AJ Styles clarifies his WWE NXT role
AJ Styles has been around the WWE Performance Center lately, but he is not a full-time coach in NXT right now.
A couple weeks back, Styles shared that he helped produce the Tony D’Angelo vs. Naraku street fight that headlined the July 21 episode of NXT. Styles followed up on that in a new clip from his AJ Styles Show podcast. One of NXT’s coaches (Terry Taylor) had to undergo knee surgery, so Styles is filling in for him. Styles is having a lot of fun in the role and has changed up some of NXT’s coaching practices to make sure talent are staying challenged and engaged.
“Well, so let me clear this up, by the way,” Styles said. “One of our coaches had to get knee surgery. I have now taken his place until he’s back. I am not a coach, per se, that’s down here every week. I am just filling in until he’s back. That’s it.
“And I’m going to tell you guys, I’m actually having a lot of fun with it. And I’m trying to make everything that we do very, very practical. Because this is what I see going on, so we’re going to do this and this right here and make sense of why you’re doing it. I want to see your feetwork — feetwork or footwork, I’m not sure how you say that — but little things like that. And I’m changing stuff up a little bit, because the more you do the same thing over and over, the less you want to come to class and work hard. Because it gets redundant. So I’m trying to change things up a little bit but not take away from what they already know. First of all, doing something you don’t know how to do is always harder. And so when we change it up, it’s harder for the talent — also a little bit more exciting and keeps you interested.”
Styles, 49, retired from the ring in January and was subsequently inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He signed a new WWE contract for his post-wrestling career that has seen him contribute in a couple of behind-the-scenes roles like scouting and helping out with the WWE ID program. Styles is invested in every part of wrestling, though the one role he has no interest in is working in creative.
It was noted on the AJ Styles Show that the Kendal Grey vs. Lola Vice NXT Underground match from this week was produced by Styles and NXT coach Johnny Moss. Styles said he and Moss didn’t have to do very much because Grey and Vice are so good at what they do.
AJ Styles’ future —
Whether Styles will end up eventually having a full-time role in NXT remains to be seen. Shawn Michaels, who now oversees the entire brand, actually got his start as an NXT coach filling in for Taylor when Taylor needed neck surgery in 2016.
Returning to the ring for another match down the line is not something Styles has fully ruled out. He could potentially be lured back by the idea of teaming with his children. His son Avery just started out in pro wrestling.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.