AJ Styles spoke to Sam Roberts over WrestleMania 32 weekend while he was doing the media rounds and he commented on his TNA departure. Sam asked AJ about what went down backstage when he had to tell NJPW that he was leaving for WWE. Styles says he got emotional when he left New Japan, but added that he didn’t shed one tear when he left TNA.
“So, I hear Nakamura, on Christmas Eve tell New Japan that he’s leaving and I’m thinking ‘Oh god,’ knowing that I was going to tell them in a few weeks, ‘Hey, guess what?’ It was huge and it was very hard. New Japan was a great place to work, they’re stand up guys. I can’t say enough good things about them. I’m going to tell you guys this, I wish I had told the guys in New Japan this, I didn’t shed one tear when I left TNA. I was very emotional when I left New Japan.”
Styles also talked about the deal WWE offered him in 2002 and he said that the timing just wasn’t right.
“I think is was about 2002, I was offered a developmental deal. I would have had to move to Cincinnatti. I had to take time to think about it because of how it would have impacted my family. I turned it down, which was crazy hard. But everything worked out the way that it should have. I wasn’t ready.”
He also revealed that he was willing to change his name to come to WWE but everything worked out in his favor.
“I was like, ‘You know what guys, I’ll do whatever you want me to do.’ Sure I wanted to keep my name, but that’s not going to stop me from going to the WWE. I want to do what’s best for my family and my career. So if it works out, it does, if it doesn’t, it doesn’t. A lot of prayer went into this stuff. But everything worked out the way it should. It just goes to show how smart they are.”
You can listen to the full interview below.
