During his biweekly Twitch stream, AJ Styles opened up about his real-life issues with Hulk Hogan . As quoted by Sportskeeda , Styles revealed that he wasn’t happy about the direction Hogan took with TNA, aka Impact Wrestling, when the Hall of Famer joined the company in 2009.
According to Styles, he wasn’t pleased with the additions Hogan made to the roster. He also stated that he was against the legendary performer changing the company’s wrestling setup at first.
“So I remember when Hogan came to TNA, I heard these rumors that they were going to bring these guys. I go, ‘That’s stupid. You wouldn’t bring in all these guys.’ And then I asked him, but that would never happen, and then he said he’s going to change the ring too. I said, ‘That’s how they’re defined. TNA was defined by that six-sided ring, that’s who they were, that’s what made them different.’ Sure enough, Hogan brought his buddies in, changed the ring. I was like, ‘What?!’”
Styles went on to say that the four-sided ring eventually won him over. He cited the easier bumps as his reason for liking it in the end, as the six-sided version made taking top-rope suplexes painful. The superstar recalled how his matches against Kurt Angle were particularly difficult in the original version. However, the second iteration made their bouts enjoyable.
As noted by 411 Mania , Styles isn’t the only person who had a problem with Hogan’s recruiting strategy. Bruce Prichard stated that he focused too much on hiring older talent who were past their primes, which ultimately hurt the promotion. This is a view that’s been echoed by many fans and pundits.
Hogan hired performers such as The Nasty Boys, Bubba the Love Sponge and Val Venis, all of whom were veterans at the time. He also drew criticism for bringing in his daughter and the cast of Jersey Shore .
Styles and Hogan are both associated with WWE these days. Styles competes on the Friday Night SmackDown brand, while Hogan has been signed to a legend’s contract and makes special appearances when his services are requested.
Hogan isn’t the only former executive that Styles has expressed with frustrations with. As documented by The Inquisitr , he’s been open about his problems with Paul Heyman during the period in which they worked together on Monday Night Raw .
According to Styles, Heyman is a liar, and it’s been reported that he blames the former executive director for getting his friends Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson fired earlier this year.
