AJ Styles On What He’d Change About RAW Underground, Why He Thinks Vince McMahon Decided To Push Him In WWE

WWE superstar AJ Styles answered questions on a recent Twitch stream on a variety of topics, including why he thinks Vince McMahon decided to push him in WWE, ideas to improve RAW Underground, what he misses most about being on the independent wrestling scene, and much more. Here are some of the highlights:

On his idea for improving RAW Underground: “Here’s what I think would’ve been cool. Jean-Claude Van Damme – I think it was called Lionheart – this was probably early 90s. He was in this movie and he fought in different areas. It wasn’t just in a ring, it was in a half-empty pool. So, it was different seeing them fight in this pool. Then there was one in a parking garage where all these cars circled it. Then there was one in a tennis court. I think different locations to do those fights would be cool – a bar, in the street – that would make it different. I like the concept but these fights can’t be any more than three or four minutes long, at that.”

AJ Styles on why he thinks Vince McMahon decided to push him in WWE: “I think it’s worth ethic. I think it’s knowing your part and going after it and giving them, and I say them – Vince isn’t the only one but he’s the most important one, don’t get me wrong. The fans are important. As long as they’re reacting, you’re doing something right. I think that’s the main thing. Vince sees that and understands it. Now, don’t get me wrong, he thought my first one was kind of a fluke like ‘Ok, flash of the pan, Royal Rumble…..’ that kind of thing. But giving me a chance and telling me what he wanted to see – that’s all I needed to know. What do you want to see? The thing was, when I first got in WWE, I wasn’t the typical good guy but the more I was there and understood they just wanted me to be who I was in New Japan and everywhere else. Is he heel or babyface? No, we’ll just let the crowd decide and go that direction.”

On what miss about wrestling on independents: “There’s something about the independents that I really enjoy. It’s meeting other performers, having the opportunity to work with those guys, and share information that can help them be a better performer. And at the same time, I learned as well too about myself and what works better with some guys and little things like that and you learn what some guys can and can’t do, and we both work around it to where we both look good and make the match entertaining. That’s what I miss about the independents.”