Opinion
AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura: You Won’t Ever Be Happy, Will Ya?
On January 24, 2016, the unthinkable happened. Roman Reigns entered the Royal Rumble at number one, followed by Rusev at number two. Roman would dispatch of the Bulgarian Brute before his 90 seconds elapsed–and this was a Rusev who was about to get his only WrestleMania win. When the clock struck zero, many (including me) assumed another victim was headed to the ring. Instead it was AJ Styles.
At the time, the response was “yes, THAT AJ STYLES.” The cornerstone of TNA from the day they opened their doors, and the man who replaced Prince Devitt/Finn Balor as the leader of Bullet Club in New Japan and Ring of Honor. AJ debuted at number three in the 2016 WWE Royal Rumble, one of the most shocking moments in a year that included the return of Shane McMahon, the return of the brand split, Kevin Owens winning the Universal Championship, and the in-ring return of Goldberg.
AJ Styles would stay in that Royal Rumble for a hair under 29 minutes, would main event his second ever pay-per-view against Roman Reigns at Fastlane, and would make his WrestleMania debut against Chris Jericho in front of over 100,000 fans.
That’s AJ Styles’ only Royal Rumble to date, because he’s been WWE Champion for the other two. In fact, AJ Styles has been in WWE for 767 days as of March 1, 2018. He is a four-time champion (two WWE Championships and two United States Championships). As of this writing (March 1), he has held the WWE Championship for 253 of his 767 days in WWE.
That’s 33% of his time in WWE. For a third of AJ Styles’ time in WWE, he has been WWE Champion! He’s also spent 91 days as United States Champion, bringing his total time in WWE as a champion to 344 days. This represents 44.9% of this time in WWE.
AJ Styles is 40 days shy of spending half of his time in WWE so far as a champion. Yet people complain. I mean it sucks, right, because he’s “stuck” in a storyline with Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon. John Cena, one of the four biggest stars in company history, has wins over AJ Styles. So that has to be terrible, right?
Shinsuke Nakamura made his WWE debut in NXT on April 1, 2016, defeating Sami Zayn at Takeover: Dallas. He is a two time NXT Champion, won the 2018 Royal Rumble by eliminating John Cena and Roman Reigns, and has already challenged for the WWE Championship more than once, including at the second biggest show of the year in SummerSlam.
But that sucks, right, because it was against Jinder Mahal?

When AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura pushed a ladder aside at the 2017 Money In The Bank pay-per-view, the internet orgasm was impossible to contain. The immediate thought was a desire to see these two men square off at wrestling’s grandest stage: WrestleMania.
AJ Styles would go on to defeat Jinder Mahal to regain the WWE Championship (as I predicted), and Shinsuke Nakamura would win the Royal Rumble and the right to challenge Styles in front of over 70,000 people at the Superdome in New Orleans.
I mean, that’s like three WrestleKingdoms!
But it sucks, right? I mean it isn’t really a “feud,” it’s just a match. Now it has to be a feud, because we want more. And here’s what you’re going to say after the match takes place: “It was good, but it wasn’t as good as it was in the Tokyo Dome.” Oh, and it didn’t go on last, so it sucked.
And if you think the WrestleMania 34 match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura is going to disappoint, you’re right. Also, if you the WrestleMania 34 match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura is going to be amazing, you’re right.
You control your own fandom, and as with most things in life, you are as happy as you decide to be.
And if you don’t like that statement, you’ve done it to yourselves.
And now you’re mad at me. Your fault, too.
The fact is, Shinsuke Nakamura and AJ Styles can never make everyone happy. The expectation level is too high. Shinsuke Nakamura came to WWE to take it easy. He’s making money by using four moves and putting hands over his crotch and yelling “C’MOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNN!” to his opponents. You blame WWE, because it can’t possibly be Shinsuke’s fault!
AJ Styles, on the other hand. Has worked his ass off for years, including his WWE run. He appears to be ageless, and has been a stable and consistent part of the roster since the day he showed up. Upon his debut, it already felt like he’d been thre for a while. 767 days in, it’s hard to imagine a WWE without AJ Styles.
Now I am hearing complaints that AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura should be the greatest feud of the year, but is being wasted. Mind you, we still have over five weeks until WrestleMania, and Fastlane is in 10 days. When that show is over, AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura will still have four weeks to build their WrestleMania match.
The one in front of 70,000+ fans. In a giant stadium. With a giant stage. Under a billion lights. And Nakamura is probably going to win.
But that won’t matter, because you won’t like one spot, or one no-sell. It won’t be perfect because it can’t be perfect–you’ve already decided it wasn’t and we are still over 5 weeks away.
Whose fault is that? Not mine, and not WWE’s. It’s yours, because you are being given the match you want on the stage you want, and you’re not happy. Because you’ll never be happy, until you choose to be.
I realize that many of you reading this are excited about the match, and will enjoy it. You will be happy, because wrestling is your happy place. I salute you, friend, because despite being a card carrying member of the Internet Wrestling Community (I mean, you were reading The Chairshot before it got big!), you still enjoy wrestling.
Welcome, friend. Let’s enjoy wrestling…together.
Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Nefarious Means
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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Opinion
Chris King: Is Brock Lesnar Truly Retired?
Brock Lesnar retired at WWE WrestleMania 42, right? Are we totally sure? Chris King asks…
Brock Lesnar retired at WWE WrestleMania 42, right? Are we totally sure? Chris King asks…
At WrestleMania 42, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar took off his boots and gloves following his loss to Oba Femi. Lesnar has done it all inside of his twenty-four-year career in professional wrestling. He’s a ten-time WWE Champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion, and he’s one who ended The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.
While Lesnar was in the ring, he was visibly overwhelmed with emotion and crying while he thanked the fans in his own way. The Beast even threw up an x to signal to Paul Heyman, his longtime friend and advocate, that this was not scripted and was real. There had been rumors that Lesnar and Oba were supposed to have a series of matches before everything went down at Mania.
‘The Career Killer’ Gunther was doing Heyman’s bidding as he faced Seth Rollins for a favor. For a while now since Gunther retired Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles, the rumor has been Gunther was set to retire Lesnar in his hometown at this year’s SummerSlam event. There’s been no confirmation if Lesnar is truly retired, but on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, we saw Heyman talking with General Manager Nick Aldis. Later that night following Rhodes’ match against the debuting Ricky Saints, Gunther choked out the WWE Champion. Could this be the favor from Heyman?
I know in the world of professional wrestling we live by the mantra of “never say never,” but what if Lesnar is actually retired and this was WWE’s way of shutting down those rumors about Gunther and Lesnar? What if Gunther’s next program is chasing after the WWE title, and where is Randy Orton at in all of these plans? There are so many questions that need to be answered, hopefully soon!
Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Nefarious Means
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!
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Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
Opinion
Chris King: Defend The Intercontinental Championship At Backlash!
With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!
With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!
This year’s annual Backlash showcase is only a few days away, and while there are many big matches announced, one that definitely should be isn’t on the card. In my opinion, outside of Roman Reigns/Jacob Fatu and Seth Rollins/Bron Breakker, the Intercontinental Championship scene has been stellar over the last month.
Penta has been an excellent champion, especially after his triumphant title defense in a ladder match against JeVon Evans, Rusev, Dragon Lee, and the Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 42. Their ladder match at Mania was one of the best that WWE has produced in a while.
The momentum never stopped, as on the post-Mania episode of Monday Night Raw, ‘All Ego’ Ethan Page made his debut and was quickly inserted into the Intercontinental title scene. Page had a fantastic showing against his longtime NXT rival Evans and picked up a big win in his debut match thanks to an assist from Rusev.
All Ego immediately joined forces with ‘The Bulgarian Brute’ Rusev, who was also vying for the Intercontinental Title in his own right. On this week’s episode of Raw, Page and Rusev defeated Evans and Penta. All Ego pinned the champion, making a huge statement and putting him one step closer to getting a title shot. For the past few weeks I’ve been anxiously waiting to see if WWE was going to add this incredible fatal four-way match for the Intercontinental Championship, but it hasn’t happened yet.
As much as the WWE Universe enjoys witnessing great matches on free television, I truly believe all four superstars deserve the chance to showcase their talents on the PLE. While Penta has done a terrific job as the intercontinental champion, it’s time for a fresh face to hold the prestigious title. Page would make a great braggadocious heel that would help elevate the Intercontinental Championship to new heights!
Chairshot Radio Network
Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!
MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)
TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)
WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)
THURSDAY - Nefarious Means
FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)
SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast
SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes
CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS
Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!
Powered by RedCircle
Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!
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