WWE posted a video earlier today where various superstars reflected on AJ Styles' career, their relationship with him and his retirement. Styles technically retired at the Royal Rumble but has cryptically left the door open for a future match at some point in the future.
In the video, Finn Balor, Randy Orton, Roman Reigns, Sami Zayn, Shinsuke Nakamura and others spoke about Styles:
Finn Balor
"I just wanna say congratulations on such an incredible career. And from a personal standpoint, I wanna say thank you because you’ve always been such a constant source of inspiration for me, and I know we’ve had very similar career paths, but I hope you know that I’ve always, always looked up to you. For me, you are the benchmark for what it is to be a professional both inside and outside of the ring. I’m very grateful that I got the opportunity to share the last 10 years with you here in this company. I know we dodged each other a lot on the indies. You were in TNA, I was in Japan and when you came to Japan, I went to NXT. So we missed each other for a long. But I feel like getting to know you over the last ten years on a personal level and in the ring and witnessing how great and phenomenal you really are, I want to say thank you for being AJ Styles."
Randy Orton
“I remember when he came to WWE, we were all so excited because we knew he was one of the best of us. Every body was familiar with his work from TNA, in Japan and I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to work with AJ. I think that anyone in the back would agree that he’s one of the best wrestlers, pure wrestlers, entertainers, sports entertainers, whatever you wanna call it, of this generation. You couldn’t say enough about how great he is in the ring. But when it comes to outside of the ring, what I really respect about him is the kind of husband and the kind of father he is, the kind of locker room leader he is. He definitely leads by example. He’s a straight-edge, clean living, just amazing man in general, and it was a privilege to work alongside AJ, and I hope that we keep in touch."
Roman Reigns
"Hell of a worker, a hell of a teammate, just an old-ass video-game brother. But that reflects, I think, who he is as a person, the discipline that he has, being involved in professional wrestling, being on the road but continuing to stay true to being a family man, being a father. Just happy that I was able to make some art with him when our time came a few years ago. It would’ve been cool to be able to run it back and do it again, explore like new chapters of what we could do together, because there’s just a, pun intended, a phenomenal chemistry there."
The Miz
“AJ not only exceeded all expectations, but I think even maybe he might even tell you he exceeded his expectations because he did everything there is to do, and not just WWE, but in pro wrestling in general. And I am thankful to have AJ as a WWE superstar, as a friend, and as a person I can look to for guidance anytime I need any type of advice on certain things. He’s just that kind of guy. Great family man and I wish him well and I guess retirement, which is crazy to sound. We just saw Cena go and now we're watching AJ go - two of the absolute greats in our industry. It's surreal and I'm gonna miss him a lot."
Sami Zayn
"When I was first training, I was watching his tapes. He was only a couple of years ahead of me but he was already making a splash really quick so I was studying his tapes. The first name guy that I ever got to wrestle was AJ Styles, it was kind of a dream match for me two years into my career. He knocked me out actually. I came to and he was getting ready to leave the building and I remember I was desperately like 'can we keep it touch, can I have your email address' and he looked at me and goes 'we'll see each other again, don't worry.' As long as I’ve known you, you’ve been a good friend. I’m trying not to get too bummed out here, but I’m really gonna miss you, man, and thank you for everything. Thank you for everything, not just for me, but for what you’ve done for the business, and we just had a lot of great memories together."
Shinsuke Nakamura
“When I heard about his decision in Jpan last year, I was like 'wait a minute man, wait' but pretty soon, I got it. AJ is special to a lot of people, but for me, it’s more than that. One of my best friends, sometime I feel like he’s my brother. I miss him already."
