Well, when John Cena made his triumphant return to Monday Night Raw just two short days ago not even Cena himself could have foreseen what was going to happen by the end of the night. Cena returned to give an impassioned speech about the New Era that has taken over WWE. Then Cena passionately declared that the new wave of incoming talent will have to go through him. No sooner were those words uttered out came AJ Styles. He came out to show Cena what the New Era is all about. This encounter set the WWE Universe on fire and each man had half the crowd behind him.
A Showdown for the Ages or so we thought
Then out came The Club (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows) to confront Styles & Cena and it looked like the Phenomenal One was going to stand by the Cenation leader to fend off the men that AJ no longer needed. The out of nowhere AJ attacked Cena along with Gallows & Anderson to make an empathic statement not only to Cena but the entire WWE locker room.
VAVEL's thoughts
Some of the VAVEL Pro Wrestling Office offer their thoughts on AJ Styles’ heel turn this past Monday.
Brendan Kennelly- Well not many of the WWE Universe saw this coming. However, this author believes that this was the right move for WWE to make as it opens up a lot of potential storylines surrounding The Club at a later date. A programme with a superstar of John Cena’s calibre can only be a good thing for AJ Styles and this could be why AJ went heel on Raw. Many feel this was done as John Cena is a huge babyface and it makes sense to keep it that way.
After a few stellar matches at Pay-Per-Views AJ Styles has shown he is more than capable of holding his own on a big game night against the biggest names WWE has to offer. Now AJ has set his sights on the face of the company John Cena. Just think of the possibilities that WWE has with AJ v Cena down the line.
This attack proves just how far AJ Styles is willing to go to become the best possible superstar he can be and he will not be alone in his quest to become the top guy in WWE.
Joel Lampkin-A heel turn that consisted of an attack filled with pent up anger and aggression on the company’s biggest returning star has propelled AJ Styles to the next level. When he first debuted he was already an icon, and his consistently great matches against Chris Jericho and then against Roman Reigns proved he was able to make main event stars of younger talents and compete with the legends of the company.
Things can only go up from here, a win over John Cena can be massive for your WWE career, just look at Kevin Owens who is on the verge of breaking through from the mid-card. Although the phenomenal one was already a globally recognised talent, once a star comes to WWE, reputation counts for little, but hopefully his matches have been enjoyed backstage as much as what the fans have and will keep AJ at the elite level he deserves to be.
His cynical and relentless attack showed the WWE Universe the ruthless violence it had been missing and craving, announcing himself as the top heel on the card instantly and keeping him at the phenomenal level he should be at.
Matthew Wilkinson-An AJ Styles heel turn is certainly exciting, the prospect of The Club running riot all over the WWE taking guys out left right and center is something fans would love to see. Styles has been booked like a main event star ever since his debut and has portrayed the perfect babyface ever since, and whilst shaking him up and making him a heel this early is a risk it is also a fairly safe bet by WWE.
Some of Styles' best work outside the WWE has come from him being a heel, he is experienced and knows exactly what he is doing and with The Club by his side, the trio can wreak havoc. This decision also likely has the future in mind.
With the brand split just around the corner the WWE need to develop some main event level stars to fill both shows, looking at the current roster there is a distinct lack of believable top level heels and therefore Styles can, and will tick that box for WWE becoming the top heel for whichever show he lands on.