Raw 25: 7 Easter Eggs You May Have Missed

5. AJ Styles Genuinely Marking Out For 'Mean' Gene

AJ Styles Gene Okerlund
YouTube/WWE

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.

Advertisement
Contributor

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.