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 Cornette to the same degree as DDT's Yohshihiko or the Invisible Man? Well, Byron Saxton, in his official role with the SmackDown LowDown, made it his goal to find out, interviewing the “Megastar” in order to find out why the video package made him so incensed.
“AJ, let me talk to ya. You talked about a phenomenal one for this job of humbling me, right? I guess you took The Rock's advice literally last week cuz you must have been smoking something if you think for one second. What? You flew all the way across the world just to screw me out of going to WrestleMania for that World Heavyweight Championship. Why is that? Because ever the conspiracy theorist, here you are, thinking that show how I had something to do with you getting waxed by The Bloodline. Nah nah! All I did was step in. I took your place better than you ever could. You know why? Because what? You came in; you did a couple of little flippy-dew moves, and all of a sudden, you're phenomenal? Nah Nah” LA Knight told Byron Saxton.
“As far as I'm concerned, we can call you AJ Mild cuz that's all you've been. A little boring piece of trash. You got your little soccer mom haircut. What, did you pick up your kids today? Is everything good? Is that why you couldn't show up today? I'll tell you what, whether you show up today, next week, the week after, I will find you at some point or another. What I did to the TV? My god, it's a little bit of fun for ya, but I'll tell you what, at some point or another, that fun is coming your way. Oh my god, is it gonna be a good time? Yeah it's gonna be a good time, it's gonna be a good time for you. I'm gonna tell you why, cuz you're gonna find yourself on the business end of that chair, cuz I've got a little receipt for you. And that's not an insult, that is just a fact of life. Whose game is it? You already know.”
Welp, there you have it, folks; if the card can accommodate it, it looks like LA Knigth vs. AJ Styles is heading to Philadelphia next month for a (hopefully) stipulation match designed to bury this feud for good. While it isn't the title match fans were hoping for, it's certainly something, especially if the fight goes down inside Hell in a Cell.
AJ Styles has it out for LA Knight heading into WrestleMania 40.
Speaking of AJ Styles' promo that started this entire outburst, the “Phenomenal One” had some cutting comments of his own during his SmackDown pre-tape, letting LA Knight know exactly why he ruined his chance to earn a World Heavyweight Championship title reign at WrestleMania 40.
“This is for LA Knight and anyone else wondering why I flew across the world to do what I did at Elimination Chamber. You see, it's simple; I watched you, LA Knight, walk around here as if you own the place,” AJ Styles told LA Knight. “But in reality, you don't deserve to be in the same locker room as AJ Styles. Now I have to admit, even I thought your schtick was funny until you had the audacity to steal momentum at my expense. You see, I've been around the block a few times and I understand this is a cutthroat place to be. So let me break it down so you, LA Knight, can understand it. You're an overachieving, under-talented loudmouth desperately in need of humbling, and I am a phenomenal choice for the job.”
Normally, a heel promo becomes all the more compelling when the “bad guy” has understandable intentions behind their actions. This is why fans love the current Drew McIntyre run, a certified hater who wants to focus on the future of RAW and RAW only, whereas the heel turn of Edge at the start of Judgment Day never really caught on because it felt forced. Right now, Styles' turn feels somewhere in the middle, with these next few weeks having the potential to really make or break the feud once and for all.