AJ Styles soaking it all in, at his first Wrestlemania.
#7 NWA action
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Two indie darlings facing off in the Smoky Mountains.
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Once upon a time, AJ was one of the most well-traveled independent wrestlers in the business. NWA President Bruce Tharpe made it a point to book Styles as often as possible, in as many of the NWA affiliates he could.
One of the current hot-spots for quality NWA wrestling happens to be nestled high in the Great Smoky Mountains, at NWA Smoky Mountain in Kingsport, Tennessee.
AJ Styles made his way to Kingsport for a big match against up and coming indie darling, Chase Owens, as shown in this photo. This was an incredible back-and-forth bout, but in the end, one Styles Clash sealed the deal, giving then IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles the victory. This match took place on May 9, 2015, at NWA Collision Course.
On a related note, Chase Owens would eventually join the infamous Bullet Club, shortly after AJ left for the WWE.
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About the author
J. Carpenter
Jonathan Carpenter is a pro wrestling journalist at Sportskeeda. After obtaining a degree in political science from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, he started writing WWE articles in 2016. Jonathan believes integrity is vital in journalism and ensures his work is high on accuracy. He conducts in-depth research and verifies information from various sources before curating a feature.
Jonathan has engaged in many meaningful conversations with prominent pro wrestling personalities like Drew McIntyre and DDP. He grew up in Memphis, admiring Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan during WWE’s Golden Era in the ‘80s. He has attended many pro wrestling events and credits The Hulkster for making his childhood memorable.
Jonathan, a big fan of Bray Wyatt, would like to see the latter's brother, Bo Dallas, continue his legacy as Uncle Howdy. If he were to work on the storyline, Jonathan would book the return of Erick Rowan as Howdy’s muscle. He thinks it would be a great way to honor the former Universal Champion.
When not writing pro wrestling features, Jonathan likes to collect sports memorabilia and has amassed a large collection of event-used and autographed relics over the years.
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