Karl Anderson Reveals How AJ Styles Was Initially Viewed by WWE, Says Styles Won Over Vince McMahon

During a recent interview with Off the Ropes With Jonathan Coachman, The Good Brothers’ Karl Anderson spoke about how AJ Styles was viewed when he initially joined WWE and more. According to Anderson, Styles was boosted after eventually winning over Vince McMahon. Below are some highlights (via Fightful):

Kal Anderson on How AJ Styles Was Initially Viewed by WWE

“He’s not a full-bred WWE guy. Maybe they look at it that way. I don’t know. I’ll tell you this, though: This is true, fact. When we came in in 2016, I heard this about us, just through the grapevine, ‘You know, Gallows and Anderson are utility guys. We’ll use ‘em in that way,’ and say whatever you want about us. Nothing bothers me, and then they said, ‘And AJ Styles is a mid-level Intercontinental guy, and we’ll leave him in that range.’ Now, I’d heard that was said about him. He ended up going in there, and he won over Vince (McMahon), and they put the championship on hi,m and they obviously could see what AJ Styles was. When the management changes, things change, and you can see where AJ goes back down to where he is. I think everybody realizes that AJ Styles deserves to be up in that main event, Heavyweight Championship-caliber spot.”

Karl Anderson on The Good Brothers Returning to NOAH in April

“In December, we did a surprise run-out. I attacked a guy named (Kaito) Kiyomiya, and we joined Pro Wrestling NOAH. We went back for the new year. We had two matches in the Budokan, and one other match in Shinjuku FACE… And we have a return to Pro Wrestling NOAH coming up again in April.”

As noted, AJ Styles lost a career-ending match against Gunther last weekend at WWE Royal Rumble 2026. Styles passed out in Gunther’s Sleeper Hold.