Opinion: AJ Styles' WWE Championship reign shows that the WWE is changing
When AJ Styles made his WWE debut back in 2016 as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble, there must have been two primary emotions in the minds of his fans. The first was the excitement of finally getting to see one of the greatest wrestlers of this generation in the WWE. The second was concern about how the company would treat the guy who had spent most of his career as the face of their biggest competitor in the 21st century.
The WWE has never been known to be the easiest place for guys from the independent circuit to come to and succeed. Thus, longtime fans of AJ Styles were right to be concerned about whether the Phenomenal One would get the opportunity to showcase his skills in the WWE.
The beginning of Styles' run in the WWE did nothing to vanquish fears. He lost his first major program in the WWE against Chris Jericho. He would even go on to lose in his first ever WrestleMania appearance against Jericho. The same Chris Jericho who had done the job for Fandango at WrestleMania in the past. It was clear that the WWE did not rate 'The Phenomenal One' as highly as the WWE Universe.
But something happened in the month that followed WrestleMania 32 that would alter the course of Styles' WWE career. He went on to main event the following month's 'Payback' pay-per-view against Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Of course, he did not win the championship on that night, but it seems that he did manage to win the trust of Vince McMahon by carrying Roman Reigns to the best match of his career.
On the following pay-per-view, Extreme Rules, the WWE booked the same match in the main event for the second time running and AJ Styles stole the show again. There could be no doubt anymore. Vince McMahon finally saw what fans had known for more than a decade- AJ Styles is the best Pro Westler on the planet!
After losing out to Reigns both times, Styles would be booked to do something that very few have done in more than a decade at this point. Come out on top of John Cena in a high profile feud. The two would go on to have a series of epic matches that culminated with Styles beating Cena at Summerslam in an all-time classic.
AJ Styles had arrived in WWE. He was red hot on the back of his victory over Cena and when he won the WWE Championship from Dean Ambrose the following month, it felt shocking yet almost inevitable.
As of August 17th, 2018; Styles has held the WWE Championship for a combined 421 days over his two stints as champion. That is more time spent as Champion than legends like Shawn Michaels, The Rock, Kurt Angle, The Undertaker, Eddie Guerrero and many others.
The fact is that AJ Styles has been handled extremely well by the WWE since the initial settling in period of the first few months. He is an illustration that somebody can come from a rival promotion and still have a fantastic run in the company.
His success in the WWE should provide encouragement to other big names on the independent circuit to make the jump to the biggest brand in the business. The idea that a wrestler from a rival promotion will be buried in the WWE is a myth of the past. Styles is living proof of that. Of course, he has been helped by the amazing connection he has with the fans and the undeniable fact that he is simply Phenomenal!