Ryan Dilbert's 10-Count: WWE Nailing Early Presentation of AJ Styles

1. Early Promise with AJ Styles Booking

WWE has called all the right plays thus far in welcoming AJ Styles to the company.

The Phenomenal One has looked like the big league star his fans knew him to be. Credit a vocal fanbase, the clout Styles created before he arrived and WWE's deft usage of him during the first steps of this journey onto the biggest stage in the industry.

The former TNA star had plenty to worry about going in. WWE could have easily undervalued him, shoving him somewhere on the hierarchy between Tyler Breeze and Dolph Ziggler. As Mick Foley pointed out on Facebook, "It could have been easy for him to be lost in the shuffle."

So far, that hasn't happened. WWE has wisely done what it can to allow Styles to gain momentum.

With the crowd energized as the Royal Rumble kicked off, Styles debuted as the No. 3 entrant into the match. The announcers did their best to emphasize the size of the moment.

Michael Cole called him "the hottest free agent in sports entertainment." John "Bradshaw" Layfield noted that Styles was once the IWGP heavyweight champion, making sure to point out that Brock Lesnar won that title, too. Upon Styles' arrival, Byron Saxton simply said, "Oh my God!"

And as Will Pruett of ProWrestling.net pointed out, WWE chose an excellent entrance theme for him:

In the Rumble, Styles went toe-to-toe with Roman Reigns. That in itself was a major statement. WWE has booked Reigns as superhuman at times. And now here was this newcomer, trading shots with The Big Dog and bringing him to his knees with thunderous kicks.

While he didn't make it to the final four of the Battle Royal, Styles lasted 28 minutes and 58 seconds. That's longer than Kevin Owens, Bray Wyatt, Sheamus and even Lesnar.

WWE later posted an interview of Styles talking about how he fared in the Rumble, alternate footage of his debut and a backstage look at him while preparing for the pay-per-view.

That all adds up to increased buzz for The Phenomenal One. It allows fans unfamiliar with him to get a taste of who he is. And paying that much attention signals that he's a significant pickup.  

The next night, WWE wasted no time in having Styles face off against a top name. He clashed with Chris Jericho on Monday's Raw in a hard-fought bout that lasted over 13 minutes. That much ring time allowed for the audience to get to know him better, and it allowed Styles and Jericho to craft something memorable.

And so Styles put quite the notch in his belt with a victory over a future Hall of Famer.

It's time now to keep this pace up. Give Styles more wins. Give him more interviews. Keep having him climb the WWE ladder.

The more WWE is able to build Styles up, the bigger his eventual WrestleMania 32 match will be. That's extremely valuable with John Cena, Randy Orton and Seth Rollins all working to recover from injuries ahead of The Show of Shows.

WWE normally doesn't like to showcase guys who made their name elsewhere, but the company should shallow its pride in this case. Styles is not some unproven commodity; he's a marquee star who has simply moved to a larger marquee.

2. Triple H Is No. 2

With his victory at the Royal Rumble, Triple H made history. He moved into second place on the list of most WWE title reigns.

Wrestler	No. of Reigns
John Cena	12
Triple H	9
Randy Orton	8
The Rock	8
Hulk Hogan	6
Steve Austin	6
Bret Hart	5

The Game was seemingly done winning championship years ago, as he transitioned into an executive role. The story with Reigns, though, thrust him back into the spotlight. 

With now nine WWE title reigns and five runs with the World Heavyweight Championship, Triple H is suddenly within striking range of Ric Flair's record 16 world title reigns. It's hard to imagine he will be anything more than a transitional champ from now until WrestleMania, but that's not a safe bet.

As this generation's Mr. McMahon, he may nudge his way into a few more title wins, giving Flair and Cena chase.

3. Throwback Video of the Week: The Stomper

Archie Gouldie, known as The Stomper and The Mongolian Stomper, was a captivating, terrifying force in the ring. He spent much of his career at Stampede Wrestling, snatching up titles during the '60s and '70s.

Unfortunately, he is no longer with us. As Dave Meltzer reported on F4WOnline, Gouldie died over the weekend at age 78.

The Stomper had a split personality of sorts. In America, he was a foreign monster heel who didn't speak. In Canada, though, he was a haunting presence on the mic.

During a feud with Jerry Lawler, Gouldie growled, "The blood will flow again. And Lawler, I will bury you in the trenches." And he was at his best when he was threatening the Hart family.

To read more about Gouldie's career, be sure to check out David Bixenspan's excellent article on him for SE Scoops.

4. Carmella a Long Way from Being Credible Threat

Carmella is poised to take on NXT women's champ Bayley, but it doesn't yet feel like a fair fight.

While Bayley has fended off Sasha Banks and taken down Charlotte, Carmella's only big win thus far is the Battle Royal that earned her the title shot. On last week's NXT, the company wisely had her score the winning pinfall in a tag match.

She and Bayley, though, are on different tiers. 

It's up to NXT to elevate Carmella in a hurry to make their bout a more compelling one. The Princess of Staten Island can upset Nia Jax and/or dominate Dana Brooke. Either way, there is work to be done.  

5. Stardust Burning Out

Could we be getting Cody Rhodes back or see Stardust involve into something else entirely? Stardust teased a potential gimmick change on Twitter:

As great as Rhodes has been as Stardust, that would be the right move. The act has wound down over time. A fresh start will have Rhodes on the rise again.

6. Earning a Spot on a Higher Rung

WWE hasn't continued the tradition of having an NXT tournament to allow one prospect to enter the Royal Rumble. The company instead went for a surprise appearance from Sami Zayn.

If the NXT-Royal Rumble tourney is dead, WWE should look to create other crossover moments. Overlapping the two brands would boost NXT's profile and inject some excitement into the main roster. 

Perhaps a collection of NXT all-stars forms a Survivor Series team each year. Maybe two NXT wrestlers have to battle over a WWE contract hanging from a ladder. Or, WWE could decide who the next female prospect to make the jump to the main roster is by hosting a tournament.

Credit: WWE.com

The desire to make it to NXT proper is a dramatic tool that should be used more often. That's part of what makes NXT so great. The wrestlers aren't just shooting for titles and vague glory but to move on to where the spotlight is brighter.

7. Introducing Aries

The influx of talent continues. Austin Aries debuted at an NXT taping last week. Many fans will know him from his days at both Ring of Honor and TNA.

For those unfamiliar with The Greatest Man That Ever Lived, take the time to soak in these matches:

• vs. Tyler Black, Roderick Strong: ROH The Big Bang!
• vs. Bobby Roode: TNA Destination X 2012
• vs. Jeff Hardy: TNA Turning Point 2012 (Ladder)
• vs. Jeff Hardy, Bobby Roode: TNA Genesis 2013  
• vs. AJ Styles: TNA Impact, Aug. 1, 2013

Aries will be a welcome addition to NXT. He's a high-flyer with tremendous technical skills and a top-notch storyteller.

8. Goldust Works Well with Others

Goldust teased a possible tag team with R-Truth on Monday's Raw.

There's potential for great comedy with that duo, and it wouldn't be surprising if they caught fire. If they were to go on to win the tag titles, that would mark the seventh partner he has won gold with at WCW or WWE, per CageMatch—eight if you count Stardust and Cody Rhodes as two different people.

• Cody Rhodes, Stardust (WWE Tag Team Championship)
• Booker T (WWE World Tag Team Championship)
• Ricky Steamboat (WCW World Tag Team Championship)
• Barry Windham (NWA Tag Team Championship, WCW World Tag Team Championship)
• Big Josh and Tom Zenk (WCW Six-Man Tag Team Championship)

With as thin as the tag team division has gotten of late, don't bet against the dark-horse combo of R-Truth and Goldust suddenly being contenders.

9. Champion, Challenger and... 

WWE struggles to book the Divas division beyond the title feud. Charlotte, Becky Lynch and Sasha Banks are clearly headed for something explosive and exciting. The division falls flat beyond that, though.

Where is the secondary rivalry?

Paige and Natalya have inexplicably begun teaming up and clashed with Alicia Fox and Brie Bella without even a bare-boned storyline. WWE booked them against each other on Monday's Raw in a match that ended after just under three minutes.

The complete lack of narrative and stakes hurt that contest just as much as the lack of time.

It's baffling that WWE isn't doing more to have the women not currently challenging for the title look like the next great contenders. Having Paige go on a winning streak or Natalya outlast Tamina Snuka in an intense, smashmouth feud would entertain in the now and build for what's ahead.

As it stands, WWE has to jump-start a challenger's momentum because they have been sitting around idle for so long.

10. Hitman on the Royal Rumble

In an interview with Wrestle Zone, Hall of Famer Bret Hart trashed the latest pay-per-view. "I watched three hours of wrestling last night, and I got very little out of it. When it was over I thought, 'That was the worst Royal Rumble I think I've ever watched,'" he said.

The Hitman might want to watch the 1995 Rumble again, a match that featured Mantaur, Aldo Montoya and Duke Droese in coveted Rumble spots.

Hart just sounds bitter when he criticizes the product so often. It's fine to dislike the Royal Rumble and call it predictable, but when he always has such a harsh view, it's hard to take him seriously.

This is, after all, the same man who told Arda Ocal (h/t Wrestling Inc) that he wouldn't put Triple H "in the top 1,000 greatest wrestlers."

Royal Rumble statistics courtesy of WWE.com. Match times and statistics courtesy of CageMatch.