What’s the story?
AJ Styles has revealed that he really wanted to wrestle in a mask like a Luchador when he was younger. Speaking to Bailey and Southside from Georgia’s Rock 100.5, he also talked about how he got his name and if he came under any pressure to change his name when he joined the WWE.
In case you didn’t know...
Styles has been a linchpin of the SmackDown Live show ever since the brand split, winning the WWE Championship and pretty much being a fixture in the main event spot ever since.
In the absence of John Cena, who seems to be gone most of the time nowadays, Styles has stepped up as the franchise player of the Blue brand.
The heart of the matter
AJ Styles confessed to having desired to wrestle in a mask and call himself “Velocity” early on in his career – an idea he said is happy didn’t bear fruition. He also mentioned that he stuck with the name AJ when he first started wrestling as a tag team partner to Damien Still because everyone called him that already.
He revealed that ‘Styles’ was a last minute add-on to AJ and that he resented it for the longest time.
When quizzed if he was apprehensive if the WWE would have changed his name when he signed on, Styles mentioned that he was quite happy to be renamed but realised that they might well let him stick with his name as they had Samoa Joe a few months prior when he joined NXT.
Also read: 5 insane moves AJ Styles doesn’t do in WWE
What’s next?
Styles is likely to feud with Dolph Ziggler leading into Money In the Bank where the duo will be in the 6-man Ladder match for the MITB briefcase. With the WWE Championship picture tied up between Jinder Mahal and Randy Orton for now, capturing the briefcase could be the perfect way for Styles to get a look in.
Author’s take
Styles is perhaps the best pro wrestler in the world today, and we can’t expect him to be kept from the WWE Title picture for too long. And there is also the small matter of his potential feud with Shinsuke Nakamura that has everyone excited.
Considering all this, it’s quite lucky that Styles didn’t end up in a mask or being called ‘Velocity’.
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