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The glorious days of the Attitude Era may never quite be matched again in the WWE, or in all or professional wrestling for that matter, in the years to come. However, if there's one thing this wonderful sport has taught us since times immemorial, is that you should never say never.
The mid-to-late 1990s and the early-2000s were a period when the audience drifted largely towards pro-wrestling promotions that put forth edgy content catering primarily to the adult 18-35 male demographic.
Nevertheless, pro-wrestling changed forever in the year 2008 when the WWE decided to undergo a huge overhaul by shifting its brand-presentation from that of an adult-oriented company to an organization which caters to fans of all age groups.
Now, while the aforementioned business move may have proven to be beneficial to WWE as regards its global expansion agenda as well as attracting lucrative sponsorship deals with major international brands; the end result has been that the edginess of the Attitude Era or even the Ruthless Aggression Era for that matter has given way to a more mellow version of sports-entertainment...Regardless, today, we are going to be looking at a rivalry which is currently pushing the envelope--AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe: The Talk Of The Town--
#3 It's personal
Remember when Mike Tyson threatened to literally eat Lennox Lewis' kids before their highly-awaited boxing match for the Undisputed Heavyweight title of the world? Well, irrespective of whether or not you happened to follow the sport of boxing at the time, the fact remains that Tyson vs. Lewis was a huge deal in the mainstream media in 2002.
Personal rivalries bring fantabulous results at the box-office--And that's the bottom-line because as veteran fight commentator Mauro Ranallo so often says; "the proof is in the banana pudding".
The numbers don't lie, and fans of combat sports as well as professional wrestling the world over, love seeing personal feuds play out inside the ring.
Samoa Joe vs. AJ Styles is indeed the WWE's version of Mike Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis. Joe much like Tyson is the loose cannon who only has pain and destruction on his mind, whereas Styles akin to Lewis is a family man who's looking to defeat a deadly opponent.
Joe has taken several shots at Styles' family over the course of their WWE Championship feud thus far, and that in turn has served to raise the stakes to the zenith...
#2 Indie hustle on the big stage
AJ Styles wrestled for TNA (now--Impact Wrestling) from 2002 to '13, whereas Samoa Joe performed for the company from 2005 to '15. Both wrestlers have crossed paths with one another several times in the past, and engaged in multiple memorable angles back in their TNA and indie wrestling days.
Now, say what you want about the indie wrestling scene, the fact remains that the performers who grow up on the unforgiving circuit in front of rowdy crowds at your -- excuse my French -- local bingo halls, know how to strike a near-perfect balance between edginess and vulgarity. In other words, Styles and Joe possess the rare ability to be able to tow the line between what's permissible under the WWE's current PG norms and the kind of violence, suggestiveness and creativity which characterized the Attitude Era.
After all, who could possibly forget Joe's classic line about going home to Styles' wife Wendy and their daughter--as the Styles family's 'new Daddy'...
#1 Passion
Before fans of SmackDown Live Superstars other than AJ Styles and Samoa Joe get out the pitchforks, this writer hereby requests you to read the following thoughts first. Among a roster full of intense and passionate performers, Styles and Joe arguably outshine the rest of the pack.
The two men presently involved in the WWE Championship feud--Styles the champion, and Joe the contender--are one of the few wrestlers in the current landscape who understand the subtle art of getting your passion across to the fans. While most performers are undoubtedly passionate about their work, they often times falter when it comes to emoting themselves and getting their character's true feelings across to the WWE Universe.
This is where Styles and Joe truly shine as though they were glittering diamonds from a faraway land in Arabia. These two wily veterans know hot to adjust on-the-fly, act, react and interact with the fans in real-time--apart from also wrestling great matches and cutting fiery promos.
The WWE has gold on its hands right now, and AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe could truly go down in the history books as one of the all-time great rivalries in sports-entertainment history.
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