| “ | I am the face who runs the place and the champ who runs the camp! | „ |
| ~ AJ Styles |
| “ | You don't get a trophy for participation! You get a trophy by BEING A WINNER! | „ |
| ~ AJ Styles bragging about how he beat John Cena |
| “ | Guys like you bury guys like me! | „ |
| ~ AJ Styles to John Cena |
AJ Styles is a professional wrestler who works for WWE. He previously competed in TNA, NJPW, ROH, and all around the world.
Debut
AJ Styles making his debut in the 2016 Royal Rumble
AJ Styles made his debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble as the 3rd entrant. he made his debut as a face and confronted Roman Reigns. AJ Styles then got eliminated by Kevin Owens. on RAW the night after the Royal Rumble, AJ Styles would face a fellow fan favorite in Chris Jericho (who wasn't pleased about all the hype surrounding AJ Styles). the match was won by AJ Styles. Styles would then earn his first PPV victory at Fastlane against Chris Jericho . after their match at Fastlane, AJ Styles would earn Jericho's respect and they formed a tag team known as "Y2AJ". their first match as a tag team was against the Social Outcasts. the match was won by Y2AJ. later on that week on SmackDown, Y2AJ would team up with Mark Henry to take on The New Day. Y2AJ scored another victory. two weeks later on Raw, Y2AJ would face The New Day for the tag team titles and lost. after the match, Jericho hit the codebreaker on AJ Styles and turned heel. Jericho then explained why he betrayed AJ Styles was because that AJ Styles had more recognition than Jericho himself. after Jericho's match with Neville, Styles would run into the ring and hit Chris Jericho with the phenomenal forearm. a week later on RAW, Jericho would interrupt AJ Styles' match against
Styles & Jericho staring off in Styles' first match on Raw
Kevin Owens while chanting "AJ Styles" in spite of Styles. later that night, Styles would return the favor during Jericho's match against Fandango while chanting "Y2Jackass". Styles once again interrupted a match that Jericho competed in the following week. during Jericho's match with Zack Ryder, AJ Styles would watch on the commentary table and chant "Y2Jackass" on Chris Jericho. due to the distractions, Jericho lost his match and then accepted AJ Styles' challenge at WrestleMania to which Jericho won
Feud with Roman Reigns/Debut of the Club
AJ Styles assaulting Roman Reigns
a night after WrestleMania on the April 4th edition of RAW, AJ Styles won a Fatal 4 Way match against Chris Jericho, Kevin Owens & Cesaro to determine the No 1 Contender for Roman Reigns' WWE World Heavyweight Championship. a week later, AJ Styles' friends from NJPW known as Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows would appear in the WWE and attack The Usos (Roman Reigns' cousins). the following week after a confrontation between AJ Styles & Roman Reigns on the April 18th edition of RAW, Anderson & Gallows would attack Roman Reigns. after the attack, Reigns would accuse AJ Styles of telling Anderson & Gallows to attack him. Styles would deny the accusations. after a match between Roman Reigns & Alberto Del Rio, Roman Reigns & The Usos would continuously get into brutal fights with AJ Styles, Anderson & Gallow (AKA The Club) over the next couple of weeks. after the battle between Styles & Reigns at Extreme Rules, Styles would inform The Club that they have to split up to which Anderson & Gallows didn't take lightly and left the ring.
Heel Turn & feud with john cena
AJ Styles uniting with the Club after attacking John Cena
A week after Styles parted ways with The Club, he confronted John Cena. Then The Club arrived and taunted both Styles & Cena. Styles & Cena were ready to fight The Club, but then AJ Styles attacked John Cena and reunited with The Club, thus turning heel in the process. later on that week in the June 3rd edition of SmackDown, AJ Styles & The Club would confront The New Day (who have turned face months ago). AJ Styles would challenge a member of the New Day to a match, to which Kofi Kingston accepted. The match was won by AJ Styles.
AJ Styles kicking Kofi Kingston
On the June 6th edition of RAW, AJ Styles would explain his attack on John Cena, claiming that guys like John Cena bury talented wrestlers, or talented up and comers. The week after, AJ Styles and John Cena signed a contract for their match at Money in the Bank match. At the 2016 Money in the Bank event, Styles won with an assist from Gallows and Anderson.
AJ Styles hitting Cena with the Phenomenal Forearm
Styles & The Club then battled Cena, Enzo Amore & Big Cass at the 2016 Battleground event which was won by Cena, Enzo & Cass. Styles & Cena then agreed to face each other at SummerSlam at the August 2nd 2016 edition of SmackDown Live. two weeks later on SmackDown Live after Cena's match against Del Rio, Styles tried to attack Cena but ended up getting AAed through the announce table in the process. Styles then fought Cena at SummerSlam and ultimately won the match.
WWE title reign
AJ Styles beating down Ziggler
On the following episode of SmackDown Live, Styles demanded a match against Ambrose at Backlash for the WWE World Championship, which the SmackDown Live GM Daniel Bryan had to come out to settle tensions between Styles and Dolph Ziggler, due to Styles provoking Ziggler earlier that night. Bryan then arranged a match between Styles and Ziggler that exact night, and if Ziggler won, he would be included to the World title match at Backlash, thus making it a triple threat match. The match ended with Styles pinning Ziggler, having the title match remaining a one on one match.
Styles winning the WWE World Championship for the first time
AJ Styles slamming John Cena
During their match at Backlash, Styles hit Ambrose with a low blow when the referee was knocked cold then hit Ambrose with the Styles Clash thus winning his first WWE World Title. Two days later on SmackDown, Cena challenged Styles to a match for the title in an attempt to win a record 16th WWE world championship, while Ambrose invoked his rematch clause against Styles. Shane McMahon decided to book Styles to defend the title against both Ambrose and Cena in a Triple Threat match at No Mercy. Later that night, Ambrose and Cena defeated Styles and Intercontinental Champion, The Miz. After the match, Ambrose hit Cena with Dirty Deeds. The following week, Ambrose and Cena faced each other which resulted in Ambrose defeating Cena with a roll-up. After the match, Styles attacked both Cena and Ambrose, which resorted to SmackDown general manager Daniel Bryan to schedule Styles to defend his world title against Ambrose on the September 27 episode of SmackDown. Ambrose would then attack Styles with Dirty Deeds following the announcement. Styles then proceeded to win the match against Ambrose for the title.
Ambrose getting hit by The Phenomenal Forearm
On the October 25 episode of SmackDown Live, Ambrose fought Styles to become the number one contender for the title, but James Ellsworth attacked Styles thus causing Ambrose to lose via disqualification. A rematch took place on the November 1 episode and Ambrose successfully defeated Styles, earning the number one contender's spot for the WWE World Championship. Then on Talking Smack, Commissioner Shane McMahon announced that Ambrose will fight Styles for the title in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at TLC 2016.
AJ Styles reclaiming his title after beating Ambrose in a TLC match
AJ Styles brutally assaulting an injured Ellsworth during a ladder match
At Survivor Series, Ambrose and Styles (Who were both part of Team SmackDown) had a physical confrontation during their Survivor Series elimination match against Team Raw. This led to Ambrose being eliminated by Braun Strowman. Later in the match, Ambrose returned to the ring and attacked Styles. Ambrose, Seth Rollins, and Roman Reigns then had a mini-Shield reunion where they performed a Triple Powerbomb on Styles through a broadcast table, thus enabling Rollins to eliminate Styles. On the next episode of SmackDown, Ambrose was given the night off for his actions and Ellsworth was granted a SmackDown contract. Styles came out and stated that Ambrose does not belong on SmackDown for what he did at Survivor Series and does not deserve the title match at TLC. He also claimed that Ellsworth did not deserve a contract, and that he should have to earn it in a ladder match. Ellsworth, touting that he had already beat Styles twice before, then challenged Styles to a ladder match in the main event with his new contract on the line, as well as a future opportunity for the WWE World Championship. Ambrose returned during the match and helped Ellsworth defeat Styles and earned him the SmackDown contract and an eventual championship match.
Styles battling John Cena at Royal Rumble 2017
At TLC 2016, Styles successfully defended his title against Ambrose with unexpected help from Ellsworth (thus leading to Ellsworth's heel turn). Three weeks later on SmackDown Live, Styles easily beat Ellsworth and retained his title. After a few months of hiatus, John Cena returned and challenged Styles to a rematch but this time for the WWE World Championship. A Week after Cena returned, they signed a contract to confirm their match at the Royal Rumble 2017 event for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. At the Royal Rumble, John Cena sucessfully captured the WWE Title thus finally tying Ric Flair's record of sixteen recognized World Championship titles as well as finally getting a win over AJ Styles
WWE Title pursuits & feud with shane mcmahon
Styles kicking Bray Wyatt in the Elimination Chamber match
Styles was then entered into the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match at the 2017 Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, but SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon also promised Styles that he would get a one-on-one rematch for the title if he did not win the title back at the pay-per-view. At Elimination Chamber, Bray Wyatt eliminated both Cena and Styles to win the championship. Cena then immediately invoked his rematch clause, but Styles intervened, stating he should get his first.
AJ Styles after beating Luke Harper
SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan then scheduled a triple threat match for the WWE Championship, where Wyatt retained. Randy Orton then refused his right as the Royal Rumble winner to face Wyatt for the title at WrestleMania 33, so Bryan scheduled a 10-man battle royal to determine a new number one-contender. Styles was entered into the battle royal, which ended in a draw between him and Luke Harper. The two faced each other in a number one contender's match the following week. Styles pinned Harper, but the referee did not see Harper's foot on the rope. Shane came out and restarted the match, which angered Styles, but he again pinned Harper and won.
AJ Styles smashing Shane McMahon's head through a car window
Styles making his entrance at WrestleMania 33
At the conclusion of the show, however, Orton reclaimed his right to face Wyatt at WrestleMania. Shane and Bryan decided that Styles would have to compete in another number one contender's match, this time against Orton, who won. After the show backstage, an angered Styles got into a heated argument with Shane. The following week, an irate Styles said that he was tired of Bryan and Shane. He said because of them, he did not have a match at WrestleMania, but Orton, who committed arson, did. Later backstage, Styles attacked Shane and threw him through a car window. After all of that, Styles was then fired by Bryan. However, at the end of the show, an injured Shane announced that he would face Styles at WrestleMania, and Styles accepted. At the end of the following week's episode, Shane called out Styles and the two brawled, which ended with Shane doing a Leap of Faith on Styles through the broadcast table.
AJ Styles & Shane McMahon calling a truce
At WrestleMania 33, AJ Styles beat Shane McMahon in the opening match of the night. In the SmackDown Live after WrestleMania 33, AJ Styles made reconciliation with Shane McMahon via a handshake, thus turning back into a fan favorite in the process.