AJ Styles Discusses Wrestlers He Never Got the Opportunity To Face, Encourages Wrestlers To Ask Questions in Training

Speaking on the Talk’N Shop Podcast, recently retired WWE Superstar AJ Styles discussed the wrestlers from right now he’d liked to have faced, specifically citing Penta and Rey Fenix, who are currently part of the main WWE roster. He also discussed how if he’s advising younger talents, there aren’t any wrong questions. Below are some highlights:

AJ Styles on Wrestler He Never Got the Opportunity to Face

AJ Styles commented on Penta, “Penta’s up there. Yeah, just because I never had the opportunity to do it, you know, and he’s such a great guy. He’s so good. I would love to been able to do that. But there’s there’s always going to be a couple guys that be like, ‘Oh man, dang it. I missed that one. I missed that one. I missed that one.’ Yeah, Rey’s definitely another one I wish I would have been able to get in the ring with. Like, those guys are freaking — they’re so freaking good.”

Styles on Giving Advice and Teaching Younger Wrestlers

“So it there’s not any wrong questions. It doesn’t matter how new you are to this entertainment business. Just ask the question, dude. Because sometimes I don’t think like a fan, and at that point in their career, they still are. We all are. So, just ask questions because there was a time not too long ago, like maybe a couple months ago, I took my son to an indie match to just watch. Yeah. And a move was being done and I knew what was going on. Yeah. But he had no idea because they hadn’t done it before. He hadn’t seen it before. And it would just dawned on me like, ‘Oh, wow.’ That, you know, a lot of times we forget that there’s always new fans out there.

“So we have to sometimes when they don’t know our stuff make sure we do it at least once so that it can be counted later on. You know we forget about like a simple up and over. It’s because before that, he threw us in the corner and freaking tore our guts out by putting a shoulder in it. So the next time it happens if the up and over happens and he takes the buckle, and then we can get on it. That’s you know what I’m saying? That’s the things we forget about the small things.”

AJ Styles will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame later next month as part of the Class of 2026. This year’s induction ceremony will be held at the Dolby Live at Park MGM in Las Vegas on April 17.

If using any of the above quotes, please credit the Talk’N Shop Podcast, with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.