Impact wrestling thread - It's a Don West tribute thread now!

[Daaaaaad!]

No that's a fair point, I was merely disputing that AJ is much more famous than AJ Styles in general. Sort of similar to the discussion about who would you book for an Indy show between Kelly Kelly and Jushin Liger that was on here a while ago. In the WWE universe AJ is clearly above AJ Styles, but on the whole I doubt she doesn't have more name value. AJ only made her debut in 2010, while Styles has been the face of TNA for years before that

AJ's been a major face on RAW since her debut in 2010 though. She was even the focus of a few main event angles. Pretty much all wrestling fans, WWE or otherwise, would recognise her, whereas I'd reckon fewer would recognise Styles from shitty little TNA. He may be a big fish in a small pond, but WWE is an ocean in comparison.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

AJ Styles would have far more upside if he was on the roster, though. Because he's a male wrestler, and males always have more to offer because the divas is one segment a show, a massive revolving door with little shelf life and no woman will ever main event WrestleMania. He's not as famous, but fame doesn't mean much when your career is in the hands of the chess players that run wrestling. They could all be doing double shots for Family Wrestling Entertainment and Dreamer's promotion in a months time if Vince decided it. Mickie James was more famous than CM Punk in 2006. And look where he is now.

 

I hate this "who has fame" thing. Bruno Sammartino is way more famous than Big E. But you wouldn't but him all over TV. Its like that "you have to look good at the airport to be a draw" stuff. Wrestling is all about "what have you done for me today?" Its why The Shield blew away everyone on the roster in the first few weeks they were on TV. 13 months ago nobody knew who Rollins, Reigns and Ambrose was. Now they are three of the best guys on the roster by a significant margin. Wrestling is about getting over. Not being famous. And Styles would tear it up if you gave him the chance.

Edited December 12, 2013 by IANdrewDiceClay

[King Pitcos]

Yeah, but that crowd is only 2 days a year so they're pretty much nothing in the big scheme of things. AJ Lee wins for the other 363. Remember if you are in TNA you don't really exist in the public consciousness. Hence the stories of people saying to Kurt Angle about him being retired now.

 

Most of the crowd are WWE fans, not wrestling fans.

No that's a fair point, I was merely disputing that AJ is much more famous than AJ Styles in general.

Well, she is. Everyone who knows who AJ Styles is also knows who AJ Lee is. But not everyone who knows who AJ Lee is knows who AJ Styles is.

 

Mickie James was more famous than CM Punk in 2006. And look where he is now.

Yeah, but if her name was CM James at the time, he'd have had to change his before they put him on telly.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

If his name value is as insignificant as people are saying, it wont matter what his name is if he debuted. I'm just saying fame or lack of fame means nothing when you come onto the main roster. He'd probably have been made to change his name if AJ Lee was there or not. Bryan Danielson had to change his and they've even acknowledged him as that on NXT in the first month he was there. And he had as much or more name value on the scene than AJ Styles did in 2010.

[King Pitcos]

He never had "Danielson" tattooed on himself though. When a bloke lands on Raw with the name of the company's top diva on his side, it'd have to be acknowledged unless he wore the same kind of kit as MVP or Hurricane.

[Cannibal Man]

He could always cover up the A with an O and land himself a Nordberg gimmick.

[IANdrewDiceClay]

They could put Owen Hart's singlet on him. Have him in the 123 Kid's old outfit. Have Low Ki's ring jacket on him. Covering a tattoo has never been a problem for them. You could have him as a Max Moon-esque character, with a full body outfit. You would make use of his unkempt hair and hick accent and put a vest and scruffy jeans and make him Allen Wyatt. There's a million ways around covering up a tattoo. They offered him a deal a few weeks ago. They mustn't seem to think the tattoo is a big deal. The Harris Brothers had Nazi tattoos and they still hired them.

 

Not enough is done outside the old trunks and boots formula. They even put Albert in them when he showed up. I want to see someone dress like Kronik used to. They had a belting look. Actually, dress AJ up like Crush. Yellow and Purple all the way. Look at this outfit.

Edited December 13, 2013 by IANdrewDiceClay

[Duke]

Or they just call him Artemis Jackson or something. It's not difficult to get around

[UK Kat Von D]

To be fair my original comment about keeping him AJ Styles was a joke because "smart fans" would chant it at him like they do with Tensia and Ryback. I also mentioned there would be squabbling on here over the new name, like how people still get pissed off if when Daniel Bryan is called Bryan Danielson. I don't actually give a fuck if they change his name.

 

Regarding the AJ/AJ Styles thing the only way to conclusively prove who is more recognisable would be for us to make a picture of their faces and all post it on our facebooks asking the general public if they recognise person A or B. Then everyone report the results here and make a pie chart. That ofcourse would be really lame and not worth the hassle. I see AJ's side and it could be right, but personally I don't buy it. I agree with Ian though that it doesn't matter

[King Pitcos]

Regarding the AJ/AJ Styles thing the only way to conclusively prove who is more recognisable would be for us to make a picture of their faces and all post it on our facebooks asking the general public if they recognise person A or B.

Yeah. Or we could just have some common sense and realise TNA's overall visibility compared to WWE's.

[UK Kat Von D]

Or acknowledge it's not as open and shut as that

[AshC]

AJ Lee is more recognisable than AJ Styles.

 

Remember all those people who come up to Kurt Angle in airports asking when he's coming back to wrestling? That. For better or worse.

[Loki]

Well, she is. Everyone who knows who AJ Styles is also knows who AJ Lee is. But not everyone who knows who AJ Lee is knows who AJ Styles is.

 

I know I'm unusual for a wrestling fan, but I know who AJ Styles is, and I have no idea who AJ Lee is. I'm assuming she's a new diva?

 

I don't think we should assume that the WWE audience is as stupid as you're suggesting. There are plenty of instances of the WWE crowds going off-message and chanting things from outside the WWE universe - the whole Matt Hardy thing for example, or people's indy names.

 

CM Punk wasn't as famous as AJ Styles is, and they decided to keep his name. Sometimes they reckon that it's worth keeping a gimmick if it's individual enough.

[PowerButchi]

Yeah, but they didn't already have someone called CM Suchandsuch on the roster. If they did then Punk would have been called Tim Tattoos or something. It's been the case for a while that WWE thinks we'll all get really confused if two people have the same first name, so no-one can.

Edited December 13, 2013 by PowerButchi

[King Pitcos]

I don't think we should assume that the WWE audience is as stupid as you're suggesting.

I never made any suggestions of stupidity on the part of the WWE audience, so you've misfired there. Stupid is suggesting that the WWE audience is more familiar with a TNA wrestler than someone who has been all over WWE television for the last eighteen months.

 

"WrestleMania? Never heard of it mate. Think you mean Bound For Glory lol" said nobody ever. Unless they chanted for Matt Hardy the week after he got sacked nine years ago or something.