The Club: wasted potential

With the arrival of AJ Styles in the last edition of the Royal Rumble, the WWE Universe was expecting the beginning of the "Phenomenal era," and with good reason. The native Georgia wrestler is considered one of the most prodigious talents in the professional wrestling industry. However, things don't seem to be going well for him, as during his time with the American promotion, Styles has only managed to achieve one victory in a PPV, a situation that angers fans around the globe.

The legacy he built in more than a decade with TNA was a cornerstone on Styles' path to becoming a sensation that would only grow stronger during his time in New Japan Pro Wrestling. He replaced Finn Balor as the leader of the Bullet Club and reached the Maximum Championship of said promotion on two occasions.

Rumors of his arrival in WWE began to gain momentum between October and November of last year, as his contract with NJPW was coming to an end and it was rumored that he would cancel his dates with Ring of Honor to debut in Vince McMahon's company without any inconvenience. These rumors included the acquisition of Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, who were also key members of the Bullet Club.

Finally, AJ Styles made his debut in the Royal Rumble as the third participant, and the crowd went wild, wondering how the Phenomenal one would perform.

In wrestling terms, AJ is incredible. He managed to adapt to WWE's style without any problem and has delivered matches that are rated as spectacular. Rivals like Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Roman Reigns have taken advantage of a veteran who seems to have plenty of fuel left for a journey that can undoubtedly become very memorable.

But why the doubt about success then? The answer is simple.

When Gallows and Anderson debuted by attacking the Usos on RAW, the WWE Universe began to speculate about an American version of the monstrous Bullet Club, a faction that is known (as it is still active in ROH and NJPW) for being dominant against its rivals, a condition it maintained since its formation in 2013.

It is very important to consider the power factor of the Club, as it was what motivated the arrival of Styles, Gallows, and Anderson. In Japan, they were seen as invincible, very few could afford to beat them, unfortunately in WWE, they were beaten by the Usos and Roman Reigns.

And that's exactly where the problem lies. On the road to Payback, the so-called "Club" suffered credibility losses that resulted in the newcomers looking like pale imitations of their respective NJPW reflections. They were defeated cleanly by the Samoan duo on Raw and beat over and over again by Reigns' Superman Punch.

This situation angered the fans who saw it as a personal "revenge" from Vince McMahon against independent industry fans, who supported Styles against the candidate to be the face of the company.

Another reason for the fury of the connoisseurs was that Gallows and Anderson (especially the latter) were constantly portrayed as weak compared to wrestlers that many consider to have less talent and whose glory days are in the past. They should step aside for others who are in a better position to lead their division.

In Payback and Extreme Rules, AJ Styles and Roman Reigns delivered matches of relatively high quality. It's not easy for someone with as little experience in improvisation as Reigns to adapt to AJ's style, but things went well, always with the predictable ending that we all know.

Now that Vince McMahon and his creative team have managed to kill the credibility of the Club and AJ Styles, it would be best if they could maintain a pace of rivalries with superstars of the caliber of, for example, Kevin Owens or Sami Zayn, in order to continue delivering high-level matches, which is supposedly the purpose for which those who come from Japan are in WWE.

A rivalry for the Tag Team Championship would make Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson look good, and a reign as Intercontinental Champion would revitalize the hopeful spirit in the fans, who would stop seeing AJ as an underutilized acquisition and start seeing him as something that can achieve much more. There is still a lot to do, hopefully, WWE knows it and gets to work, as Money in the Bank is just around the corner.