108 Facts About AJ Styles

On July 9,2001, AJ Styles had his first WWF tryout match against his trainer, Rick Michaels, before the taping of Raw.

AJ Styles won with a Shooting Star Press but was not offered a contract.

AJ Styles ultimately declined the deal, as the move would interfere with his wife's college plans.

On October 26,2001, AJ Styles participated in All Pro Wrestling's King of the Indies tournament.

On November 13,2001, AJ Styles debuted in Xcitement Wrestling Federation, competing in a battle royal against Billy Fives, Christopher Daniels, Juventud Guerrera, Kid Kash, Prince Iaukea, Psicosis and Quick Kick for the XWF Cruiserweight Championship, but was unsuccessful in winning the title.

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Later that night, AJ Styles defeated Josh Mathews in a match taped for XWF television.

The following night, AJ Styles was defeated by Daniels, again in a match taped for the XWF television program.

AJ Styles debuted for Australian promotion World Wrestling All-Stars on February 24,2002, making his pay-per-view debut at The Revolution against Christopher Daniels, Low Ki, Shark Boy, Super Nova and Tony Mamaluke in a six-way cruiserweight survival elimination match, in a losing effort.

AJ Styles progressed to the final later that night in which he defeated Jerry Lynn to win the title, which he vacated soon after.

Later that night, AJ Styles defeated Jody Fleisch in the same round-robin challenge.

At the First Anniversary Show in February 2003, AJ Styles competed against Low Ki and Paul London in a three-way match, which was won by London.

AJ Styles then feuded with London, who was upset that he had chosen Red as his partner, wrestling to a draw at Night of the Grudges.

AJ Styles defeated Punk in a rematch with Ricky Steamboat as the guest referee at At Our Best for his final match for ROH in 2004, as TNA withdrew all of its contracted wrestlers from all ROH events and ROH vacated the title.

AJ Styles returned to Ring of Honor at the Third Anniversary Celebration: Part Two to wrestle Jimmy Rave, who accused him of stealing the AJ Styles Clash from him, though he was unsuccessful in defeating Rave.

At Vendetta, AJ Styles had his final match against The Embassy when he, along with Austin Aries, Jack Evans and Matt Sydal were defeated by Abyss, Alex Shelley, Jimmy Rave, and Prince Nana in an eight-man tag match.

At A Night of Tribute, AJ Styles faced Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal in a three-way match, which Daniels won.

In May 2002, AJ Styles was signed to a non-exclusive contract by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling .

The following week, AJ Styles defeated Low Ki, Jerry Lynn and Psicosis in a double elimination match to become the inaugural TNA X Division Champion.

AJ Styles successfully defended both titles in the following weeks but began to bicker with the veteran Lynn during their matches together.

The following week, AJ Styles defeated Abyss in a match to determine the sole owner of the tag team championship by disqualification after Jarrett interfered, but his victory was overturned by Callis, leading to another match the following week which was won by Abyss after Lex Luger interfered, thus granting Abyss sole control of the tag team championship.

AJ Styles lost the title to Killings after Jarrett interfered in the match, hitting him with a guitar.

At Final Resolution, AJ Styles won the X Division Championship for a fourth time in an Ultimate X match, defeating Chris Sabin and the reigning champion Petey Williams.

AJ Styles faced Christopher Daniels for the first time on January 21,2005, and after failing to defeat him in ten minutes, qualified for a thirty-minute Iron Man match for the championship at Against All Odds, where AJ Styles defeated Daniels to retain the title after initial tying and going into "sudden death" rules.

AJ Styles then entered the TNA 2005 Super X Cup Tournament, which granted the winner a shot at the X Division Championship.

AJ Styles defeated Matt Bentley in the quarter-finals and Petey Williams in the semi-finals, but lost to Samoa Joe at Sacrifice.

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At Unbreakable, AJ Styles defeated Samoa Joe and Daniels in a critically lauded three-way match to become the X Division Champion for a fifth time.

At Bound for Glory, AJ Styles successfully defended the title against Christopher Daniels in the second thirty-minute Iron Man.

The following month at Genesis, AJ Styles successfully defended the title against Petey Williams.

AJ Styles then started a feud with Joe, claiming that he had broken the unwritten "code of the X Division" by brutally beating Daniels.

AJ Styles was unsuccessful in retaining the title in a triple threat match, featuring Daniels, at Against All Odds, and in an Ultimate X match at Destination X, which Daniels won.

At Genesis, AJ Styles lost to Christian Cage, which AJ Styles blamed on Daniels, who had tried to intervene on his behalf.

AJ Styles aligned with Christian Cage for Lockdown, forming Team Cage, who were defeated by Team Angle at Lockdown.

AJ Styles teamed with Tomko to face Sting and Abyss at Victory Road, but were defeated.

In February 2008, AJ Styles was involved in a storyline in which he became accidentally married to Karen Angle.

AJ Styles won the ladder rematch the following week to end their feud, but he was later asked to give Angle back his gold medal by Jeff Jarrett in an effort to try to mend things with Angle.

At Bound for Glory IV, AJ Styles faced Christian Cage and Booker T in a three-way match in which Booker T won.

AJ Styles challenged Sting for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Turning Point and again in an eight-man tag team match at Final Resolution, but was unsuccessful each time.

At Against All Odds, AJ Styles returned by attacking Booker T and stealing his TNA Legends Championship.

AJ Styles defeated Booker T to become Legends Champion at Destination X, and he retained in a rematch at Sacrifice.

At Slammiversary, AJ Styles competed in the King of the Mountain match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, but was unsuccessful after Samoa Joe turned on The Front Line and helped Angle win.

At No Surrender, AJ Styles won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a five-way match against Matt Morgan, Sting, Hernandez and defending champion Kurt Angle.

At Bound for Glory, AJ Styles retained the title against Sting, ending his undefeated streak at Bound for Glory in the process.

AJ Styles was mysteriously attacked by an anonymous assailant backstage leading him to believe it was Samoa Joe or Christopher Daniels, both of whom he faced the following month at Turning Point to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

At Genesis, AJ Styles turned into a villain and defeated Angle in a Last Chance match to again retain the championship with assistance from Ric Flair.

At Against All Odds, AJ Styles retained the title against Samoa Joe, with help from Flair, in a match refereed by Eric Bischoff.

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AJ Styles defended the title against Abyss at Destination X in a match that went to no contest after Abyss hit AJ Styles with a chokeslam through the ring.

At Lockdown, AJ Styles successfully defended the title against D'Angelo Dinero in a steel cage match.

AJ Styles faced Van Dam in a rematch at Sacrifice, but was defeated again.

At Slammiversary VIII, AJ Styles attempted to win Flair back by defeating Lethal, but lost again.

The following month at Final Resolution, AJ Styles lost the Television Championship to Douglas Williams, who had turned on Fortune.

At Victory Road, AJ Styles defeated Hardy in a singles match, despite interference from Flair.

AJ Styles defeated Daniels in a Last Man Standing match at Destination X, and again in a Bound for Glory Series match and, per the pre-match stipulations, earned the right to get a paternity test on Claire's baby.

AJ Styles was pinned by James Storm in a three-way number one contender's match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Turning Point, involving Bobby Roode, preventing him from receiving another title opportunity until Bound for Glory 2013 as per the pre-match stipulation.

AJ Styles, now sporting a beard, unkempt hair, and all-black attire, returned to TNA with the Calf Killer submission hold as his new finisher, which he used to defeat James Storm in his first match back.

At Slammiversary XI, AJ Styles was defeated by Angle in a singles match, but he defeated him in a rematch to earn the final spot in the 2013 Bound for Glory Series.

The following week on Impact Wrestling, AJ Styles claimed that he was no longer under contract with TNA and insulted Dixie Carter, who responded by saying that AJ Styles was not a great wrestler.

AJ Styles made his first televised title defense on the following episode of Impact Wrestling, defeating Ray in a rematch after interference from Mr Anderson, after which he refused Carter's new contract offer and walked out of TNA with the title.

On December 20,2007, as part of TNA's working relationship with the Inoki Genome Federation, AJ Styles competed in the promotion's third event, defeating fellow TNA star Senshi.

The following day on Day 6 of New Japan's G1 Climax – Heroes of Supremacy show, AJ Styles teamed with Tanahashi to face the team of Kurt Angle and Shinsuke Nakamura, again in a losing effort.

On July 26,2008, AJ Styles made his debut for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, taking part in the promotion's last annual 16-man elimination International Gran Prix tournament, representing Team International.

On November 16,2013, AJ Styles made his debut for Japanese promotion Wrestle-1, successfully defending the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Seiya Sanada.

At Slammiversary, on June 19,2022, AJ Styles returned to Impact Wrestling for one night only, in a video message to congratulate Impact on their 20 years.

AJ Styles teamed with Jason Cross to face Jay Briscoe and Jimmy Rave, in a losing effort.

On March 20,2004, AJ Styles returned to IWC, entering the promotions Super Indy Survivor Showdown tournament.

Later that night, AJ Styles faced IWC Super Indy Champion Colt Cabana in the final in a winning effort, capturing the title.

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On September 17, AJ Styles returned to IWA: Mid-South, entering the promotions 2004 Ted Petty Invitational.

Later that night, AJ Styles defeated Arik Cannon in the semi-finals, as well as defeating Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe in the final to win the 2004 Ted Petty Invitational.

The following night on Day 2 of All-Star Weekend, AJ Styles successfully challenged Super Dragon for the title.

On September 3, AJ Styles entered the 2005 Battle of Los Angeles tournament but was defeated in the finals by Chris Bosh.

AJ Styles defeated Roderick Strong in his return match on the January 4,2014, taping of Ring of Honor Wrestling, and picked up victories over Jay Lethal at the 12th Anniversary Show and Chris Hero at the Flyin' High event.

AJ Styles made his final independent appearance before he began working for WWE at ROH's TV tapings in Duluth, Georgia on January 23,2016.

At the tapings, AJ Styles was interrupted by Jay Lethal and The House of Truth, followed by Roderick Strong.

On March 1,2014, AJ Styles made an appearance for English promotion Preston City Wrestling, losing to British wrestler Lionheart in the main event.

On May 29,2015, reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles defeated Justin Gabriel at House of Glory High Intensity 4 in Jamaica, New York.

In September, AJ Styles made his debut for Chikara, when he teamed with fellow Bullet Club members The Young Bucks in the 2015 King of Trios.

On January 14,2016, AJ Styles wrestled a match for 5 Star Wrestling in Sheffield, England, where he faced Rey Mysterio for the first time, where AJ Styles defeated Mysterio.

AJ Styles lost to John Morrison in a singles match which was for the inaugural 5 Star Wrestling Championship.

However, AJ Styles was considered the leader of the Ring of Honor version of Bullet Club, a role which was given to him by NJPW by the end of 2015.

AJ Styles suffered his first loss in NJPW on July 21, when he was defeated by Okada in his first match in the 2014 G1 Climax tournament.

Out of his nine remaining matches in the tournament, AJ Styles lost only one, but failed to advance to the finals due to his loss against Okada in the head-to-head match.

Later in the month, AJ Styles entered the 2014 World Tag League, alongside Yujiro Takahashi.

On January 6,2015, AJ Styles inserted himself back into the IWGP Heavyweight Championship picture, when he pinned Tanahashi in an eight-man tag team match, setting up a title match between the two at The New Beginning in Osaka.

AJ Styles made his first title defense on April 5 at Invasion Attack, where he defeated 2015 New Japan Cup winner Kota Ibushi.

AJ Styles entered the final day with a chance to advance from his block, but a loss against Hiroshi Tanahashi cost him a spot in the finals, giving him a record of six wins and three losses.

Later that month, AJ Styles was forced to pull out of the 2015 World Tag League, where he teamed with Yujiro Takahashi, after experiencing a back injury.

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AJ Styles returned to the NJPW ring on January 4,2016, at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome, where he unsuccessfully challenged Shinsuke Nakamura for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.

The following day, AJ Styles made his final appearance for NJPW, where the rest of Bullet Club turned on him with Kenny Omega becoming the stable's new leader.

AJ Styles went on to eliminate Curtis Axel and Tyler Breeze, before being eliminated by Kevin Owens, lasting just under 29 minutes in the match.

The following night on Raw, AJ Styles failed to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match at Money in the Bank against Kevin Owens.

AJ Styles then resumed his feud with Cena leading into the 2017 Royal Rumble on January 29, where AJ Styles was defeated for the championship, ending his reign at 140 days.

The following month, AJ Styles began a feud with SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon, due to AJ Styles' frustration of being unable to reclaim the WWE Championship.

AJ Styles then started a feud with Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura.

At Royal Rumble on January 27,2019, AJ Styles failed to win the title, after a returning Rowan attacked AJ Styles when the referee was incapacitated and allowed Bryan to retain the title.

The next day, it was reported that AJ Styles had had an injury during his match with Orton and was sent home to recover.

AJ Styles did not appear on the SmackDown Live following WrestleMania, and it was reported to be a hip injury.

The following week on Raw, chief executive officer Triple H scheduled two triple threat matches, with the winners facing each other to determine the next contender against Seth Rollins for the Universal Championship, where AJ Styles defeated fellow draftees Rey Mysterio and Samoa Joe in the triple threat match and then defeated Baron Corbin to earn a Universal Championship match against Seth Rollins at Money in the Bank.

At the Royal Rumble on January 26,2020, AJ Styles entered the Royal Rumble match at eighteen, but was eliminated by Edge.

The next night on Raw, AJ Styles challenged The Undertaker to a match at WrestleMania 36, which was confirmed the following week.

Shortly after the event, AJ Styles would begin a feud with WWE Champion Drew McIntyre.

At Royal Rumble on January 29,2022, AJ Styles entered at number one and eliminated six wrestlers before being eliminated by Madcap Moss.

Finally, Nouinou made the prediction that "AJ Styles can be the superstar that spearheads WWE into a new era".

Josh Barnett, a columnist for USA Today, stated in March 2017 that AJ Styles "could be considered the MVP of WWE over the last year".

Barnett added that in 2016 AJ Styles had "some of the WWE's best matches, including multiple matches against John Cena and Roman Reigns", while noting that he "is considered one of the rare performers who can have a great match with anyone".

Many of AJ Styles' peers have praised him as being one of the greatest in-ring performers.

Also in 2007, AJ Styles was mentioned in the Insane Clown Posse song "Scatterbrain" off their EP Eye of the Storm.

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In 2009, AJ Styles was featured on MTV's Made trying to help a young high schooler become a professional wrestler alongside Taylor Wilde and The Beautiful People .

In 2011, AJ Styles was featured in the music video for country singer Sarah Darling's song "Something to Do with Your Hands".

In June 2022, during IMPACT Wrestling's 20th Anniversary edition of Slammiversary, AJ Styles was seen making a special message towards the fans and the roster, reminiscing on his time there.