AJ Styles has given some insight into his second reign as WWE Champion and his journey to being one of the top stars for the company.
The WWE Champion spoke with Joshua Caudill for Dirtfork to promote the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view event that takes place this Sunday (August 19, 2018) in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center on the WWE Network where is set to defend the title against Samoa Joe.
Second WWE Title Reign
Styles was asked about his second title run and being the guy WWE depends on where he noted that the first title reign is always the most exciting but the second time around is the most rewarding as he won the title from Jinder Mahal in England, which he noted is something that WWE never had before so it was cool and the fact that he’s the longest reigning WWE SmackDown Champion in history is also very cool.
“I enjoy being the guy that people depend on. That’s rewarding to me. To be able to hold on to the championship this long means I’m doing something right. I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing. My job is to make sure that people are entertained and at SummerSlam, it will be no different. I can promise you that.”
Turning Point
Styles also touched upon when he thought was the moment once WWE Chairman Vince McMahon saw something in him. The SmackDown star noted that he was looked at as a mid-card at best in the WWE and that the plan was to be okay with that because WWE is a great job. However, he didn’t think that’s where he was going to be but there was that time when he made his debut, McMahon thought the fan reactions at the Royal Rumble was a fluke as he didn’t think much of him.
“I don’t even think I was supposed to be on Raw that next Monday. But the turning point where Vince really saw something in me was when I had a regular match, a babyface match, went out and did my thing. I came back to gorilla and Vince says, ‘Come here for a second. I’ve got other guys who can do exactly what you just did out there. You didn’t do anything special. I need a pit bull. I need a guy who just attacks. I need a guy who gets after it.’”
Styles continued to say that he told him that he knew a guy which was him and that he had the opportunity to be on Miz TV and handled it well where he thinks the way that turned out was the turning point for McMahon. He brought up how he would then beat Chris Jericho at WrestleMania 32 and become the No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship against Roman Reigns where they had some fantastic matches.
“That was the turning point. That’s when things changed and that’s how I became the A.J. Styles that you know now.”
Check out the complete interview at Dirtfork.com. Also, remember to join us here at SEScoops.com this Sunday evening for live results coverage of this year’s WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view.
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