AJ Styles talks about TNA and his future with the promotion.
Apr 19, 2014 11:30:33 GMT -5
Balesirion likes this
Post by ________ has left the building on Apr 19, 2014 11:30:33 GMT -5
The full interview is here:
[a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/pro-wrestling/ring-posts-blog/bal-phenomenal-aj-styles-ring-of-honor-wrestling-20140416,0,5482385,full.story
What have the past few months since you left TNA been like for you?
AJ Styles: I have to tell you, man, I've been pleasantly surprised at all the things that have opened up for me. I realized that all the independents are alive and well. I've been able to wrestle all these guys, and have some dream matches in the fans eyes. It's been awesome to work for Ring of Honor again. I also recently had the opportunity to start working with New Japan. So 2014 is becoming an awesome year for me.
I imagine it has to be a weird time for you. On the one hand, you've been in TNA for so long that it has to feel odd not being there. On the other hand, this almost has to feel liberating for you that you can work your own schedule and simply do what you like.
Yeah, not that I'm working light at all, but, if I choose not to do something, I don't have to ask anybody, I can just turn it down myself. I will say, it's nice getting to just be in and out of places, and not have to defend against the, I guess I'll say, negative comments of one company. Because I don't belong to any specific company at this point. Ring of Honor, I've definitely thrown my hat in there and I'll do what I can, but I haven't signed anything with them yet. It's nice not having to worry about anything besides just putting on good matches wherever I go.
You were always considered to be one of the pillars of TNA. Did you ever imagine leaving, especially in the way you did?
No, I honestly thought I'd be the guy that TNA could say, “This is the first guy that we signed to this company, and he's retiring from our company.” And, man, what an awesome thing that would have been. So I never imagined I would leave that company, I assumed I'd retire from there. It sucks, but you can't fix that now. I left the door open, but there's so many things that are going on. That door has been closed as far as being able to tell that story, that this guy started and finished with the company. Apparently someone there thinks I was only worth a certain amount and it just didn't work out.
There are so many rumors flying around about TNA, both financially and just backstage. What do you think the state of TNA is right now?
You know, I really don't know. I know they've made a lot of cuts. That must mean they're not doing so well. Sting gone, Hogan gone, myself gone, and I'm sure we're going to see more cuts soon. From what I've heard and been told, it's been horribly mismanaged as a company. I don't know if they're going out of business. But they're definitely doing things that make people think they're going out of business. And I hope they don't. I hope TNA doesn't go out of business because I have a lot of good friends that work there and deserve to be in the national spotlight. My hope is that they never go out of business.
Speaking of friends, TNA made a surprising move last week when Eric Young won the TNA title. What are your thoughts on that?
I love it, man. Eric is a top talent. A lot of people think that he's just a comedian. The guy can WRESTLE. He's really good and he's overlooked. He's one of the most entertaining guys there. He has his own show, and it's based on him. It's him going out and doing stuff. So he knows what he's doing and he should have had something good like this happen to him a long time ago.
There are a lot of fans out there who initially thought this was all a work, and that you'd be returning to the company soon. There are some out there who still believe that. What do you say to those fans?
By now I think most have figured it out. But they believed that because they can't believe that this guy, the guy that was known as the TNA guy, they can't believe that they would let me go. Literally, they let me go. I don't think they went out of their way to make things work. I tried, but it's just hard to believe.
Is pretty much the door closed there, or if they come around, do you think you'd make your way back?
I tried to leave the door open. I haven't buried the company. Like I said, I have friends there who do well, so I'm not going to do that. But I don't know if I'll ever go back, and it's definitely not going to be any time soon. And from what one of their higher ups said, it will be “Only if there's space available for AJ Styles.” So I guess there might not be room for me, according to him.
That's so surreal to hear, no room for AJ Styles. But you've moved on now, you're in Ring of Honor. What's it like to be back there? You were one of the originals there but haven't been back since 2006.
It's great, man. I have to tell you, I've been surprised at all the talent that is there. You're stuck in this bubble, and you don't know who's out there anymore. You think maybe it was just the generation that I was in that had the great wrestlers, with Low Ki, Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, all these guys I wrestled with before. You think that was a good time for wrestling. But you know what? It still is. Ring of Honor still has a lot of top talent, that I've gotten in the ring with, and some that I need to get in the ring with and I'm excited about that.
[a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/pro-wrestling/ring-posts-blog/bal-phenomenal-aj-styles-ring-of-honor-wrestling-20140416,0,5482385,full.story
What have the past few months since you left TNA been like for you?
AJ Styles: I have to tell you, man, I've been pleasantly surprised at all the things that have opened up for me. I realized that all the independents are alive and well. I've been able to wrestle all these guys, and have some dream matches in the fans eyes. It's been awesome to work for Ring of Honor again. I also recently had the opportunity to start working with New Japan. So 2014 is becoming an awesome year for me.
I imagine it has to be a weird time for you. On the one hand, you've been in TNA for so long that it has to feel odd not being there. On the other hand, this almost has to feel liberating for you that you can work your own schedule and simply do what you like.
Yeah, not that I'm working light at all, but, if I choose not to do something, I don't have to ask anybody, I can just turn it down myself. I will say, it's nice getting to just be in and out of places, and not have to defend against the, I guess I'll say, negative comments of one company. Because I don't belong to any specific company at this point. Ring of Honor, I've definitely thrown my hat in there and I'll do what I can, but I haven't signed anything with them yet. It's nice not having to worry about anything besides just putting on good matches wherever I go.
You were always considered to be one of the pillars of TNA. Did you ever imagine leaving, especially in the way you did?
No, I honestly thought I'd be the guy that TNA could say, “This is the first guy that we signed to this company, and he's retiring from our company.” And, man, what an awesome thing that would have been. So I never imagined I would leave that company, I assumed I'd retire from there. It sucks, but you can't fix that now. I left the door open, but there's so many things that are going on. That door has been closed as far as being able to tell that story, that this guy started and finished with the company. Apparently someone there thinks I was only worth a certain amount and it just didn't work out.
There are so many rumors flying around about TNA, both financially and just backstage. What do you think the state of TNA is right now?
You know, I really don't know. I know they've made a lot of cuts. That must mean they're not doing so well. Sting gone, Hogan gone, myself gone, and I'm sure we're going to see more cuts soon. From what I've heard and been told, it's been horribly mismanaged as a company. I don't know if they're going out of business. But they're definitely doing things that make people think they're going out of business. And I hope they don't. I hope TNA doesn't go out of business because I have a lot of good friends that work there and deserve to be in the national spotlight. My hope is that they never go out of business.
Speaking of friends, TNA made a surprising move last week when Eric Young won the TNA title. What are your thoughts on that?
I love it, man. Eric is a top talent. A lot of people think that he's just a comedian. The guy can WRESTLE. He's really good and he's overlooked. He's one of the most entertaining guys there. He has his own show, and it's based on him. It's him going out and doing stuff. So he knows what he's doing and he should have had something good like this happen to him a long time ago.
There are a lot of fans out there who initially thought this was all a work, and that you'd be returning to the company soon. There are some out there who still believe that. What do you say to those fans?
By now I think most have figured it out. But they believed that because they can't believe that this guy, the guy that was known as the TNA guy, they can't believe that they would let me go. Literally, they let me go. I don't think they went out of their way to make things work. I tried, but it's just hard to believe.
Is pretty much the door closed there, or if they come around, do you think you'd make your way back?
I tried to leave the door open. I haven't buried the company. Like I said, I have friends there who do well, so I'm not going to do that. But I don't know if I'll ever go back, and it's definitely not going to be any time soon. And from what one of their higher ups said, it will be “Only if there's space available for AJ Styles.” So I guess there might not be room for me, according to him.
That's so surreal to hear, no room for AJ Styles. But you've moved on now, you're in Ring of Honor. What's it like to be back there? You were one of the originals there but haven't been back since 2006.
It's great, man. I have to tell you, I've been surprised at all the talent that is there. You're stuck in this bubble, and you don't know who's out there anymore. You think maybe it was just the generation that I was in that had the great wrestlers, with Low Ki, Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels, all these guys I wrestled with before. You think that was a good time for wrestling. But you know what? It still is. Ring of Honor still has a lot of top talent, that I've gotten in the ring with, and some that I need to get in the ring with and I'm excited about that.
