WWE: Why AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe Is The Feud Of The Year So Far

By Trace Johnson | Aug 26, 2018

When two of the most talented superstars in TNA Wrestling were tearing the house down in a five-star Triple Threat Match at Unbreakable 2005, many wondered if those two world-class performers would get the chance to showcase their talent in the WWE.

AJ Styles and Samoa Joe helped define TNA Wrestling for years along with other promotions, but a coveted run in the WWE eluded both superstars. That has all changed over the past few years as both men have found their way to the green pastures of the WWE.

Styles debuted during the 2016 Royal Rumble match and has since become one of the greatest WWE superstars not only in recent memory, but arguably of all-time. He is a two-time United States Champion and a two=time WWE Champion, a title he has held since November of 2017 with great pride.

Not to be outshined by Styles, Samoa Joe has had a great WWE run so far. It started in NXT where he became one of the greatest superstars in NXT history. He made his debut on the main roster in early-2017 and despite dealing with a couple different injuries that kept him out of action, he has made the most out of his main roster run as well.

Joe has flirted with the main event scene for a while, but his recent run over on SmackDown has been particularly impressive. He has been involved in the WWE Championship picture with none other than The Phenomenal One and as expected, the two have been tearing the house down over the past month or so.

The feud began when Joe attacked Styles from behind in the ring when GM Paige was about to announce to Styles that Joe would be his opponent at SummerSlam. Things were off and running from that point and things would get extremely personal in the weeks that would follow courtesy of The Samoan Submission Machine.

The real-life friendship between these two is well documented, but Joe’s on-screen character took things too far when he claimed that Styles cares more about being WWE Champion than he does about being a father and husband. The feud escalated even more heading into SummerSlam with Joe continuing to get under the skin of a furious Styles.

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It all led to the WWE Championship match at SummerSlam with Styles defending against Joe in what turned out to be a great match that only furthered the feud’s progression. Towards the end of the match, Joe got on the mic and talked directly towards Styles’ wife, Wendy. It incensed Styles to the point where he attacked Joe with a chair, causing a disqualification.

The Phenomenal One kept his title thanks to the disqualification, but the following episode of SmackDown saw Joe attack Styles from behind again and choke him out. As expected, these two will have a rematch at Hell In A Cell next month in a match that could wind up taking place inside the Hell in a Cell structure. But what’s the bigger picture of this feud?

For two of the most talented pro wrestlers of a generation to finally get a chance in the WWE was a huge deal. But to see how great the work they have done together lately has been is something special. In fact, this has been the best feud of the year in the WWE so far and could easily wind up being the best at year’s end with more twists and turns bound to take place.

Joe is pushing 40 years old and Styles has already hit the 40-year-old plateau, but you could never tell it watching both of them compete. Not only is their in-ring work stellar, their character work is tremendous. You can make the argument that no man in the WWE is as convincing on the mic as Samoa Joe is. The man is a phenomenal heel and his mic work is as good as you’ll find in the WWE.

His convincing heel persona is as big of a reason why this feud has been as big of a success as it has been so far. It compliments the babyface character of Styles perfectly as well, which has been shining lately at the same time. Simply put, the years of friendship and chemistry these two have built up is paying huge dividends in the feud going on right now.

It has been the best feud in the WWE so far this year because of those reasons and there’s no reason to expect it to fall off any time soon. The only other feud that can threaten its place as the top feud of the year so far is Daniel Bryan vs. The Miz, but given how Styles and Joe are competing for the WWE Championship and it’s a feud not many thought they would ever see in the WWE, it gets the nod.

Given how great their match was at SummerSlam even with the disqualification finish, their Hell In A Cell match should be even better. And while a disqualification finish usually is frowned upon by the WWE universe, this one fit perfectly and helped make the feud even more intriguing and personal.

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Who would have ever thought five years ago that Styles and Joe would be in a feud together for the WWE Championship? Never say never in pro wrestling because these two greats are producing some of their best work of all-time in the feud of the year so far in 2018 in the WWE.