 100 bad angles, back when the bag of tacks meant something and before Abyss self-mutilated himself on a weekly basis. Some will say that the match is great due to AJ Styles, and that is a fair point because AJ is great. But this was Abyss busting his ass, working a great big man vs. little man match with Styles, and delivering in the PPV main event slot. This match cemented Abyss as a player in TNA for me, it further proved that AJ Styles was awesome and it led somewhere. This made Styles the official contender for Jarrett’s NWA Title, which he won the next month at Hard Justice with Title Ortiz as the special referee. 2005 was Styles first great year as a worker, it felt like 1995/96 HBK, and Abyss was a great foil and showed why he had the ability to be a great big man for the company.

9. No Surrender 2006: Ultimate X – AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels vs. LAX [****½] – The career of AJ Styles in TNA is very puzzling at times. Feuds with Daniels, is friends with Daniels, feuds with Daniels. Is the face of the X-Division, is the world champion, becomes a prince, and yes he even did time in the tag team division. In 2006 the “frienemies” worked together and feuded with AMW and LAX; providing some of the better tag team matches in the history of the promotion (at that time). This came at a time when LAX (Homicide, Hernandez w/Konnan) was one of the hottest acts in wrestling. With their heel heat and the skills of Styles and Daniels, it was quite honestly easy booking. They had a series of matches, regular tag matches, border brawls, cage matches; but I feel that the best was from No Surrender 2006 in Ultimate X. This was a great match with great pacing, the right spots at the right time and the build to the huge ending; where Daniels escapes Konnan (who has a kendo stick) and climbs to the very top of the rigging. Daniels then dives from the rigging all the way to the middle of the X (basically a big Superfly splash) and lands perfectly and is able to grab the title to give he and Styles the big victory. I also loved the finish because Daniels, and not AJ, got to shine and win the big one. This was a great time for tag team wrestling in TNA; AMW, LAX, AJ and Daniels, Team 3D, The Naturals and the James Gang. All different teams, all had their place and it was nice to have an actual tag team division, because as the years have gone on, we see less and less of that. While many considered this the TNA Match of the Year for 2006, it was not THE best Ultimate X match ever, that will come later in the column.

8. Hard Justice 2008 – Last Man Standing: AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle [****½] – At the time I had been a huge fan of AJ Styles for years and I always wanted a series of AJ vs. Angle matches. AJ styles has developed over the years into a great performer, going from a spot guy in 2002 to at this time being a more complete worker, knowing when and where to do things. Kurt Angle may be held together by superglue and duct tape (both then and now) and I think we can all agree that sanity left him a long while ago; but the fact is that the guy could still go and he always busts his ass in the ring. They opted for the “Texas Death Match” rules here, pin or submission and then answer the 10-count. I prefer this format to the count when the man is down, as I think it allows for more drama. They worked a long match here, with the story that Angle didn’t want the brawl to begin with and wanted to rely on his wrestling. AJ wanted to kill him, plain and simple. They worked a good pace for the opening segment, which went around 17:00. We got dives, brawling, hell Angle busted out a senton dive off of the stage; he seriously just doesn’t care. Styles took the first fall as he countered Angle going for a Styles Clash but AJ countered with the ankle lock and grapevine, and Angle tapped. Angle would respond with some quick pins and looked to dominate the match as the climax was them fighting to the top rope, and AJ getting a SICK DDT from the top. He pinned Angle and as the ref counted commentary did a good job of playing up Angle’s neck issues, and he could not answer the count. Styles got the victory here with no help, there were no run-ins, no Karen and it was exactly what it should have been. Simple. After the match they went to stretcher Angle out, but AJ returned to the ring and gave him a brain buster for good measure, cementing the victory as a decisive one. And that he was kind of a dick, but it all worked and what we got was a damn great match that was even better when I went back to watch it.

7. Turning Point 2009: AJ Styles vs. Daniels vs. Samoa Joe [****¾] – When you discuss AJ Styles vs. Daniels vs. Samoa Joe, you talk great workers, great wrestling and great matches almost every time out. But more specifically, people discuss Unbreakable 2005; regarded by many as the best match in TNA history. The fact that these three guys these guys had a five star match (according to many) in 2005 was a positive and a negative here. It was a positive because there was excitement that four years later the guys that wrestled that great match were meeting again, in a PPV main event, and this time for the world title. It was a feeling of vindication to many. But a negative because no matter how good they did, most would complain (and they did) that it, “wasn’t nearly as good as the first.” That’s the price of being awesome I suppose. The chemistry that these guys have is simply amazing, and this match goes up their with the first as one of my all time favorite three way bouts. The execution of the three way moves was flawless, they set a rapid pace and kept it, and it just worked. The match simply pulls you in and they make you care. Some questioned of they could put on something so good four years later with that much more on their bump cards, but with age usually comes wisdom; and while all three may have been a little slower than they were four years before, they made up for it with what they learned. They were still great, but with more presence and the knowledge of WHEN to do stuff instead of just doing shit. There’s a fine line. This had the same guys, same match, different title, same winner and greatness all around. Some went the full boat on this one, but I still find the first to be the best; but make no mistakes about it, this was more than a worthy sequel.

6. Final Resolution 2005 – Ultimate X: AJ Styles vs. Petey Williams vs. Chris Sabin [****¾] – In many ways this match represents everything that people initially loved in TNA. A style you could not see in WWE, innovative matches, new talent and AJ Styles. In 2005 AJ Styles was “Un-Fuckwith-Able.” Not quite Ric Flair in 1989, honestly more like Shawn Michaels in 1995-1996; which is pretty damn fantastic. This was the sixth Ultimate X match in the company’s history, at a time when the match wasn’t completely over exposed and thrown out there for no reason. To put things into perspective, the match debuted in August of 2003 and at Slammiversary we will be having the 30th edition of the match. Anyway, at the time the X-Division was still good and a main focus, and you had Williams and Sabin largely leading the way, while Styles was on one of his many trips down for a visit in between world title runs and feuds. Williams and Sabin were simply fantastic working together, and Styles could work with anyone. Add those factors together, the break neck pace, the bumps, the lay out, the way the used the gimmick to their advantage and this is just a match that you have to see if you’re a fan of the guys involved. Like most things in wrestling the Ultimate X has been used, overused and then abused to where it means both jack and shit. But this right here is the peak, this is the best Ultimate X Match TNA ever did. It was also one of the top 10 matches in 2005; and a good bit of those (in my opinion) featured AJ Styles.

 photo AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi_zps2e59qxda.jpg

5. From NJPW G1 Climax 25 Day Seventeen – AJ Styles vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [****¾] – The consensus going in was that Tanahashi was winning the block, and I still had that feeling here. But would they be able to put on a match and make me believe AJ could win? That was going to be the task. So yeah, this kicked all kids of ass. These two work well together, using a nice back and forth formula early (both working the leg at times) before they went to the floor to do some of their trademark stuff. We got a ref bump, and AJ looked to take control with a low blow. Then, not to be outdone, Tanahashi hit a low blow of his own to even the odds. I didn’t min this because it was mid-match, had no impact on the finish and was a point in where Tanahashi could get even with AJ for his attempted cheating. I discussed in earlier reports how important it was for AJ to get the calf killer over as a secondary finish, because doing so would make for a great near finish in a bigger match. They did that and it worked here when Styles did get the calf killer on Tanahashi, the crowd bought it well. They both battled to try and hit the clash, which Tanahashi hit and AJ kicked out. He then looked to finish things off with the high fly flow, but Styles got up the knees to stop that noise and then turned things around as he hit a frog splash (basically the HFF) and the bloody Sunday. Styles would go for the clash, but Tanahashi escaped and hit some dragon screw leg whips (playing off of the earlier work) and finally the high fly flow, and that was all. This was one of the tournament’s best matches, from two of the tournament’s best performers. The final five minutes or so was simply spectacular. This was everything you want and expect from a big time main event.

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4. From WrestleKingdom 10 – Shinsuke Nakamura vs. AJ Styles [****¾] – Nakamura is wearing a lovely crushed velvet top. No Bullet Club seconds for Styles, which I am thankful for. This is a first time singles meeting between the two and a highly anticipated match. The big question here is how Styles’ back is doing, he says he is good to go, and we’ll see. They worked a measured open before doing an early tease for their finishers. They both mocked each other at times, and then picked up the pace. They did a spot in the corner where Nakamura pulled Styles off the ropes, and Styles took a back bump and sold that he hurt his back again. It was a trap as he then attacked the sympathetic Nakamura from behind and took control for a short time. Nakamura countered a Styles clothesline and hit a cool back breaker, and then speared Styles into the barricade for a heat segment. Styles would make a comeback, and sold the back well as he started to take things back over. The back kept being an issue, allowing Nakamura to do more damage, but Styles avoided a boma ye and scored with the calf slicer in the center of the ring. Nakamura scored with a sweet counter into the arm bar, but Styles stacked him to escape. Styles came up short on his asai DDT, and then used a back breaker into a powerbomb for a near fall. I hated that entire sequence, as sing the back breaker made no sense after all of the work on the back and the issues Styles showed on other, simpler moves. They teased finishers at the 15-minuet mark, and then Nakamura hit the boma ye off the second rope, but was too exhausted to follow up. They worked some great striking exchanges, leading to Styles hitting the PELE, and just when you thought he had control, he ate another boma ye for a near fall. Styles countered the boma ye with a knee of his own and hit a 450 splash for a near fall. Holy fuck they are building the drama so well with almost no wasted movements, it’s all so thought out and calculated. Nakamura got the jumping arm bar, Styles struggled and Nakamura turned it into a triangle. Styles then fucking Herc’d him up with one arm for the clash and got a seriously sweet near fall from that. Styles hit bloody Sunday, looked for the clash but then pulled Nakamura to the corner. Styles wanted the clash from the top, but Nakamura fought out and hit a Michinoku driver off the second rope, but it wasn’t enough. My Fucking word. Nakamura finally finished it with a boma ye to the back and then one to the face of Styles to retain. This was another excellent match (and early MOTY candidate) to help turn the show around. The best thing is that it was a completely different match than the previous one, which makes me appreciate them both for different reasons. Now it’s up to the main event.

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3. From NJPW G1 Tournament 24 Day Seven: AJ Styles vs. Minoru Suzuki [*****] – I had been praising AJ Styles all year for his great performances, and not just as far as the physical wrestling goes, but also due to the fact that he is laying out/calling great matches that make everyone involved look good. Suzuki work of the arm was great, Styles’ show of resilience and counters were not overstated, and worked perfectly. The stuff with Bullet Club and Suzuki-Gun worked as its own layer very well here as it never took away from the beautiful stuff happening in the ring. Much credit to Suzuki here as well, he more than did his part to make this a full boat of awesome, especially with his submission work during the match. The best thing about this, I didn’t need a story going in to appreciate the pure art that this match was, but it had great layers; the work from the guys, the factions basically taking each other out so that it could get down to just the two guys, and then the fact that to me, this match resembled everything AJ Styles had become. I previously spoke about AJ’s evolution, from Spots McGee to great high-flyer to good professional wrestler that was constantly learning and this, to me, was the peak. Styles in this match showed that not only had he put it all together, but he worked with a guy that years ago would have been a complete styles clash, but in this encounter AJ was a seasoned veteran and it worked. The match is completely outside of the usual wheelhouse of AJ, but it never felt that way. These two went out there and delivered an absolute classic, but again, the real treat is seeing Styles in this environment; simply as a top tier, excellent pro wrestler.

2. Unbreakable 2005: AJ Styles vs. Daniels vs. Samoa Joe [*****] – Coming in at #2 on the list is a match that many call the best match in the history of TNA, the Unbreakable triple threat match between AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels. This match doesn’t just come in at #1 because it is that damn good, it comes in at the top also because of what it represented. This was another example, similar to the Turning Point tag team match between AMW and Triple X, where TNA decided to give the main event of a three hour PPV to their younger guns, their fresh faces, the guys that didn’t have that WWE pedigree. They handed the ball to these guys and let them do their thing, and that was to have a compelling wrestling match for a title that was hotly contested after. For this PPV they put the NWA Title match (Raven defending against Rhino) on the backburner in semi-main event status, and they presented the X-Division title as important, and on top of that, they presented Daniels, Joe and AJ as stars. Again, the match is simply fantastic, and delivers on every level as a wrestling match and as a PPV main event. When people think back on great TNA matches, this match always comes up in the conversation as one of the very best, put on by three of the very best. I think if you’re looking for a perfect example of why people loved TNA and thought that they had so much potential, I think that this match is the example of why they believed.

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1. From NJPW Dominion 2015 – Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles [*****] – The Dominion show, prior to this main event, was already a great event with some excellent matches on the show. Okada and AJ were constantly delivering, and I expected an excellent match here, but they blew me away with a five star, match of the year special. These men are so great, and work so well together that it almost comes across as effortless on their part. Bullet Club tried to get involved early, but red shoes kicked then out and even tossed a crotch shop their way in doing so. In my original review, I had discussed the build and drama of Nakamura and Goto, but this match did that and took it to another level as they continually played off of each other, their past matches and everything simply clicked. Tremendous action, an awesome crowd and unparalleled drama made this one of the year’s best matches so far. The final five minutes or so was simply beautiful, filled with constant counters and a tremendous atmosphere that rarely gets achieved. Okada connected with the rainmaker, a German suplex and one more rainmaker to finally put Styles away and recapture the title. The match was 26-minutes and never felt long, they pulled me in from the opening bell and delivered a match worthy of the main event spot on any show; it was easily one of the top 4-5 matches of 2015. This was also the culmination of Okada rising back to the top after his emotionally crushing failure at Wrestle Kingdom, where he broke down in tears when he lost his chance to beat Tanahashi. This was pro wrestling done right. That’s not a slam at any other promotion, but the look, the feel, the reactions, everything they did; it was simply excellent. One of the big draw backs to AJ coming to WWE is that I don’t get to see more Okada matches, they developed a special chemistry and did it quickly. This match was an excellent example of the maturation of AJ Styles as a complete performer. If you haven’t seen the match, make a point to do so.

The evolution of AJ Styles has been an amazing ride. Share some of you favorite AJ Styles matches, especially matches outside of TNA and NJPW. There are a ton of people that haven’t seen his best work, and could use advice on creating a play list to see how good the guy was and why he was signed by WWE.