AJ Styles On Which TNA Star Paved The Way For Him In WWE, Who Had The Best 2016 In WWE, More

On episode 124 of Sam Roberts' Wrestling Podcast, professional broadcaster and professional wrestling enthusiast Sam Roberts talked with former WWE Champion, AJ Styles. Among other things, Styles discussed having the best 2016 of any WWE Superstar, his opportunity in WWE arising from injuries on the roster, and Samoa Joe paving the way for talents who have made names for themselves outside of WWE making it to the world's largest professional wrestling promotion.

Styles professed that he had the best 2016 of anyone on WWE's roster.

"Well, if they're not [saying Styles had the best 2016], something's wrong because I did. I mean, this guy comes out of nowhere, comes from Japan, not sure what's going to happen, even I'm not sure what's going to happen, and one thing leads to another, and I get my shot at Roman Reigns the Monday after WrestleMania. I earned the shot to wrestle Roman Reigns for the world championship. It's unreal, dude."

According to Styles, perhaps humbly, getting an opportunity to shine in WWE was "100%" about timing as there were injuries on the roster that created a void.  

"I don't know if it was, 'hey, we need something fresh and new' or 'hey, listen, everybody's hurt – we need somebody to come in.' And I think that's what happened more than anything. There were a lot of guys hurt at the time and I was able to come in there and make the best of an unfortunate opportunity, but a great opportunity for me that guys were hurt and I needed to fill in, basically."

In Styles' opinion, Samoa Joe paved the way for him in WWE.  

"I knew he should be in WWE a long time ago. The guy can do it all. For his size, he shouldn't be able to move the way he does. It really makes me angry. The guy's an unbelievable athlete and he's also great on the microphone, so there's nothing Samoa Joe can't do and he gets to come here and be Samoa Joe. Now, to tell you the truth, Samoa Joe is the one who got this thing started for everybody because he was at NXT first, so it wasn't necessarily me that got it started. It was Joe and Joe went in there and proved that he can mix it up with anybody and have great matches and have a good attitude, most importantly."

Click here to listen to the show. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Sam Roberts' Wrestling Podcast with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Source: Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast