Hotseat: AJ Styles
AJ STYLES WENT into 2010 as a world champion and, pound-for-pound, one of the very best wrestlers in the world. And, although the scenery changed a few times, he wore those distinctions throughout much of the next 10 years.
And so it was no surprise when Pro Wrestling Illustrated readers chose “The Phenomenal One” as the Wrestler of the Decade. It capped off a long list of accolades accumulated by Styles over the past 10 years, including: a number-one ranking in the “ PWI 500,” a PWI Match of the Year award, two Wrestler of the Year awards, and a combined five world/heavyweight title reigns in three major promotions: TNA, New Japan, and WWE.
But simply tallying Styles’ world title reigns doesn’t do justice to what he accomplished throughout the 2010s. Randomly pick out a photo of Styles from any time during the decade, and there’s a good chance he’ll be wearing a championship belt in it. During seven of the 10 calendar years between 2010 and 2019, Styles held a major promotion’s top championship.
More than technical ability, speed, or strength, that accomplishment speaks to the one trait that Styles, himself, said made him the Wrestler of the Decade: consistency. Year in and year out, fans and promoters alike could count on Styles showing up and, more than likely, having the best match on the card. No matter what company he was working for, Styles always gave his best. And it doesn’t get much better than AJ Styles’ best.
At the start of a new decade, and his 23rd year in the sport, Styles looked back on the past 10 years of his career, and ahead to where he might be 10 years from now in this exclusive interview with Senior Writer Al Castle.
Congratulations on being was back in 2010 when you were the first TNA wrestler to rank number one in the “ 500.” What do you remember about where you were during the very beginning of the decade? And how are you different 10 years later?
