– AJ Styles spoke with
wrestlinginc.com last week to discuss the WrestleKingdom show. Here are more highlights from that interview, discussing WWE and TNA…
When Did TNA Go Off The Rails?: “2009 into 2010 it started going in a direction I really didn’t understand, and not trusting the people that got them to the ballgame. There were some guys that worked really hard that made TNA what it was, and they lost faith in those guys. I don’t know if they wanted to grow too fast, what’s going on. Don’t know if they thought they needed bigger stars. That’s when I saw things going on that shouldn’t be.”
On Leaving TNA: “It was weird at that time, and financial had a lot to do with it. This is what I do for a living. This isn’t about being greedy, it’s about hopefully one day being able to retire from a business that I gave everything I had to. I had to make a decision soon, and I felt like you don’t punish a guy for working hard and doing his best, and that’s what TNA was doing at that time. It was time to leave.”
Can TNA Get Back to Where it Was?: “I don’t know, man. It’s hard to say. Have they gone too far? Is the thing that’s going to separate themselves from everyone else going far enough? Is it different? That’s hard to do, you have to answer to a television statement. I think that’s the only way at this point. You have to give them the alternative. If they can’t do that, they’re in some real trouble. I don’t know much about Pop TV, but it sounds like a great place to work. I hope everything explodes for them, I really do. The more wrestling, the better business for everybody. I have friends that work over there and I hope they blow up and do great.”
On a Possible NXT Deal:”The first thing that I’d have to find out is will I be able to support my family? Who knows? I’m going to do what’s best for them. I know people get tired of me saying that, but that’s the reality that I live in. I love to wrestle, I get to do it for a living. Ultimately, it’s decided where I go on the business of wrestling. Never say never, right? So I’m going to go where business takes me.”
Does he Keep up With NXT?: “I do keep up with it because I have friends that wrestle there. I’d be lying if I didn’t say NXT was a smart game plan. They’re taking some of the best wrestlers from around the world and putting them on a bigger platform. You can’t blame WWE for that.
If you want to keep guys, you have to put them under contract, that’s the reality of it. Some aren’t able to do that, WWE snatches them up and people are excited to see them there because there’s great wrestling going on there. It’s good stuff.”
Cats like Ciampa and Hero deserve that exposure. Did anyone bring up Striker foreshadowing AJ and Nakamura leaving?
