Most of the time in the world of professional wrestling, a superstar’s nickname is just to fit their character’s persona. But with AJ Styles, his nickname sums him up phenomenally.
The Phenomenal AJ Styles has earned the moniker of phenomenal over the years by blazing a trail throughout the world of sports entertainment. Styles made his name in TNA and was considered the flagship of the company for many years.
And after leaving TNA to head to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, he only further established himself as a worldwide superstar in professional wrestling. Styles had traveled all over the world and earned a reputation as one of the best wrestlers in the world, but there was one major task remaining.
Styles would knock that task out of the ballpark when he made his WWE debut at the Royal Rumble in 2016. He was offered a developmental contract in 2002 by the WWE, but ultimately turned it down.
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However, it was inevitable that Styles would end up in the WWE and since his debut in the 2016 Royal Rumble match, he already developed into one of the greatest superstars the WWE has ever seen. Styles is now a two-time WWE United States Champion and after defeating Jinder Mahal on the Nov. 7 edition of SmackDown Live.
The Phenomenal One has climbed the the mountaintop in the WWE and has proven he is the best superstar in the WWE today. Nobody in the WWE has produced as much quality as Styles has since he debuted in January of 2016 and at 40 years of age, he is still among the best wrestlers in the world.
Since his WWE debut, Styles has competed in a total of 16 matches that have been rated at least four stars by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. His performances haven’t wavered over the years and they are as big of a reason as any as to why he’s the best in the WWE.
He has also found great success as both a heel and a babyface in the WWE, showing the diversity his character can have. In fact, as a heel in early 2017, he managed to have the highest rated match at WrestleMania 33 with Shane McMahon, according to Dave Meltzer.
But in recent weeks, The Phenomenal One has managed to improve even more. Styles’ reliability has been taken to another level and while being part of the SmackDown tour of South America, Styles flew back to the states on a whim to take part in a last-minute match at the Raw-exclusive pay-per-view TLC against Finn Balor.
He followed that up with a match on Raw the following night and then another match on SmackDown the night after that. Styles is the most reliable superstar in the WWE and the past few weeks have proven that.
The great ones always make their opponents look like a million bucks and Styles is the best in the WWE at doing just that. Since his WWE debut, Styles has done wonders for the likes of Roman Reigns, Chris Jericho, John Cena, Dean Ambrose, Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin, and others. There’s also little doubt that his title victory over Jnder Mahal was the best match of The Maharaja’s recent run, if not his whole career.
There is no denying Styles’ importance to the WWE and he has earned the distinction as the best the WWE has to offer. From top to bottom, there is no more complete superstar in the WWE than The Phenomenal One. He continues to prove it night in and night out.
SmackDown has no better top guy than AJ Styles and the blue brand can continue to expect great things in the future with one of the greatest, yet most underrated superstars in sports entertainment history.