WWE: AJ Styles helps elevate others

There are some wrestlers who seem to reach a position of prominence with which they have more say over their presentation and angles on television. AJ Styles is one of those individuals. As someone who was once overlooked by WWE years ago, it has been enjoyable to see him rise to the level of main event star in the biggest promotion in the industry. Recently, he is used his position to have what could be considered showcase matches with some talents that are best described as under-utilized. It is a trend that should be celebrated and hopefully continues soon.

With Omos by his side, Styles has defeated Ricochet, Drew Gulak and Elias on the last three weeks of Monday Night Raw. On one hand, the argument that a wrestler taking a clean defeat is not elevating them in any way is true. Unfortunately, WWE tends to do their booking in ways that does not make sense to anyone other than Vince McMahon. That is the hand that many individuals on the roster are dealt.

However, it is still a positive to see some of these wrestlers not be involved in clownish angles, or for some, to be left off television entirely. Take Gulak for instance. He was involved in an excellent angle around the Intercontinental title and what was seemingly an eventual angle with Daniel Bryan. The WWE Draft pulled that apart and now Gulak was stuck chasing after the 24/7 title. Fans of Ricochet continue to malign how he has been utilized since joining WWE and his presence on Raw has not helped one bit. Yet, both men put on good, even though short, matches with Styles in the last few weeks. Reminding people that they are some of the best in the industry, even if WWE booking tends to make wrestling fans forget that fact.

AJ Styles will not be around forever

While it is fun to see matches that give us moments like the highlight reel entry into the Styles Clash from Ricochet versus Styles, it would be more important for WWE to use these moments with Styles to help develop new stars. Styles will not be around forever, and time is limited to when the WWE can create some new drawing faces for the promotion. Ricochet certainly can be one of those individuals, but the WWE already opted to place him in the position that he is in today.

AJ Styles is one of the few, consistent bright spots on WWE television. Lately, he has been placed in some matches where he has come out on top while shining a light on names that do not get frequent opportunities. As fans of wrestling, we should hope this continues in a way that helps elevate more of the WWE roster before seeing Styles in a WWE ring becomes a thing of the past.