Analyzing AJ Styles' Long-Term Potential to Remain WWE Main Event Star

AJ Styles' sudden and explosive rise up the ranks has helped rejuvenate a WWE main event scene that was desperate for fresh blood.

But as the company prepares for a rash of returns by industry giants, it is fair to question just how long The Phenomenal One can realistically hold his spot at the top of the card.

Styles has excelled with the opportunity presented to him. He has excelled in the ring, been a driving force behind the best ongoing story in all of WWE and performed up to the moment at Payback, when he and Roman Reigns tore the roof off the historic Allstate Arena in suburban Chicago.

As great as he has been since his shocking debut this past January at the Royal Rumble, how realistic is it that he'll remain part of WWE's roster of headliners?

Of greater significance is: What elements will affect that from happening one way or the other?

Continued Strong Booking

The most effective element of AJ Styles' push thus far is the strength of his booking. He does not win matches through interference or by cheating. Instead, he wins cleanly, decisively beating his opponents and leaving little question in the minds of fans that he is a top star. The only other Superstar currently competing in WWE at this moment who can make that claim is Roman Reigns.

The quality of his wins and the strength with which he is booked have elevated Styles in the eyes of the fans. Unlike a Kevin Owens or Cesaro, Styles is over with the WWE Universe as a whole rather than just the smart marks who streamed his New Japan Pro Wrestling work online or remember his days as the franchise player in TNA.

Fans threw their support behind him because he was treated like a big deal right out of the gate, a wrestler who won cleanly and continued to do so right into his first WWE World Heavyweight Championship match.

If WWE Creative remains as dedicated to booking Styles in this method as it has so far, fans will continue to treat him like a credible headliner.

Name Recognition

When it was revealed that AJ Styles would keep his name upon debuting in WWE, it was the most profound thing that could have happened for the Gainesville, Georgia, native. Styles is recognizable across the globe as much for his contributions to New Japan Pro Wrestling and TNA Wrestling as he is to the small towns that he performed in early in his career.

Hardcore fans around the world knew who he was, what he accomplished and how great he was before he ever set foot in a WWE ring. Thus he was immensely popular by the time he arrived at the Royal Rumble.

His name and star power alone have helped fuel his latest push as much as the aforementioned strong booking helped him to get over with the rest of the audience. It is that name recognition that will help him remain a main event-caliber star.

Fans will not be as willing to watch him fall from the top of the card without vocally lashing out against WWE for its misuse of one of wrestling's greatest performers. Like they did for Daniel Bryan, fans will ensure that WWE Creative cannot simply toss Styles aside in favor of one of the titans of WWE.

Fresh Matches

AJ Styles has brought with him a sense of freshness and excitement, if for no other reason than the fact that he provides WWE with a wealth of matches that the fans have never seen before. There are any number of bouts that fans long dreamed of and now have the opportunity to watch.

That freshness, in an era of repetition and staleness, makes him an invaluable asset to WWE. It may also fuel his continued stay at the top of the card.

Styles vs. John Cena, Seth Rollins or Randy Orton are all big-money matches that WWE has never promoted. The internal battles between The Club and countless showdowns with NXT talent all await Styles. And since he has been promoted and pushed as a legitimate star, they will be much higher-profile battles than they otherwise would have been.

How Realistic is a Sustained Main Event Push?

Prior to the Payback match between Styles and Reigns, it was highly unlikely that The Phenomenal One would remain an integral part of the main event scene. An extraordinary performance there, and in every segment of television he has appeared in since, has earned him a spot among the biggest names and brightest stars in WWE.

Sure, he is likely to dip down a level at some point, presumably after his feud with Reigns wraps up and he turns his attention to Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, but he will remain a vital part of WWE in the same way Dean Ambrose is.

The Lunatic Fringe is a main event star masquerading as a midcard star. He headlines house shows, SmackDown and Raw but he has never won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. That does not in any way, shape or form devalue his importance to the company.

Styles can be that guy, a dependable worker who will regularly appear in main events but will never be the guy like John Cena.