AJ Styles has reflected on how NJPW prepared him for WWE.
In 2016, AJ Styles made his stunning WWE debut following his tenure with New Japan Pro Wrestling. While in NJPW, ‘The Phenomenal One’ led Bullet Club and captured the IWGP Heavyweight Championship twice, cementing his place among the best in-ring talent of his generation. Now, Styles has discussed the role his time in Japan played in getting to WWE.
Speaking with Justin Barrasso of Undisputed, Styles credited NJPW with helping him become the wrestler he wanted to be, noting that Vince wanted him to stick with what was working in Japan.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that I may not have made it to WWE without Japan. My tenure in Japan helped me figure out who I was and what I wanted to do. When I went to WWE, Vince wanted me to be who I was in Japan. That style from Japan did not change when I went to WWE. That’s the guy Vince wanted, so I didn’t have to change anything. Maybe that’s why it got over so well.”
-AJ Styles
Styles is currently one-half of the World Tag Team Champions on Monday Night RAW, teaming with Dragon Lee to win the titles on October 20. While AJ undoubtedly a legend of the industry, the former WWE Champion has made no bones about his intention to retire from competition in 2026. You can read more about that here.
On the topic of Styles’ time in Japan, AJ recently recalled wondering how much John Cena actually knew of him before they shared the ring in 2016. You can read more about that here.
As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates on AJ Styles as soon as we hear more.
