AJ Styles Says Wins & Losses Don't Matter In Wrestling (WWE News)

WWE Hall of Famer AJ Styles was never one to get carried away about a win or a loss.

WWE Raw AJ Styles
WWE

Nowadays retired from in-ring action, WWE Hall of Famer AJ Styles has given his thoughts on the great debate over wins and losses.

Speaking on his Phenomenally Retro podcast (via f4wonline), Styles says he was never one to get too carried away about a win or a loss, instead opting to focus on entertainment and doing what was asked of him.

“I could care less about wins and losses. They don’t mean anything. This is a show. This is pure entertainment. This isn’t the UFC. That’s the biggest difference, and the older I got, my job wasn’t to be the heavyweight champion of the world. Some people want that, some people need that; I don’t, I didn’t. So, my job was to make sure I got the younger talent over as well as I could. And if they were older, who cares? I had a job to do. This is entertainment. You’re not going to the pay window and getting paid more for the win. It’s not the same. You’re watching a TV show.”

Having made his pro wrestling debut in 1998, AJ Styles called time on his career earlier this year, going out with a loss to Gunther at the 2026 Royal Rumble, and going down as one of the greatest to ever do it, including winning world championships in WWE, TNA, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Since hanging up his boots, the Phenomenal One has taken on a scouting/coaching role within WWE in addition to starting the aforementioned podcast.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks/Saints, Jamie Hayter, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.