The 5 Most Successful Acts Since The 2016 WWE Draft

#2 AJ Styles

Styles has won two WWE Championships since the Draft

Dean Ambrose may have been the first draft pick for Smackdown during the 2016 Draft, but it was #2 pick, AJ Styles who became Smackdown’s real Numero Uno.

Styles only debuted six months before the draft, but ‘The Phenomenal One’ had an eventful time; he feuded with Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns and most notably – John Cena. Styles was separated from Luke Gallow and Karl Anderson, his teammates in The Club (I wonder where they got that name?). However, the split of the short-lived group didn’t hurt Styles momentum at all.

Styles won the WWE Championship from Dean Ambrose on the first Smackdown-only PPV, Backlash. Since then, he’s been synonymous with the title; he’s been WWE Champion for the majority of the time since the draft. Styles also found time to be a two-time United States Champion as well.

WWE has not helped him out on the booking front, his 2-on-1 feud against Owens and Zayn was uneventful, and his dream feud with Shinsuke Nakamura was a disappointment due to WWE’s idea to center the dispute on groin shots. But he’s still managed to shine despite the poor booking, assembling excellent matches week-in-and-week-out.

Not long ago, the only time you could play as AJ Styles in a WWE video game was by downloading a fan-created version of him. Now, the former TNA star will grace the cover of WWE 2K19. Styles has made it.