{"id":51713,"date":"2017-11-29T14:24:15","date_gmt":"2017-11-29T20:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=51713"},"modified":"2017-11-29T14:24:15","modified_gmt":"2017-11-29T20:24:15","slug":"editorial-superstar-centerpiece-j-styles-needs-framed-wwe-face-runs-place-nothing-less","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2017\/11\/29\/editorial-superstar-centerpiece-j-styles-needs-framed-wwe-face-runs-place-nothing-less\/","title":{"rendered":"EDITORIAL: Superstar Centerpiece &#8211; A.J. Styles needs to be framed by WWE as &#8220;The Face that Runs the Place,&#8221; nothing less"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-70207499\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p>The past month we\u2019ve seen the second World Championship crowning of the \u201cPhenomenal\u201d AJ Styles, a well-established performer and deserving WWE Champion. Fans of WWE, and pro wrestling in general, have been behind him consistently each week since Styles made his WWE debut at 2016\u2019s Royal Rumble. Finally, it seems the WWE has come to realize the star power AJ holds and awarded him his rightful position as the top babyface champion of Smackdown Live and the WWE collectively. From this point on, and as a result of his quite over appeal, we should see him as the focal point of Smackdown Live each week, right? Apparently, that\u2019s still absolutely out of the question.<\/p>\n<p>Since AJ\u2019s crowning as champion, Smackdown Live\u2019s main storyline has continuously revolved around Shane McMahon and his issues. I would be somewhat okay with this had AJ been a part of that storyline, but he\u2019s been pushed to, largely, the middle segments of the show in order to keep viewers tuned in just long enough to still stay present for the McMahon angle capping off the show.\u00a0 Though Shane still has some throwback star power, it still doesn\u2019t compare to the star power of Styles.<\/p>\n<p>I can understand keeping this format had someone unappealing, like Jinder Mahal, still been champion, but AJ\u2019s grand appeal is a large reason why has been crowned the champion. Therefore, he needs to be booked like he is.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, AJ is booked as a really good mid-card superstar who is simply holding the World Title. Baron Corban is booked even worse as the U.S. Champion. What\u2019s the prestige in being a champion if you\u2019re not being treated as the main man in the brand?<\/p>\n<p>I understand it\u2019s a common conception in the WWE that some wrestlers are just bigger than the title, which I suppose I agree with; however, that\u2019s why you build wrestlers up for the championship instead of placing it on someone just because they look the part, i.e., Jinder Mahal. Even regarding this notion though, AJ Styles has all the build-up that he needs and more in order to fulfill a champion\u2019s role. So, it\u2019s not a matter of him not being built up enough at all, which WWE apparently doesn\u2019t care about anyway.<\/p>\n<p>One could say that Jinder still is not a draw, so the rivalry between AJ and Jinder shouldn\u2019t be the primary angle. However, AJ has continuously brought a praising crowd with him to every angle he\u2019s been involved with, champion or not. His draw alone could produce greater success than the current McMahon-Owens angle.<\/p>\n<p>Even further than that, if AJ\u2019s limelight still depends on who his rival is, then why wasn\u2019t he the critical angle of the Survivor Series war between the brands? If you ask me, the ultimatum in a brand war should be between the respective brands\u2019 top champions. Even with the top champions being AJ Styles and Brock freaking Lesnar, WWE still did not seem to feel it necessary.<\/p>\n<p>After analyzing it, I can come up with two conclusions: Either Vince McMahon just doesn\u2019t know how to book the small and mighty Styles, or we\u2019re dealing with a McMahon family ego that requires them to hold the limelight. If the latter is the truth, then we have a reason to confirm Smackdown Live as the \u201cB\u201d show.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2938530286\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>If they want to produce a truly competitive and entertaining ratings war between the brands, the WWE needs to do more than just place AJ Styles as its champion. They need to book him like he truly is \u201cThe face that runs the place.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>NOW CHECK OUT THIS RECENT EDITORIAL:<\/strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2017\/11\/29\/editorial-means-end-success-roman-reigns-intercontinental-champion-key-achieving-wwes-vision\/\">EDITORIAL: A Means to an End: The success of Roman Reigns as Intercontinental Champion is key to him achieving WWE\u2019s vision<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3731276707\"><div id=\"pwtor-1645239391\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>The past month we\u2019ve seen the second World Championship crowning of the \u201cPhenomenal\u201d AJ Styles, a well-established performer and deserving WWE Champion. Fans of WWE, and pro wrestling in general, have been behind him consistently <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2017\/11\/29\/editorial-superstar-centerpiece-j-styles-needs-framed-wwe-face-runs-place-nothing-less\/\" title=\"EDITORIAL: Superstar Centerpiece &#8211; A.J. Styles needs to be framed by WWE as &#8220;The Face that Runs the Place,&#8221; nothing less\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-guesteditorials"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/11\/StylesAJ_McAdamRoss_3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51713"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51714,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51713\/revisions\/51714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}