It’s been quite a week so far for former TNA and IWGP Heavyweight Champion, AJ Styles. On Sunday, he made his highly anticipated WWE pay-per-view debut as the number three entrant in the Royal Rumble , which was met with a thunderous ovation from the fans at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
Then on Monday, Styles went one-on-one with Chris Jericho in a match that most people believed would never happen, and while the match wasn’t an all-time classic, it certainly delivered, and it was one of the highlights of Monday’s RAW .
One person who really enjoyed Styles vs. Jericho was WWE Hall of Famer Kevin Nash, who went out of his way to praise Styles’ RAW debut as he welcomed him to WWE.
@IAmJericho great job tonight with @AJStylesOrg .Great false finishes. True pro. Congratulations AJ welcome to the show. You so belong
— Kevin Nash (@RealKevinNash) January 26, 2016
Nash worked with Styles during his run in TNA, and he’s one of many WWE legends who has been in favor of WWE hiring “The Phenomenal One.”
Chris Jericho was also thrilled about his match with AJ Styles, saying “What a match we had tonight…worth going out of your way to check it out.”
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Another WWE Hall of Famer who praised Styles’ WWE debut was the company’s former play-by-play man Jim Ross, who said that Styles’ future in WWE is very bright.
“AJ Styles had a terrific debut and made an memorable debut into the world of WWE. Styles is a money ball player and his future in WWE should be bright based on what WWE management saw and heard Sunday night.”
Prior to Styles’ debut on Sunday night, there was some concern within WWE that their fan-base wouldn’t know who he was due to the fact that he had never been part of a major wrestling organization in the United States. Some would suggest that TNA was a major wrestling organization during Styles’ time there. However, WWE management doesn’t consider TNA to be a major organization.
Styles ended up getting the biggest response of the night on Sunday, and he got a great response on Monday night as well while facing Chris Jericho, who is certainly more popular within the WWE universe. So it’s probably safe to say that the WWE fans are familiar with AJ Styles.
Furthermore, it’s been reported that all of AJ Styles’ merchandise that’s available on WWEShop.com has sold out . So clearly now, WWE knows that their fans know and love AJ Styles.
There is some concern among the fans that Styles’ finishing move – The Styles Clash – is banned in WWE, due to the fact that he’s teased it multiple times and has never hit it.
It’s understandable that Styles never hit his move during the actual Rumble match, but in his match with Jericho on Monday night, he teased it and never hit it. His victory came after reversing Jericho’s pin attempt into his own. So, as of right now, it does look like the move is banned.
It’s also possible that WWE wants to tease the move several times, so when he finally hits it, the move will get a huge response, which is what they did with NXT star Hideo Itami and the GTS move, which he used before he was signed by WWE.
The Styles Clash has injured several people in the past, most notably former WWE superstar Yoshi Tatsu, who was nearly paralyzed by the move . Now, in Styles’ defense, the injuries that the move has caused has been the fault of the person taking the move, and it’s not due to Styles being unsafe.
Former WWE Divas Champion Michelle McCool used The Styles Clash during her WWE career, which ended in 2011. So, if the move has been banned, it was a recent decision.
(Featured image via WWE )