Raw 25: 7 Easter Eggs You May Have Missed
5. AJ Styles Genuinely Marking Out For 'Mean' Gene
AJ Styles is 40 years old. That means he was a teenager when Monday Night Raw first hit the USA Network in 1993. On that very first show, AJ might have watched 'Mean' Gene Okerlund's Royal Rumble report. If he did, it's no wonder he looked like a deer in headlights when being interviewed by Gene-o on Raw 25.
There's something refreshing about seeing world class pro wrestlers reduced to humble fans again. That's certainly how Styles looked when 'Mean' Gene asked him for comments on his upcoming handicap match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at the Rumble. AJ looked for all the world like he was about to ask Okerlund for his autograph.
Go back and watch the promo again. You'll see AJ quivering with excitement as he listens intently to wrestling's greatest ever stick man, and it's clear he's marking out for a childhood hero. We'd like to believe that Hulk Hogan impression was improvised too.
It wasn't, brother.