AJ Styles & The Club Are Officially ‘The O.C.’ Because I Guess ‘AJ’s Creek’ Was Already Taken?

Last night, the World Wrestling Federation looked to honor the past with a special episode of Monday Night Raw dubbed WWE Raw Reunion. While the WWE will cite the allure of nostalgia as the reason for the return of legends like “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Ric Flair, and Shawn Michaels, the pro wrestling homecoming was more likely due to declining ratings and stagnant creative storylines as the company prepares for SmackDown Live’s high-profile move to Fox and competition from buzzy upstart AEW.

It’s fair to expect a few creative lulls when the product you’re watching produces five hours of weekly live programing along with monthly pay-per-views, but that breakneck schedule can also lead to hasty decision making. Earlier this month, AJ Styles Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson finally had an on-screen reunion. The trio used to be a part of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s famed “Bullet Club,” and while this wasn’t their first time teaming in the WWE, fans were hoping this could be the beginning of a true faction, one that could perhaps add original Bullet Club founder Finn Bálor and evolve into a formidable force in the WWE.

Or not.

During last night’s Raw Reunion, AJ Styles announced (both vocally and via new t-shirt) that “The Club” would now be known as “The O.C.,” a point repeatedly hammered home by the Raw announce team throughout the broadcast. “I’m talking about The O.C.,” Styles said. “I’m talking about the original, the official, the only club that matters.”

Technically speaking that would make them The OOOC, but considering the WWE’s dubious history in naming factions, let’s just focus on the obvious. The O.C. is the title of the popular Josh Schwartz teen series that aired on Fox from 2003-2007, but if you’re looking for a glass half full perspective, The O.C. is unquestionably a better name for a faction than Three Tree Hill, The Gilmore Boyz, 9021-Bros, Handsome Little Liars, AJ and the Vampire Slayers, or simply Glee.

As you can imagine, social media had a few thoughts about The Club’s new moniker, which can best be summed up by Brandon Stroud’s tweet:

Putting a pin in the fact that the newly-formed O.C. were immediately made to look foolish when pitted against the superstars of the ’90s, how can you take this faction seriously when its name evokes a popular teen drama? Fans want this reunion. They legitimately respect AJ Styles, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and Finn Bálor. We wouldn’t still be celebrating the NWO or DX if they were called The A Team, The Dukes of Hazzard, or ALF (a team consisting of A-Train, Lance Storm, and Faarooq?). One has to imagine that this point was brought up to Vince, only to be ignored because there’s a 0% chance Vince McMahon’s ever seen a single minute of The O.C. He’s clearly more of a Gossip Girl guy.

Back in December, The McMahon family revealed their plan to “shake things up,” claiming that a new era was upon us in which “the fans” were the new authority. The part about the fans may not have come to fruition, but they were right on the money with all the new era rhetoric.

I don’t know about you, but I’m very interested to see whom AJ Styles ends up “upside-down Spider-Man kissing” during SummerSlam.

You can watch The O.C. each week on Monday Night Raw or on Hulu.

Where to stream The O.C.