WWE SmackDown 5 Takeaways: AJ Styles Has the Right Face Role

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4. AJ Styles Has the Right Face Role

When AJ Styles turned face on the April 4, episode of SmackDown Live in a segment with Shane McMahon, I was worried about how they would form Styles’s face character. Most faces in the company are either portrayed as fiery competitors who try to overcome the odds (Becky Lynch, Seth Rollins, and Sami Zayn spring to mind), but that simply isn’t Styles’s character. No, he’s the cocky guy who knows how good he is and backs up everything he says he will do.

The blue brand made sure that Styles kept that character while still coming across as a face. It isn’t difficult for Styles to be a face, of course, because the fans want to naturally gravitate to an all-time great caliber of a performer. Styles made sure to talk about how it’s “all about SmackDown Live”, but he also came across as cocky, once again proclaiming that he built SmackDown.

Honestly, I feel a little bit spoiled. Not only is Styles sticking around for Tuesday nights, but the company also pulled the trigger on a face turn and did it without messing up his character. It’s perfect, and it makes his upcoming feud with Owens that much more exciting. Owens’s work as a heel on his first showing was exemplary, and it should help Styles further establish himself as a babyface.