7 Things WWE Needs To Do In 2019
2018 saw a series of very noteworthy events take place in the WWE. "Unexpected" would be the word to describe this year in hindsight as several of these events returned results that we couldn't have seen coming from a mile, to say the least.
Both AJ Styles vs Shinsuke Nakamura and The Miz vs Daniel Bryan feuds unexpectedly under-delivered when given a chance. Speaking of Daniel Bryan - he unexpectedly got cleared to return to the ring and then unexpectedly turned heel to recapture the title he won in the main event of WrestleMania 30. Roman Reigns lost clean in one of the longest planned main events of WrestleMania 34 to finally ascend him to the top.
With all that has happened in 2018, it's now time to look ahead to the year that follows and talk about some of the things that absolutely need to happen in the WWE before 2019 ends.
#7 AJ Styles Explores His Darker Side
AJ Styles was the WWE Champion for 371 days - a reign starting in 2017 and covering almost all of 2018. It's easy to see that after spending 3 full years with the WWE, Styles has found his long-term character which is the face that runs the place. He is a beloved babyface at the top of Smackdown Live mountain and consistently delivers as a true main eventer does.
But therein lies the problem. Because of this one-dimensional character that Styles played in 2018, it was hard to see him as the biggest star on the brand even when holding the top prize in sports entertainment for that long. Styles is too good to settle in a comfortable role and among all the top stars on both the brands, he is the most in need of a character tweak.
Fortunately for the fans, mere seconds before the final edition of Smackdown Live in 2018 ended, Styles punched the chairman of the company - Vince McMahon, right in the face - signalling the start of a new attitude and a much-needed boost. Only, this won't be the first time we would see something like this from Styles.
Styles is known to snap in a quick rage of anger and perhaps Shane was referring to the beating he received at the hands of The Phenomenal One when warning Vince about the "real AJ Styles" on Smackdown.
Throughout his career to this point in the WWE, the Phenomenal One has consistently been referred to by his rivals as a short-tempered, hot-headed maniac. This is what his entire feuds with Samoa Joe was based on. Even building towards his dream match with Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania, the main story that was being pushed was how Styles is the more emotional one out of the two.
It's high time, we start seeing that emotional side of Styles on a more regular basis that lead him to disqualify himself from his Summerslam 2018 match after beating Joe with several chair shots. This will not be a heel turn at all, just a transition from being a babyface performer to a hot-headed badass who takes no prisoners.