WWE News: AJ Styles opens up on the reason he left TNA, Dixie Carter's open challenge and more
What’s the story?
On a recent edition of Edge and Christian’s podcast E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness, AJ Styles talked about his run with TNA, his departure from the company, working with Christian (Jay Reso) in TNA and much more.
Styles explained that then-TNA head honcho Dixie Carter had once issued an open challenge to the performers to leave the company if they were unhappy with their jobs. On that note, Styles revealed that he really did consider walking out of TNA at that very moment, but stayed on as Christian didn’t leave the promotion that night.
Additionally, Styles also revealed that he was unhappy with the money being offered to him in TNA, and that disagreement over his pay was the primary reason behind him leaving TNA.
In case you didn’t know…
AJ Styles is perhaps best known by professional wrestling fans for his extensive work in TNA (now-GFW)- a company he stayed with for more than a decade.
Nevertheless, Styles would eventually leave TNA owing to his displeasure with the pay offered to him and perform in several other promotions before landing up in the WWE where the Phenomenal One is one of the top stars today.
The heart of the matter
AJ Styles elucidated on his run in TNA alongside Christian as the latter’s lackey; stating that he and Christian would come up with new goofy things for him to do as Christian’s sidekick. Styles explained that the aforementioned phase of his character really helped him show fans a completely different side of AJ Styles.
Furthermore, Styles opened up on why he left TNA, stating that although he loved doing his job, at the end of the day he has a family to feed. He asserted the fact that he fought tooth and nail to make TNA a good company, but the money that the company earned was abused and wasted by TNA management. He continued that although it was scary to quit a job that he worked for several years, he just had to move on from TNA. He added:
"I was in the TNA bubble for so long that I didn't realize what was out there. I did reach out to WWE to let them know I wasn't under contract with TNA anymore.”
“I never really heard anything back. It's just one of those things, 'okay, we'll keep rolling, keep doing what I'm doing.'”
What’s next?
AJ Styles is the reigning WWE United States Champion and will defend his belt against Kevin Owens at SummerSlam with Shane McMahon as the special guest referee.
Author’s take
When it’s all said and done, AJ Styles will go down as one of the best to ever lace up a pair of pro-wrestling boots.
It’s truly heart-wrenching to learn about his financial troubles during his TNA run, but great to see him in a better place today with the WWE.
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