AJ Styles On Pitching Idea To Appear On WWE NXT, Wanting To Pass Down Knowledge To Young Talent

In a recent interview on Out of Character with Ryan Satin, AJ Styles discussed pitching the idea to work in NXT, wanting to pass down knowledge to young talent, and much more. You can read his comments below.

AJ Styles on pitching the idea to work in NXT: “It wasn’t really a surprise because it was kind of my call. I thought it would be a good idea to, guys like myself, go down to NXT and really say, ‘Hey, this is what we do on RAW and SmackDown. So when you come up, there are no surprises, no nothing. This is what we expect, these are the rules by the way and they are a little bit different than NXT, but this is what they are up here.’ We’re talking about guys who have dreamt of doing something and when you say ‘nah we don’t want you,’ you’re crushing their dreams and who knows what else, their confidence. I don’t want that to happen. I know how bad that hurts. I was with WCW for a couple of months and then got my dreams crushed. Best thing that ever happened to me because I wasn’t ready to be in WWE at the time. I don’t want to see that happen to anyone. If they’re not ready, then we’ll keep them down there so they can be and it’s up to them whether or not they progress. But again, I just don’t want to see them come up to the main roster and be sent home.”

On wanting to pass down knowledge to young talent and working with Grayson Waller: “That’s what we should be doing. We should be passing it down so that we see the thing that we love. I love what I do, but I want to see it progress throughout the years and if we don’t make those superstars, it’s going to dwindle away into nothing. I did not handpick [Grayson], he was hand-picked by someone else, but it was great. I’m a very hard-hitting kind of guy, I like to get snug and I told him what I wanted and he brought it. It takes me to a different level, when I get hit I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s go.’ I like that. He brought it and it was great.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit Out of Character with Ryan Satin with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.