"From 200 people to this?" - How AJ Styles' backstage chat helped a big released WWE Superstar
Making it on a WrestleMania card is widely considered a significant achievement in a WWE Superstar's career.
During the latest Sportskeeda Wrestling exclusive with Riju Dasgupta, Killian Dain (aka Big Damo) opened up about his WrestleMania debut at the 33rd edition of WWE's showcase event and what AJ Styles told him backstage before his big moment.
Dain was part of the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 33, which Mojo Rawley eventually won with an assist from Rob Gronkowski.
The recently released WWE Superstar also had a strong showing as he was one of the final three survivors alongside Jinder Mahal and Mojo Rawley.
Big Damo revealed how a chat with AJ Styles backstage helped alleviate his tensions regarding the big WrestleMania debut.
The Irish superstar previously worked with Styles outside WWE as part of a UK tour weeks before the latter debuted at the 2016 Royal Rumble.
"AJ is a character" - Killian Dain on the former WWE Champion
In a fantastic turn of events, AJ Styles completed his move to the WWE and was reunited with Dain backstage a year later at WrestleMania 33.
The two-time WWE Champion had a cheerful exchange with Dain and reminisced about when they wrestled in front of small crowds.
WrestleMania is the holy grail of wrestling events, and AJ Styles' reassuring chat might have blown away any nervousness on the former WWE star's end.
"It was very cool because I was, I'll tell you right, I was about to make my entrance, and AJ Styles comes over to me because we'd been on a bunch of shows for a couple of years leading up to that, but one particular show was that January. So literally like before AJ went to the Rumble, we did a tour in Britain, and I think there was only 200 people in the building. So, he's laughing at me, saying, you know, 'From 200 people to this?' So like, that was pretty cool, AJ is a character, and it was very cool that he said that. It maybe broke the tension for me," revealed Killian Dain.
AJ Styles is a locker room leader wherever he goes, and he has also done admirably well ever since signing up with Vince McMahon's promotion.
The Phenomenal One's WWE career has been nothing short of a fairytale, especially when you consider the difficulties faced by other former TNA stalwarts who joined the company.
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