AJ Styles Articles - Page 2

When Randy Orton and Kevin Owens walked out to the ring at Backlash, the crowd in Lyon, France, met the “Viper” with a hero’s welcome, singing the words to his theme song and leaving a genuine smile on both men’s faces. Discussing how special this moment was for both men on The Bump, the “Prizefighter” […]

After weeks and weeks of anticipation, Cody Rhodes finally got his first successful title defense at WWE Backlash in Lyon, France, successfully defeating AJ Styles in the main event to go 1-0 as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion. Unfortunately for Rhodes, while he’s clearly happy to remain on top of the WWE Universe at Backlash, […]

When news broke that Will Ospreay was heading to free agency and open to signing a huge money deal with an American promotion, be that AEW or WWE, fans the world over, from his hometown of Rainham, Essex, England, to Japan and beyond had a pretty good feeling that the former has the favorite to […]

After weeks and weeks of build-up, Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles addressed each other one final time before Backlash in Lyon, France. All of the in-fighting and drama has officially passed and in its place comes the actual meat and potatoes of the bout, the cherry on top that ultimately defines the feud, if you […]

For better or worse, AJ Styles was never a Vince McMahon guy. The former Chairman of the Board reportedly didn’t like debuting him under his tried and true gimmick from the indies at the Royal Rumble, and even though he won multiple titles within the promotion, many fans expected him to earn even more due […]

Cody Rhodes is a red, white, and blue babyface. When he talks to his young fans, aka the “Little Nightmares,” he tells them to eat their vitamins and say their prayers, or that they should stay true to “hustle, loyalty, respect,” or whatever adage is appropriate at the time and not already taken by the […]

After a relatively quick but overall strong build-up to a highly anticipated bout between Cody Rhodes and AJ Styles at WWE Backlash, the two men faced off for what could be the final time before their Undisputed WWE Universal Championship match at the Kickoff event in Lyon, France. But what would they say? Well, while […]

When The Undertaker started thinking about the final match of his professional wrestling career, there was one man he decided he wanted to wrestle above all others in a trip to the Boneyard: AJ Styles. But why? Styles and Taker had no previous feuds, weren’t secretly connected behind the scenes, and had never even worked […]

After officially punching his ticket to Lyon, France for his first-ever WWE Premium Live Event match at Backlash, AJ Styles was finally afforded a chance to size up Cody Rhodes in the opening segment of the penultimate SmackDown before the big event; a moment significant for more reasons than one. Taking the microphone first, Styles […]

After fighting with AJ Styles in a WWE ring, in the backstage area, in his front yard, and even at the World of WrestleMania experience at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, LA Knight was afforded one final chance to address the crowd on SmackDown before making his way to Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday […]

During their first tenures in WWE, CM Punk and AJ Styles were co-workers for exactly zero years, and the former opted to leave the promotion and the industry as a whole in 2014, two years before Styles left behind the Bullet Club in order to try his hands at the biggest show in the game […]

After pulling the old security guard switch-a-roo on the way to a massive sneak attack, LA Knight was feeling pretty good about himself, and not just because he was able to get in a few shots on his current enemy No. 1 on the SmackDown roster, AJ Styles. Stopping by the SmackDown LowDown with Byron […]

After coming to blows with a television set on SmackDown due to being called out in a pre-recorded promo by AJ Styles, LA Knight was afforded a chance to shoot his shot on a live microphone in front of a sold-out WWE crowd in Memphis, Tennessee, and you’d best believe the “Megastar” left little to […]

Before he was a “Megastar” on SmackDown, a Million Dollar Champion in NXT, or even Eli Drake on the indies, talking about his “Shoes of a Champion” on NWA and Impact, LA Knight was a participant on the 2013 WWE adjacent show The Hero, where Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson looked to find the next great, […]

After watching AJ Styles deliver – remotely – a firey promo regarding his cross-hemispherical attack on LA Knight at the Elimination Chamber in Australia, it left the “Megastar” so upset he literally attacked a television out of sheer anger. Why did he pull this action, entering into a bizarre impromptu battle that hopefully insensed Jim […]

Look, we get that AJ Styles isn’t getting any younger, but he’s still kicking, jumping, and performing as lithely as he ever has back when he debuted in the 2016 Royal Rumble, so we don’t entirely get how Visual Concepts felt it just right to rate him like they did. We get that Visual Concepts […]

When it comes to multi-man matches, sometimes the real tale of tape comes down to the matches inside the match, with certain long-standing rivalries changing the dynamic of what should be an even contest. It happens every year at the Royal Rumble, was explained perfectly to Samoa Joe in Scott Steiner’s famous “Steiner Math” segment […]

How does The Undertaker feel about Logan Paul? Is he a fan of what the entertainer-turned-WWE Superstar brings to the table? Or is he more annoyed by the general idea of a social media influencer holding the United States Championship, a belt he and many of the top stars in WWE have held over the […]

If there’s one thing Ric Flair knows a thing or two about even now, it’s the psychology of professional wrestling. Sure, he might not be perfectly synced with all of the new ways of doing things, as he likely can’t tell the difference between a Hurricanrana and a Poison Rana and probably wouldn’t care to […]

Is Jimmy Uso a member of The Bloodline? That’s… a complicated question. When Jimmy reconvened with Roman Reigns, Solo Sikoa, Paul Heyman, and eventually his twin, Jey Uso, on SmackDown, the “Tribal Cheif” offered the oldest Uce pretty much anything he could ask for helping to keep his title reign alive at SummerSlam, from cars […]

After announcing that John Cena would be appearing at the Giant Center for the go-home edition of SmackDown before Payback – his first of eight announced SmackDown appearances thus far –  Paul “Triple H” Levesque, Adam Pearce, and company didn’t make the fine fans in Hershey, Pennsylvania wait long to see “The Face that runs […]

After being shockingly released from WWE in April of 2020 – a release that foreshadowed dozens and dozens more over the forthcoming months – “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson and Doc/Luke Gallows had to go it on their own, released back onto the indies for the first time since they began working together in New Japan […]

As crazy as it sounds, it has officially been over a year since the three members of New Day, Xavier Woods, Big E, and Kofi Kingston, were on television together. While all three performers in the faction have continued to find success since, with Kingston and Woods winning the NXT Tag Team Championship belts late […]

After returning to WWE following a successful run split between New Japan Pro Wrestling and Impact Wrestling, “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson has wrestled exactly four singles matches, with two of those coming versus members of the Guerillas of Destiny in an NJPW ring, if you can believe it. On the forthcoming edition of SmackDown, the […]

On WWE television, Karrion Kross and AJ Styles really don’t like each other. For one reason or another, Scarlett identified the “Phenomenal One” as the next performer to challenge her husband via her tarot cards, and ever since, The OC has been firmly in the sights of Kross, who still has the “Killer” mentality that […]

On paper, AJ Styles should be in a pretty good mood after his match versus Karrion Kross on SmackDown; he secured the win versus the former “Killer” with little resistance, secured a clean pinfall without any interference, and when Scarlett did attempt to get involved, he had Mia Yim as a heater on the outside […]

Grayson Waller has been a member of the SmackDown roster for roughly a month, and yet, it’s hard to really judge his tenure one way or another. He’s wrestled exactly zero matches, taken part in some backstage segment work, and held two editions of The Grayson Waller Effect, one with AJ Styles and another with […]

After sitting on the shelf for the better part of 2023 following AJ Styles’ injury broken ankle, The OC are back, and on the first edition of SmackDown after Night of Champions, the faction announced their return to action in a big way – demolishing Hit Row in a major way after the two teams […]

Seth Rollins has been a member of the WWE Universe since all the way back in 2012, when he joined up in the early days of NXT after a successful run on the indies and in Ring of Honor under the Tyler Black moniker. Since then, Rollins has had 15 different titles in WWE, 16 […]

When WWE announced that there was going to be three main events at Night of Champions, it should have been a red flag. Now granted, promotions have duel main events and occasionally even triple main events on stacked cards, but when Bad Bunny versus Damian Priest “main evented” Backlash despite going on fifth on a […]

After securing wins over Edge, Rey Mysterio, and Bobby Lashley on SmackDown, AJ Styles is one win at Night of Champions away from WWE’s newest and shiniest prize, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Soon, fans will see if the 45-year-old former Mr. TNA can earn singles gold in WWE once more, marking the first time […]

After taking care of business against Karrion Kross on last week’s SmackDown, AJ Styles made the journey from North Carolina to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he will face off against Seth Rollins for the newly crowned WWE World Heavyweight Championship. Discussing the trip on a special WWE vlog, Styles noted that he was tired but […]

AJ Styles is one of the most accomplished performers on the WWE roster. He’s held championships in almost 20 companies, recorded eight different championship reigns within WWE, and now, with The OC by his side, is looking to become the top dog on the red brand once more, proving to fans that a World Champion […]

Though it’s been a minute since they shared the ring together, when Grayson Waller brought out AJ Styles as the first guest on his The Grayson Waller Effect, it’s like the duo have been squaring off for years, with no love gained since their first segment together on RAW back in 2021. And yet, of […]

The newly revived WWE World Heavyweight Championship will finally find its recipient next Saturday at Night of Champions. The question is, who will be wearing it around their waist at show close, Seth Rollins or A.J. Styles? There’s some that question the reappearance of the title that will be exclusive to the Raw brand. Some […]

Seth Rollins has been a member of the WWE Universe for over a decade. Initially debuting in 2012 following a successful run on the indies and in Ring of Honor as Tyler Black, Rollins was the first NXT Champion, a member of one of the most important factions of the last decade, and a multi-time […]

After being forced out of action for the first four months of the year due to a late December broken ankle, AJ Styles returned to WWE action in a pretty incredible way on the first SmackDown after the draft rosters went into effect, wrestling two Hall of Famers and “The All Mighty” for a chance […]

After being added to the SmackDown roster as an undrafted free agent following the 2023 WWE Draft, Grayson Waller officially made his debut on the Blue Brand, being welcomed to the main roster by none other than Adam Pearce backstage. Congratulated for landing on SmackDown by WWE’s Director of Live Events, Waller made his new […]

After suffering a broken ankle in Hershey, Pennsylvania, during WWE’s Live Holiday Tour back in December, the “Phenomenal” former leader of The Bullet Club, A.J. Styles, is back in WWE, and, after an impressive showing in his return to the ring on the first day of the 2023 WWE Draft, he’s ready to return to […]