AJ Styles Reflects On Facing Dusty Rhodes & Others In TNA As Standout Moments

AJ Styles was long associated with TNA, and he recently reflected on some of his biggest standout moments there. The WWE Hall of Famer was a TNA Original, and was long considered the face of TNA before he came to WWE. During his time in TNA from 2002 through 2014, Styles put on some of the greatest matches the company has ever seen, such as his legendary triple threat match with Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels at TNA Unbreakable in 2005.

Styles was asked about his personal high points form his run in TNA during his appearance on What Do You Wanna Talk About? with Cody Rhodes. He looked back at his early days where he would face older veterans like Dusty Rhodes and Larry Zbyszko, as well as his matches with Joe and Daniels, Kurt Angle and others. You can see highlights below:

On His Standout Moments In Early TNA:

“I think there was a couple moments. You know you got something special when you’re in there with Low Ki and Jerry Lynn. Like, I knew that we were putting on great matches. And then having the opportunity to wrestle older guys. I wrestled your father at TNA. I remember putting him in the figure-four, and I could barely get his big legs crossed to be able to do the figure-four… It never dawned on me. Like, ‘Surely I could put him in the figure-four,’ you know? But, you know, I wrestled Larry Zbyszko there. There’s some matches that I had that I never should have had that I’m glad I got the opportunity. I was able to kind of beat up the Road Warriors — which I thought was really dumb, because those guys I loved.”

On the Matches That Stand Out To Him More Than Others:

“But, you know, there’s some, again, moments that stick out to me in TNA that maybe, not for everybody else. The matches I had with Abyss, and a tables match that we had in the Asylum before we got down to Orlando. But when we got down to Orlando, we knew something great was happening. And having matches with Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels, those are the matches that most people remember, with Kurt Angle and Kevin Nash and Booker T. Those were the guys I get the opportunity to learn from and I think what helped me progress so fast, and just having the opportunity to do what I do best. I don’t know. There’s just a lot of great moments, and it’s hard to pick out one that really stands out.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit What Do You Wanna Talk About? with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.