Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: AJ Lee Is a Surefire WWE Hall of Famer

1. AJ Lee Will Join Lita, Trish Stratus and Company in the WWE Hall of Fame

AJ Lee made a Hall of Fame impact in a career that ended after just a few short years.

She became the centerpiece of the WWE Divas division, attracting attention to it like few women have before. A key figure in high-profile feuds, the division's best mic worker and a trailblazer, AJ has every reason to expect an eventual Hall of Fame nod. 

Over the weekend, she walked away from the ring at just 28 years old. 

Fans' natural instinct after the announcement on WWE.com is to wonder what might have been, imagining what else she could have done or who else she could have battled had she stuck around. Even with her departure happening at such a young age, though, her resume is a robust one.

She and Eve Torres are the only women to hold the Divas Championship three times. AJ kept that title tight in her grip for a record-setting 295 days. Her mantle is filled with awards, from two Slammys for Diva of the Year to three straight Woman of the Year awards from Pro Wrestling Illustrated, as noted by Complex's Brian Josephs.

AJ gave WWE the most memorable promo from a female in company history. Her roles ranged from Raw general manager to vital cog in a feud between Dolph Ziggler and John Cena.

Only politics will delay her induction.

Her relationship with CM Punk makes things complicated as the company continues to squabble with her husband, but WWE has shown that it can move past its issues with wrestlers when it comes to the Hall of Fame.

The Ultimate Warrior, Bruno Sammartino and Randy Savage all had various beefs with Vince McMahon. They are all now in the Hall regardless. And the WWE Hall just welcomed Alundra Blayze, who threw the WWE women's title in the trash on live TV.

AJ's time will come. She left too much of a legacy to be ignored. When the situation with Punk has cooled, AJ will be a slam dunk to join Lita, who she met as a young fan in 2001 with tears in her eyes, as a Hall of Famer.

2. After The Shield

Dean Ambrose has not been tasting the same momentum that his former brethren from The Shield have.

Despite being wildly popular and consistently excellent in the ring and on the mic, Ambrose is watching Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins get more high-profile opportunities, and certainly more wins.

Comparing each Superstar's pay-per-view record shines a light on the current distance between him and his old allies.

Seth Rollins is 5-4 at pay-per-views post-breakup of The Shield, including taking home the Money in the Bank briefcase and the WWE title at WrestleMania. Reigns is 3-3 in that span with wins over Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan and the entire Royal Rumble field.

Ambrose is 0-8.

Credit: WWE.com

While many of those bouts have extenuating circumstances to explain those losses, WWE needs to balance out his win-loss record. Eventually, defeat starts to leave a stink.

He's likely to get a crack at Luke Harper at Extreme Rules as their feud is taking off. Ambrose fans have to be crossing their fingers that this is when The Lunatic Fringe gets his first PPV win after The Shield's split.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: The United States Championship

WWE has been throwing around the names of past U.S. champs as it continues its efforts to bring prestige back to the title. All this reflection has one thinking of the WCW portion of the championship's history when men like Lex Luger and Ric Flair held it.

Sting once won it as well, pinning Steve Austin to do so.

Watching Sting in his athletic prime and Austin before he found his voice is intriguing. The same goes for seeing a young Paul Heyman introduce the action. Be sure to look out for Sting using a Tombstone piledriver, a move he may well experience as the victim at next year's WrestleMania.

4. The Scott Steiner Story Gets Stranger

Steiner is known to be an angry man prone to outbursts, both offscreen and on. The latest chapter in his story goes far beyond that.

Rumors first emerged that Steiner had been banned from the Hall of Fame ceremonies during WrestleMania week. New details have changed that narrative from odd to completely bizarre.

According to TMZ, "Hulk's wife Jennifer flew into San Jose for WrestleMania on March 26th—and claims Steiner grabbed her at baggage claim and said he plans to 'kill Terry' [Hulk's real name] as soon as he lands." Steiner is now reportedly facing "felony terrorist threats."

If he did in fact behave like this, here's hoping he gets professional help.  

5. Collars, Straps, Chains and Ropes

Extreme Rules has been home to seldom-seen bouts like the Samoan Strap match and a Country Whipping match. While neither of those were classics, straps and ropes have been at the heart of some noteworthy contests in the past.

Don't both watching Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler go to war in 2011. Instead, seek these out:

• "Superstar" Billy Graham vs. Dusty Rhodes—Oct. 9, 1978 (Texas Bullrope match)
• Roddy Piper vs. Greg Valentine—WCW Starrcade 1983 (Dog Collar match)
• Sting vs. Vader—WCW SuperBrawl III (Strap match)
• Trish Stratus vs. Lita—Raw, July 24, 2000
• Eddie Guerrero vs. John "Bradshaw" Layfield—Great American Bash 2004 (Texas Bullrope match)

Rhodes and Graham collided many a time at Madison Square Garden. Like many of those clashes, this one was intense and brutal. It's a taut piece of violence that does well to showcase these men's bad blood.

That goes double for Piper and Valentine's bloody, nasty battle. WWE has since moved away from going this far down the savagery road, so there's a nostalgia element to seeing them tear at each other.

Lita vs. Trish isn't as good as these other bouts. It's short and more of a segment than an actual match. The appeal is in the novelty, though. WWE fans just don't see women go at each other like this.

6. AJ Styles Being Phenomenal 

WWE should have made a strong push to land Styles after he cut ties with TNA. Officials have to be thinking that considering how tremendous he has been in the last year. Since joining New Japan Pro Wrestling, he has simply been tearing it up.

Between his work there and Ring of Honor, Styles has compiled an astounding 12 matches rated four stars or higher by Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t ProFightDB.com).

He put on a Match of the Year candidate against Tetsuya Naito on Jan. 4, but has already outdone himself in a title bout with Kota Ibushi on April 5.

The critics have drooled over the performance. Writing for PWInsider, Matthew Macklin called Ibushi vs. Styles "an incredible match and one of the best in New Japan so far this year."

It's hard to see what Styles is accomplishing overseas and not wonder what would have happened had he gone to WWE instead. 

7. Tag Team Division is Perfect Spot for Kalisto 

A strong tag division is important for a variety of reasons, including maximizing a guy like Kalisto's talents. As a solo wrestler, the former NXT tag champ would struggle to make an impact. WWE doesn't historically showcase smaller competitors well, for one.

Were he by himself, he would also need to tell more of a story. Instead, he's a part of a package that needs minimal mic time. The Lucha Dragons are colorful and exciting and don't need much more than that.

He and Sin Cara have provided a jolt to the tag division, adding depth and providing some of the better action in the tag team ranks.

If WWE works as hard on restoring the tag scene as it is doing with the midcard belts, Kalisto will thrive for a long time.

8. Big Show and Kane Dragging 

Move Big Show and Kane down the card. There is no more certain way to slow down a show's momentum than by having either of those longtime vets step into the ring.

Neither was exactly Speedy Gonzalez in their prime, but at this stage, they work painfully slowly. The appeal of their characters has waned as well. They get little to no reaction each time out.

Still, WWE keeps putting them in the spotlight. 

Raj Giri, who runs WrestlingInc.com, is one of the many who believe that needs to change:

On Monday's Raw, Dean Ambrose didn't compete. Neither did Daniel Bryan, Bad News Barrett, Cesaro or Rusev. Any combination of those guys in action would have been preferable to Kane and Big Show getting over 20 total minutes of ring time on Raw.

9. The Diva Division's Workhorse

Natalya is a rock. WWE has leaned on her more than any other woman in the past three years. Her match total from 2012 to present is a testament to that.

The women with the most matches from 2012-2015:

• Natalya—407
• Alicia Fox—300
• Paige—253
• AJ Lee—248

Natalya had more than 100 matches in 2012, 2013 and 2014. She's the only Diva with more than one year of 100-plus matches in that span.

Unfortunately, that hasn't translated into WWE actually showcasing her. She's been undervalued for the majority of her career, being treated like a midcarder rather than the cornerstone of the division she can be.

10. John Cena on the Next Big Star

During Cena's podcast interview with Chris Jericho after Monday's Raw, he talked a lot about how he was in search of an identity early on in his career.

On the topic of who might replace him as WWE's top star, he said, "The guy with the balls enough to take chances."

With so much emerging talent on the roster right now and with the struggle to stand out getting more competitive, he's right on here. The race to the throne is a logjam right now. It's going to take guts and innovation to grab the lead.

All match statistics courtesy of CageMatch.net.