5 WWE Superstars who have hit their stride on Smackdown Live!

#2 AJ Styles

The face who can finally run the place

There was some concern over how AJ Styles would be handled upon his arrival in WWE at the onset of 2016. However, he quickly silenced the critics and exceeded all expectations by contesting classics with Chris Jericho and Roman Reigns in the first half of the year.

Although he came close to capturing the WWE World Championship on a few occasions in the spring, he was unsuccessful in his efforts. It wasn't until he was drafted to SmackDown Live that he took John Cena's title of “the face that runs the place” when he beat him in clean fashion at SummerSlam.

From there, he accomplished the unthinkable when he won the WWE title at Backlash the subsequent month, solidifying his spot on top of the SmackDown roster in the process. Of course, Styles was phenomenal long before he became a member of the blue brand, but let's face it: he likely wouldn't be as high up on the totem pole as he is right now if it wasn't for the Brand Split.