10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Nov 19)

5. AJ Styles Was More Devastated Than Fans Think When The Club Broke Up

the club wwe
WWE.com

During the premiere of SmackDown Live on July 19, WWE held the latest company Draft. Monday Night Raw and the new incarnation of SmackDown picked different rosters, something which hadn't been seen in the promotion for many years. In the process of the brand split, AJ Styles found himself going in a different direction to two of his best friends.

Aligned in New Japan Pro Wrestling as The Bullet Club, Styles found kinship with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Since that pairing had also signed for WWE and debuted in April, the trio had been inseparable. That all changed on July 19.

Speaking with NBC Sports about the WWE Draft, AJ opened up to reveal that he was totally floored by the split from his buddies. Already trying to find his feet in a new organisation, he no longer had backup on the road every night.

This was a crucial time for Styles, he had to strike out on his own and forge a path on SmackDown for himself. Meanwhile, Gallows and Anderson were posted to Raw. It's unlikely many fans knew exactly what kind of impact such a split had on AJ.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.