15 Best Wrestling TV Quotes Of The Week

AJ Styles exaggerated his accomplishments in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Roman Reigns vowed to use any means — and weapons — necessary to retain his World heavyweight title at WWE Extreme Rules on May 22.

WWE spin doctor Michael Cole attempted to present a favourable interpretation of events, more than once.

Ric Flair gave a scathing appraisal of a WWE executive’s business acumen in the week in which she announced that she was writing her first book on her triumphs as a businesswoman.

Josh Mathews compared TNA’s World champion and his nemesis to characters from two of the biggest superhero movies of the year.

These statements and more make our collection of the most outrageous and thought-provoking sound bites of the week on Raw, Impact Wrestling, NXT and SmackDown . . .

“Is this not the new era of the WWE? ’Cause I can tell you, this isn’t new to AJ Styles: I have headlined the Tokyo Dome in front of 60,000 people.” — AJ Styles, Raw, May 16.

Perusing the history books, this writer can find no record of any AJ Styles main event at the Tokyo Dome which played before 60,000 spectators.

With around 24,000 fans looking on, Styles participated in the six-man opener of New Japan’s Tokyo Dome supershow on January 4, 2008.

Seven years later, Styles defeated Tetsuya Naito in a match positioned two down from the main event at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 9. That attracted approximately 36,000 fans, NJPW’s largest Tokyo Dome audience in many years.

And at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 10 on January 4 this year, Styles lost to Shinsuke Nakamura in a match underneath the Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi main event. Attendance that night: 25,204.

Nevertheless, I’m going to excuse this act of aggrandisement because Styles’ match with Nakamura at WK10 was arguably the co-main event — and, moreover, was among the three finest wrestling matches held anywhere this year.

Anyone responsible for that degree of wrestling virtuosity is entitled to use a little artistic licence.