8 Things We Learned From AJ Styles On The Sam Roberts Show
Thoughts on his current spot, Samoa Joe, James Ellsworth, wrestling Shane at Mania & more.
It's hard to argue that any wrestler on the WWE roster - or any roster, for that matter - has had a more successful year than AJ Styles. Since his debut at the 2015 Royal Rumble he has continued to exceed expectations, putting on incredible matches with a litany of opponents, stealing show after show and proving to anyone who doubted his ability to get over as a character how wrong they were to do so.
Radio personality Sam Roberts hosts a wrestling podcast where he frequently lands some of the biggest stars in the industry as his guests before giving his weekly "State of Wrestling" address. Roberts is a breath of optimistic fresh air amidst the cynicism of the modern fanbase, and it's a nice change to have an observer who often looks for the silver lining while so many of us gravitate toward singling out the negative aspects of pro wrestling.
AJ Styles sat down with Sam for the first time since just before last year's WrestleMania to discuss the differences in his confidence and place on the card, his thoughts on Samoa Joe in WWE, how he kept James Ellsworth from killing himself and his feelings on facing Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 33.
Read on to find out what the former WWE world champion and the man who is almost unanimously considered to be the best worker in the world had to say...
8. Is He Surprised By His Success?
Sam begins the interview by recalling the last time the two spoke, which was just before last year's WrestleMania, and he says that although he's sure Styles expected to be successful when he joined WWE he wants to know if he truly thought he'd be the guy most people name when discussing which wrestler had the best 2016.
AJ replies "Well, if they're not, something's wrong, because I did." He talks about coming out of nowhere, moving over from Japan not sure what was going to happen, getting a shot at Roman Reigns the Monday after WrestleMania to wrestle for the world championship and he was off and running, calling the entire experience "unreal."
Roberts wonders if it was a matter of timing and the fact that he was allowed to be AJ Styles rather than forced to adopt a new name and character, and he replies "100%". He doesn't know if it was more WWE thinking they needed to go in a different direction with someone fresh and new or if it was because there were so many guys hurt at the time, but he took the opportunity and made the most of it.