WWE legend reveals alarming details of Vince McMahon conversation about AJ Styles

AJ Styles joined WWE in 2016 when Vince McMahon was still in charge of the company's creative direction. John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL), a WWE commentator at the time, recently revealed that his former boss had no idea about The Phenomenal One's in-ring talent.

Styles cemented his status as one of the world's best wrestlers while working for NJPW and TNA. The 48-year-old made his WWE debut as a surprise entrant in the 2016 Royal Rumble. Since then, he has won two world titles and several other championships in WWE.

On his Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw podcast, JBL said McMahon asked for advice on how to book Styles shortly before his debut. To Layfield's astonishment, he was the only person in the group who had ever watched the RAW star wrestle.

"When AJ came in, Vince was talking to some of the guys around, and they were kinda giving some ideas to Vince, and Vince said, 'What's his style?' and none of the guys had seen him work," JBL stated. "I was the only one. I go, 'Vince, I've seen his work from Japan.' And Vince was like, 'Are you the only one that's seen him work?' 'You're working the rest of the guys to death, Vince. Nobody else has the time to watch anything else except for me [laughs].'" [1:19:53 – 1:20:19]

Styles received one of the loudest reactions in Royal Rumble history when he emerged as the third entrant in the 2016 match. By the end of that year, he had won the WWE Championship and feuded with Chris Jericho, Dean Ambrose, John Cena, and Roman Reigns.

---

Karl Anderson on Vince McMahon's booking of himself, AJ Styles, and Luke Gallows

In the mid-2010s, almost every main roster newcomer honed their craft in the NXT developmental system before moving to RAW and SmackDown. AJ Styles, however, immediately debuted on the main roster without appearing in NXT.

Karl Anderson was a guest on the latest episode of Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw. Reflecting on AJ Styles' WWE impact, the former Bullet Club member recalled how he and Luke Gallows joined their friend on the main roster.

"For whatever reason, AJ went directly to RAW, and then me and Gallows went straight to RAW too," Anderson said. "I think we were the first guys in that era that kind of quote-unquote skipped NXT. We were right in the fire, and that was the first time I'd ever wrestled any kind of real television because the Japanese cameramen and commentators are all kayfabed in Japan. There's no 'shoot this camera shot here' in Japan. They still have no idea what's going on." [1:19:04 – 1:19:43]

In the same episode, JBL said AJ Styles is like a modern-day version of a two-time WWE Hall of Famer.

---

Please credit Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.