It would have astounded absolutely no one If I said at this same time last year that AJ Styles would be the most singular professional wrestler on the planet by the close of 2016.

To have said more specifically that Styles would end the year as WWE Champion and poised to kick off 2017 with a fourth victory over John Cena, on the other hand, might have earned more than a few guffaws. Yet, somehow, here we are.

Arguments could be made that 2016 belonged to everyone and everything from Tetsuya Naito to Kenny Omega to Broken Matt Hardy to The List of Jericho, but nobody had a better year wire-to-wire than AJ Styles, who kicked it off with a Match of the Year candidate against Shinsuke Nakamura at Wrestle Kingdom 10 and finished it with the bang that was an exceptional triple-threat against Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin on Tuesday’s Smackdown.

While there were more than a few bumps in the road along the way, Styles got to where he is now by doing what he only ever seems to do: defying expectations and conquering critics.

Within hours of being defeated by Nakamura in an instant classic for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, news broke that Styles — alongside Nakamura and Bullet Club stablemates Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson — were making the jump from New Japan to WWE. As quickly as that news broke came the doubt that Styles would be able to achieve a level of success in WWE commensurate to his talents. Nearly a full year later, it is fair to say that those fears have been put to rest.

Styles’ perceived disadvantages included, but were not limited to, the lingering effects of the bad back that held him out of the 2015 World Tag League; his age and the miles on his body after 18 years in the business; his accent and, to a larger extent, overall promo abilities; his size; and the limits of exposure gained from a career spent primarily in TNA, Japan, and on the independent circuit.

And while immediately portending doom for Styles’ WWE run may seem exceedingly cynical in retrospect, history to that point tended against (and to no small extent still tends against) wrestlers with even just one or two of those knocks against them. And yet, The Phenomenal One transcended those limitations to become arguably the most popular performer in the world’s largest wrestling company in less than a calendar year.

Even with speculation already swirling, the sight of Styles entering this year’s Royal Rumble at No. 3 (or at least what little was made visible by some horrendous camera work) shocked and excited fans. In the arena, fears that Styles might not be a familiar face to fans were drowned in a Road Warrior pop at the sight of the word “Phenomenal.” His legitimacy was bolstered not just by an immediate comparison to Brock Lesnar on commentary, but by going toe-to-toe with then-WWE Champion Roman Reigns and lasting for nearly 30 minutes.

But it wouldn’t be until a WWE Championship match with Reigns at Payback in May that Styles would begin to hit his stride. Indeed, the first three months of his tenure in WWE were filled with signifiers of issues that fans feared may end up derailing his chances at becoming a main-event talent.

Pairing him up with veteran Chris Jericho right out of the gate was a smart idea in theory that made for some good matches and gave Styles an opportunity to adjust to the WWE ring and style. The feud itself, however, could be charitably described as a mess, if only for the attempt to hotshot the formation and breakup of a tag team — a story that could have played out for months — in just three weeks.

Then there was the inexplicable attempt to brand Styles as a “redneck rookie” or a “bulldog,” the seemingly intentional choices to frame him in ways that emphasized his lack of height, and his initial awkwardness when being involved in long promo segments — particularly those that required him to cheerlead for himself.

But Styles persevered through these growing pains by virtue of being such an astoundingly great wrestler, making himself compelling, even when his storyline or branding was not. Not only that, but he overcame a completely inexplicable loss to Jericho at Wrestlemania — a result that by all measures of logic should have seen Styles triumphant — by turning around and proving himself to be a viable challenger for the WWE Championship in consecutive matches with Reigns.

While much of the WWE fanbase may not have needed to be further convinced of Styles’ greatness, it seemed that Vince McMahon remained skeptical to that point of Styles’ place in his great sport-entertainment beast. And with a lofty expectation put in front of him to meet, Styles once again surpassed the bar.

The six months since, it could be argued, have been the best of Styles’ career. His feud with John Cena not only gave him a tentpole win at SummerSlam that may very well make his case for being a WWE Hall of Famer already, but it has helped him become somehow more well-rounded. Where mic work was never his strongest suit, Styles has become one of the most entertaining characters in the company thanks to the comfort with which he now carries himself, and his expert understanding of psychology has helped bring up everyone he works with whether it be Baron Corbin or James Ellsworth.

For as big as 2016 has been for AJ Styles, 2017 could be even bigger. He’s already ensured himself a headline match at Royal Rumble, and whether he main-events Wrestlemania or not, his match will no doubt occupy a major place on the card. Styles is far and away WWE’s MVP of 2016, and at the rate he’s going, he will end his career not just a respected main eventer, but as one of the company’s all-time greats.