INQUISITR.COM / Sports

Top Eight Interesting Facts About WWE Star AJ Styles You Probably Didn’t Know

By Pradeep Nepal
Published on: 14:31 PST, Apr 9, 2017

Here are the eight little-known facts about WWE star AJ styles you probably want to know.

8. Styles rejected WWE at first 15 years ago

AJ Styles had wrestled in WWE in the year 2002. At that time, he lost against The Hurricane on an episode of Metal, and lost again versus Rico Constantino in a dark match. Two months later, Styles was offered a $500-per-week developmental contract which he didn’t accept because of family reasons as it he would have to move to Cincinnati.

Actually, at that time, his wife, Wendy, was studying in college and his move to Cincinnati meant she would have to move in with her parents. He stood by her wife’s dream instead of pursuing his own at the time.

7. He almost returned to TNA

Just a couple of days before the Royal Rumble, TNA published a statement about a deal that had been agreed to re-sign AJ Styles. But he appeared in the Royal Rumble two days later, confirming that he had signed for WWE and a return to TNA never materialized.

His lawyer, Bill Behrens, had released a statement suggesting there was no contract agreed on to move his client back to TNA. His deal with WWE at the time earned him $500,000, which was more that what TNA could offer.

6. Styles was good friends with Chris Candido

Candido suffered a horrific leg break in a steel cage match in the same year in which they fought against each other. Styles met Candido backstage after the incident, gave him a hug and told he was going to be all right. The following day, Chris Candido had a surgery to fix his leg, but he died of a blood clot a few days later.

5. What his tattoos mean

Over the right side of his ribcage, his name, AJ, is written in big font. Down the letters, there are were three dates which happen to be the birthdays of his three children, Ajay, Avery, and Albey. Styles had another child, a daughter named Anney, born in October, 2014. So, now there are four birth date tattoo on his body.

4. AJ once made a gay slur in the ring

Once, in his TNA days, Styles used the word “f****t,” which sparked fierce criticism from people of wrestling world. He later apologized about the incident, saying that his intentions never were to hurt gay community.

3. Styles believes Hulk Hogan’s TNA career was a disappointment

Hulk Hogan entered the TNA world in 2009 together with Eric Bischoff. The duo affected the franchise negatively, according to Styles. To begin with, the pair had a role in TNA changing its unique six sided ring to squared ring. Despite the square ring being more comfortable for wrestlers, it damaged TNA’s identity massively. Styles also suggested that Hogan did nothing to promote the TNA brand.

2. The Styles Clash is actually deadly neckbreaker

AJ Styles’ finisher is impressive, but it is also menacing if not performed correctly. Many wrestlers have found their neck broken due to an incorrect landing. Yoshi Tatsu broke multiple bones in 2014, while Lionheart also suffered a similar fate. However, some wrestlers have come out and defended AJ saying that the responsibility of the recipient is to receive the move correctly.

1. His rags to riches story

AJ’s childhood was far from easy due to poverty. On the top of that, he had an alcoholic and abusive father. Such was their poverty that the family couldn’t afford cable TV. Due to this, Style had no chance to watch wrestling in his early years. His intention, at the time, was to become a professional sportsman in either football, basketball, or baseball. But one day, one of his friends talked to him about a career in pro wrestling which drove him down the path he is on today.

[Featured Image by Moses Robinson/Getty Images]

Share this article: Top Eight Interesting Facts About WWE Star AJ Styles You Probably Didn’t Know
aj styles
More from Inquisitr