AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal to become the new WWE Champion on tonight’s SmackDown from Manchester, England. This was the first time that the WWE Title has changed hands outside of North America.
Styles is now a two-time WWE Champion. Jinder won the title back on May 21st at the WWE Backlash pay-per-view by defeating Randy Orton.
AJ will now face WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar at the November 19th Survivor Series pay-per-view.
Below are photos and videos from tonight’s main event:
Warning: This post contains a MAJOR spoiler for tonight’s SmackDown:
WWE’s SmackDown Live tapings from Manchester, England just wrapped up and we have a new WWE Champion.
AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal in the main event of the show to become to kick off his second WWE Championship reign. This marks the first time in history that the WWE Championship changed hands outside of North America.
It hasn’t been confirmed by WWE yet, but this likely means that the main event of next weekend’s Survivor Series pay-per-view will see Universal Champion Brock Lesnar vs. new WWE Champion AJ Styles.
WWE will add an AJ Styles collection to the network on Monday, and have revealed the matches and feuds that appear. Looking over the challenges and performances that The Phenomenal One has put on, it is hard to argue with the idea that he is the top superstar in the company at the moment; especially when you consider the fact that AJ Styles has been with WWE for less than 2 years.
Here is the introduction and list revealed by WWE, along with some clips:
Beyond Phenomenal Intro
‘Considered one of the greatest sports entertainers alive, the quest to be the best led AJ Styles straight to the bright lights of WWE. Relive the meteoric rise of The Phenomenal One with this WWE Network Collection and see why he’s been dubbed ‘The Face That Runs the Place’. From his rivalry with Chris Jericho to his first WWE Championship victory and action-packed encounters with the likes of Kevin Owens and John Cena! Join the club and be a part of the action with this “too sweet” Collection!’
11/6/17
A Phenomenal Debut
Royal Rumble 2016 – The WWE Universe is left in awe when AJ Styles makes his surprising debut in the 2016 Royal Rumble Match.
1/24/16
Instant Chemistry
RAW 1183 – Just a day after his surprising debut, AJ Styles finds himself going one-on-one with a new rival in Chris Jericho.
1/25/16
In the Fastlane
Fastlane 2016 – The rivalry between AJ Styles and Chris Jericho accelerates when they meet each other in singles competition.
2/21/16
A New Day for Y2AJ
RAW 1189 – The alliance between Chris Jericho and AJ Styles loses momentum when Y2AJ challenges The New Day for the WWE Tag Team Titles.
3/7/16
Welcome to the Grand Stage
WrestleMania – In his first appearance on The Grandest Stage of Them All, AJ Styles faces off against Chris Jericho.
4/3/16
Four Men, One Opportunity
RAW 1193 – AJ Styles battles Kevin Owens, Chris Jericho and Cesaro in a Fatal 4-Way Match for a shot at the Universal Championship.
4/4/16
Challenging the Roman Empire
RAW 1195 – With a shot to challenge Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship coming up, AJ Styles confronts the Roman Empire.
4/18/16
THE Guy and The Phenomenal One
Payback 2016 – AJ Styles looks to ascend to the top of WWE by challenging Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship.
5/1/16
Join The Club
RAW 1197 – AJ Styles forms a new Club by partnering with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson to take on Roman Reigns and The Usos.
5/2/16
Going to Extremes
Extreme Rules 2016 – AJ Styles takes things to a new level by challenging Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Title in an Extreme Rules Match.
5/22/16
Your Time is Up!
Money in the Bank 2016 – Worlds collide when AJ Styles takes to the ring to go one-on-one with ‘The Face that Runs the Place,’ John Cena.
6/19/16
The Chosen Battleground
Battleground 2016 – AJ Styles and his Club face off against John Cena, Enzo Amore and Big Cass in a Six-Man Tag Team Match.
7/24/16
A Clash of Styles
SummerSlam 2016 – The heated rivalry between John Cena and AJ Styles rages on in this incredible confrontation.
8/21/16
AJ Talks Smack
Talking Smack 889 – AJ Styles shows how he measures up verbally when The Phenomenal One addresses his upcoming battle with WWE Champion Dean Ambrose.
8/30/16
On the Fringe of Success
Backlash 2016 – AJ Styles sets out to make history by challenging Dean Ambrose for the WWE Championship.
9/11/16
Getting Crazy
SmackDown 893 – Dean Ambrose looks to reclaim the WWE Championship by challenging AJ Styles for the title.
9/27/16
Less Than Worthy
SmackDown 895 – Dean Ambrose serves as the Special Guest Referee when AJ Styles goes one-on-one with James Ellsworth.
10/11/16
A Dangerous Environment
TLC 2016 – AJ Styles puts the WWE Championship on the line against Dean Ambrose in a Tables, Ladders and Chairs Match.
12/4/16
Second Chances
SmackDown 905 – AJ Styles gives James Ellsworth the opportunity of a lifetime by defending the WWE Championship against him.
12/20/16
Overcoming the Odds
SmackDown 906 – As 2016 comes to a close, AJ Styles defends the WWE Title against Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler in a Triple Threat Match.
12/27/16
A Matter of Respect
SmackDown 910 – With John Cena set to challenge him for the WWE Championship, AJ Styles takes to the ring to demand the respect he deserves.
1/24/17
The Champ Who Runs the Camp
Royal Rumble 2017 – AJ Styles looks to cement his place in WWE history by defending the WWE Championship against John Cena.
1/29/17
Ego and Vengeance
WrestleMania – AJ Styles returns to The Grandest Stage of Them All to settle a score with SmackDown LIVE Commissioner Shane McMahon.
4/2/17
The House that AJ Styles Built
SmackDown 920 – With the landscape of WWE set to change in the Superstar Shakeup, AJ Styles lets the world know what his intentions are.
4/4/17
A New Opportunity
SmackDown 921 – AJ Styles faces Sami Zayn and Baron Corbin in a bout to name the Number One Contender for the United States Championship.
4/11/17
The Howl of a Lone Wolf
SmackDown 923 – While Kevin Owens watches from ringside, AJ Styles faces off against Baron Corbin in singles action.
4/25/17
An American Prize
Backlash 2017 – AJ Styles takes to the ring to challenge Kevin Owens for the coveted United States Championship.
5/21/17
Trying to Break the Bank
Money in the Bank 2017 – AJ Styles looks to seize the ultimate opportunity by competing in his first-ever Money in the Bank Ladder Match.
6/18/17
Phenomenally Patriotic
SmackDown 933 – AJ Styles sets out to reclaim gold by facing Chad Gable to qualify for a special Independence Day Battle Royal.
7/4/17
Gold and Old Friends
SmackDown 936 – Things get very familiar when AJ Styles faces Kevin Owens and a returning Chris Jericho for the United States Championship.
7/25/17
The Face of America
SummerSlam 2017 – With Shane McMahon officiating, AJ Styles defends the United States Championship against Kevin Owens.
8/20/17
“Stone Cold” Podcast
WWE Hall of Famer and Icon “Stone Cold” Steve Austin has a no-holds-barred live interview with “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles.
Next week on SmackDown, Jinder Mahal will defend the WWE Championship against AJ Styles from Manchester, England.
For what it’s worth, the Manchester Arena is advertising the match will be a Street Fight. As of this writing, WWE has not announced a stipulation.
The dark match main event for the show will see a 6-man tag match featuring Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura and Bobby Roode vs. Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Dolph Ziggler.
WWE Champion Jinder Mahal has this to say about his match with Styles:
– On Thursday, SmackDown commissioner Shane McMahon announced that AJ Styles will challenge Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship on next week’s SmackDown “Live” from Manchester, England.
Styles had been scheduled to face Rusev next week to earn a spot on Team SmackDown at Survivor Series, but Mahal’s attack on AJ Styles on Tuesday night led Shane to make the change.
In response to the news that he’s getting the title shot, AJ Styles wrote:
– Combat Zone Wrestling announced that Jimmy Jacobs vs. Sami Callihan has been signed for CZW’s upcoming Night of Infamy show on November 11th from Sewell, NJ.
Finn Balor and AJ Styles stole the show at Sunday night’s WWE Tables, Ladders and Chairs pay-per-view. In the battle of the former Bullet Club leaders, The Demon got the victory in a match that we will almost certainly see again at some point down the road.
Styles was filling in for Bray Wyatt, who was forced to withdraw from the contest due to medical issues. As such, there was essentially no storyline buildup prior to them stepping in the ring together. NXT General Manager William Regal addressed that dynamic, stating that no angles are necessary to have a great match.
“When wrestlers say ‘Ah, but we had a cold match, no story etc’ I always say that of coarse you’ve got a story. You have to beat that person across the ring from you or you can’t feed yourself. Anything else you got to work with is a bonus….
That match was a perfect example of two competitors trying to win. Please remember, at the end of the day we are portraying Professional Fighters and your job is to win.”
Backstage at TLC, Finn Balor made it clear he’d like to face AJ Styles again.
With SmackDown Live’s AJ Styles stepping in tonight (Sun. October 22, 2017) against Finn Balor at the WWE’s Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view (PPV), there have been rumors going around that The Club could use this opportunity for a reunion. Karl Anderson took to Twitter to respond to a fan’s question about a possible reunion, saying he will be enjoying the PPV from Green Bay on the WWE Network like everyone else:
The Bulgarian Brute showed his lighter side as he laughed, mimicked and joked around with a quieter AJ Styles on the UpUpDownDown Madden Tournament. The two superstars played out a rematch of the 2017 Super Bowl between AJ’s home town team: the Atlanta Falcons; and Rusev’s choice: the New England Patriots.
Before watching the amusing match up, it is worth checking out the final from the previous tournament that featured AJ Styles and Seth Rollins which became heated in the final moments of the game.
AJ walked out before the game had finished, exclaiming that his loss came from the match being played on PS4 rather than Xbox. Style’s then threw his runner-up trophy on the floor, breaking it and causing a piece to fly off and injure a WWE official!
A rematch was declared using an Xbox instead:
Sadly this did not favour the Prince Of Phenomenal as The Champ (Seth Rollins) picked up the big W again.
In contrast, safe in the knowledge that Rusev has little NFL knowledge, AJ appeared much more relaxed and tolerant of the Bulgarian’s comedic value.
Throughout the encounter Rusev provided an unorthodox style that contrasted AJ’s methodical dominance, resulting in a secure win for the Prince Of Phenomenal. However, from the moment the camera’s started rolling, AJ couldn’t keep a straight face. Rusev even broke into song, serenading AJ with his own version of “I Believe I Can Fly”.
The beauty of UpUpDownDown’s Madden Tournament is seeing superstars in their natural environment backstage. Sometimes it’s possible to tell when an act is being put on, but it’s great to see Seth Rollins nervous, or Rusev laughing and joking as he clumsily tries to play a game that he’s learning properly for the first time.
If you watch all of the rounds, it’s easy to catch guest appearances from other superstars who just walk into the room by accident. Titus O’Neil, Jimmy & Jey Uso, and the rest of The New Day all make regular appearances as they take sides and cause chaos, while also giving us a unique insight behind the scenes of WWE superstars.
Here is a bonus video that hi-lights the beautiful hilarity which UpUpDownDown captures:
– Bray Wyatt has been forced out of tomorrow night’s (Sun. October 22, 2017) Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view (PPV) event, which means that SmackDown Live’s AJ Styles will step in to fill his spot against “The Demon King” Finn Balor. WWE posted the following video in which Balor responded to his new challenger on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BafakvAAw_Z/
– In addition to the shuffling the TLC PPV card has undergone, the evening’s main event has seen the removal of Roman Reigns, who will no be replaced by Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle. Angle will make his return to the WWE ring in over a decade to team up with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose; taking on the team of The Miz, The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro), Braun Strowman, and Kane. SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan – who has been hoping to make an in-ring return of his own soon – had this to say about the news:
– As we’ve previously reported, SmackDown Live’s AJ Styles will step in for the ill Bray Wyatt at Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) tomorrow night (Sun. October 22, 2017) to take on Finn Balor. WWE posted the following video capturing “The Phenomenal One’s” reaction to the news:
– In addition to the string of illnesses going around the WWE locker room, Shield member Roman Reigns has also been affected and is out of his scheduled 3-on-5 match-up in the main event of TLC. RAW General Manager Kurt Angle will be making his in-ring return to replace “The Big Dog.” Braun Strowman had a reaction video of his own to the news:
The WWE world is in for a massive shock. Due to medical issues the WWE has been forced to shuffle the Tables Ladders and Chairs (TLC) pay-per-view (PPV) card. Roman Reigns will now be replaced by Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle; teaming up with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose to take on the team of The Miz, The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro), Braun Strowman, and Kane. SmackDown Live’s AJ Styles will replace Bray Wyatt to take on Finn Balor. Here’s the official announcement from WWE:
“Due to medical issues impacting two WWE Superstars scheduled to appear at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs, streaming live on WWE Network this Sunday, the special event will now feature Kurt Angle competing in a WWE ring for the first time in more than 11 years, as he replaces Roman Reigns. In addition, former WWE Champion AJ Styles will replace Bray Wyatt and face “The Demon” Finn Bálor.
“A WWE Hall of Famer and the current General Manager of Raw, Angle will join forces with Raw Tag Team Champions Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose to battle the daunting combination of Braun Strowman, Intercontinental Champion The Miz, Cesaro, Sheamus and The Big Red Machine Kane in a Tables, Ladders & Chairs 5-on-3 Handicap Match.
“The showdown between “The Demon” and Styles is one that the WWE Universe has been wanting for a long time and promises to be one of the most exciting matches of 2017.”
We previously reported that the WWE locker room has been dealing with Viral Meningitis, affecting Superstars such as Bo Dallas and Bray Wyatt. We’ll keep you updated as more news becomes available.
– Per a report from Solo Wrestling, AJ Styles missed WWE’s live event in Argentina due to a stomach illness. He is, however, expected to wrestle at tonight’s (Fri. October 20, 2017) live event in Buenos Aires.
– WWE Superstar Baron Corbin was recently interviewed by News 1330 in Abbotsford, BC where they discussed Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Corbin noted that his wife is Puerto Rican and her entire family (except her parents) live on the islands. “The Lone Wolf” revealed that they have flown in her grandmothers and are hoping to fly in the rest of her family soon:
“It took us almost three weeks to get in touch with her grandfather,” Corbin said. “He lives up in the woods so there was no cell service, no power. Her aunt couldn’t drive up there because the roads were all blocked.
“That’s the hard part of this job… sometimes you’re away from home when there’s real things are going on. It’s just a very difficult situation. We flew her grandmothers in on Wednesday — so that was a relief to have them here with us and hopefully we’re getting the rest of her family out of there this week.”
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles recently did an interview with Planeta Wrestling to discuss a number of professional wrestling topics. “The Phenomenal One” talked about being a top guy in WWE, his favorite rivalry in WWE, and who he’d like to face at WrestleMania 34. You can check out the highlights from the interview here:
Being a top guy in WWE:
“I think that a championship definitely says something about you, it definitely says you’re the guy that puts butts in the seats,” he said. “The WWE Champion does that for SmackDown, he’s our guy that puts butts in the seats, that’s why people come to see it. Do you necessarily have to be a top guy to have the championship? You don’t have to be. Once you’ve got the respect of the fans for everything you’ve done, you can be that top guy. But I personally enjoy being a champion.”
His favorite rivalry he has had in WWE:
“I’ve had a lot of great matches already and I don’t know that I can pick just one, I don’t know if that’s a question for me,” he said. “Now I did enjoy the WrestleMania match, because it’s always bigger than anything else, with Shane McMahon and I’m very proud of that match. That’s one that’s at the top of my list, but there are many others like with Roman Reigns and John Cena as well, so it’s hard to pick just one.”
Wanting to face Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34:
“Will it happen? I’m not sure. I think there’s a lot of matches that people want to see and Shinsuke [vs.] AJ Styles is definitely one of them, also with Bobby Roode,” he said. “There’s very few people on the SmackDown roster I’ve yet to have a one-on-one match with, and I think that would be very special to have any one of those guys at WrestleMania.”
SmackDown Live star Kevin Owens was the latest guest on Edge and Christian’s Pod of Awesomeness podcast, which has recently featured great interviews with John Cena and Randy Orton.
Kevin Owens revealed to Edge and Christian that he wasn’t entirely satisfied with his role in the feud with AJ Styles. Owens stated that he ‘plateaued’ when facing AJ Styles and that he didn’t enjoy the matches as much as some of his other opponents. With AJ Styles considered one of the top performers in WWE and the the amazing programs he had with the likes of John Cena and Chris Jericho, you can understand why Owens is frustrated.
“You (Edge) say you enjoyed the series of matches with AJ and I’m glad you did and hopefully a lot of people did as well but I don’t know if I can say that I did, to be honest.”
Owens’ comment was supported as he explained that, retrospectively, he wasn’t performing as best as he could have at the time. The former Face of America explained that the transition to working with Shane McMahon gave him a greater sense of purpose as it was much more of a big deal.
Owen’s then had this to say about working with Vince McMahon:
“You know not that many people get to do that with Vince, especially nowadays. If you look at the last five, six years there hasn’t been a whole lot of people who got to physically assault Vince in the way I did. So obviously I knew that was a big deal and I did think that maybe this is what I’ve been waiting for and so far it feels like that was it.”
KO finally said that he believes he has moved on to a new level since being able to physically assault Vince McMahon, and that he’s going to run with it as he moves forward.
Author’s Opinion:
Being able to reflect and evaluate performances is a good skill in any professional, and it is important to note that at no point does Kevin Owens mention or pass blame to AJ Styles for his thoughts and feelings about the feud or his own performance. KO’s interview on the podcast does come across as a form of self-reflection rather than criticism.
Catch the Pod of Awesomeness episode with Kevin Owens here.
SmackDown Live star AJ Styles spoke with The Independent this week to promote next month’s WWE live events from the UK. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
Why He Loves Performing In The UK:
“I can’t speak for the rest of the guys but there is a reason why I’ve been over to the UK so many times! It’s such a great crowd there and it feels like just yesterday that I wrestled there [just before joining WWE] and told the UK crowd that if there was a spot for me at the Royal Rumble, I’d go and kick tail for them. “I just really enjoy that part of the country – they’re just true wrestling fans.”
The Rise Of Independent Wrestling:
“It is something we’ve said before. It is a great time to be watching wrestling because there are so many things going on. That’s a good thing, and WWE sees that and knows that they need to have something in the UK and Mexico and stuff like that. They recognize that there is other talent out there and it doesn’t always come from the United States. I’m very proud.”
Fans & His Peers Saying He’s The Best In The World:
“I don’t know that I’m the best wrestler in the world,” he said. “But I like to think that I work hard when I step into a ring and I take a lot of pride in what I do, take in pride in what I do.
Who is the best? That’s up for discussion I think; there are a lot of great performers out there. You never know which one is going to be the next ‘top guy’, but if you’re asking me about being the best wrestler in the world? I’d say I’m not.”
AJ Styles is convinced that if he, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson could take out the newly reformed Shield.
The former WWE United States Champion spoke with Planeta Wrestling this week and said Sunday’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view was the best show SmackDown put on this year. Reacting to Sami Zayn aligning himself with Kevin Owens, AJ stated once again that he’s willing to team with Shane McMahon to battle Owens and Zayn.
“Shane and I have got a lot of respect for each other especially after WrestleMania, and the guy’s a stud, so you’ve got to respect that about him,” said Styles. “I’ve never really liked Kevin Owens and now that Sami Zayn has joined his crew, it doesn’t make me like Sami Zayn anymore. So you never know, it may happen.”
This partnership is expected to take place next month at Survivor Series as part of a Team Shane vs. Team Owens elimination match.
Of course, the big news of the week is the reunion of The Shield. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose will have their hands full at TLC next weekend when they battle Braun Strowman, The Miz, Cesaro and Sheamus. After that, they might be crossing paths with The Club.
When asked about a possible Club vs. Shield showdown, Styles said he’d love to get back together with his ‘good brothers’ and is certain his crew would come out on top.
“Absolutely,” he said about The Club’s ability to hang with The Shield. “I think that if Gallows and Anderson and I got together, we would dominate just like we’ve done before. There’s no doubt about it.”
Discussion: Would you want to see The Club vs. The Shield at Survivor Series?
– Former WWE United States Champion AJ Styles wants a rematch. Baron Corbon captured the title at Sunday night’s Hell in a Cell pay-per-view by defeating Styles and Tye Dillinger in a triple threat match.
Styles appeared on Talking Smack after HIAC and gave his pitch that he should be entitled to a rematch since Corbin pinned Tye Dillinger to win the gold, not him.
Meanwhile, Corbin taunted Styles and all the “crybabies out there” after his victory:
– Following last night’s (Sun. October 8, 2017) Hell In A Cell pay-per-view (PPV), The New Day were unsuccessful in defending their SmackDown Live Tag Team Championships against The Usos inside Hell In A Cell.
After the match, Xavier Woods took to Instagram to show off his battle scars from the grizzly match. Check it out here:
Following last night’s (Tues. October 3, 2017) SmackDown Live going off air, AJ Styles teamed up with Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton to take on Jinder Mahal, Rusev and Baron Corbin in a dark match. At one point in the match Styles threw up the ‘Too Sweet’ sign to the referee, who gave it back to Styles and visibly upset Mahal, Rusev, and Mahal. It was a great moment and fans loved it. You can check it out here below:
United States Championship match announced for Hell in a Cell
Baron Corbin faced Tye Dillinger tonight on SmackDown. United States Champion AJ Styles came down and joined commentary for the match. Towards the end of the match, Dillinger connected with a kick that sent Corbin to the floor next to the announce table. Corbin grabbed a cup of water on the announce table and threw it in AJ’s face. Corbin then launched Tye Dillinger into Styles and both Superstars crashed to the floor next to the announce table. Corbin quickly got back into the ring and won the match via count-out.
After the match, Corbin grabbed a microphone and said that he wasn’t taking any more short cuts. He challenged AJ Styles to a match at WWE Hell in a Cell on October 8th. The match was then made official and AJ Styles will defend his United States Championship against Baron Corbin at WWE Hell in a Cell.
Updated WWE Hell in a Cell 2017 Card:
Hell in a Cell Match
Shane McMahon vs. Kevin Owens
WWE Championship
Jinder Mahal (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura
SmackDown Women’s Championship
Natalya (c) vs Charlotte Flair
United States Championship
AJ Styles (c) vs Baron Corbin
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Hell in a Cell Match
RAW Superstar Roman Reigns was a guest on the CBS Sports In This Corner podcast and spoke to host Brian Campbell about about his favorite WWE feuds.
Reigns put over AJ Styles as his all-time favorite feud, saying that he could wrestle AJ every day for the rest of his life.
“It’s hard for me to rank. Do you know what I mean? I have such a deep respect for all the guys that I’m out there with and for me to rank them, I’d feel weird about that. But I think both AJ and I know what we had going on and we can both say that it was special. And I’ll wrestle AJ for the rest of my life. I’ll go out on a limb and say that I would have no problems being in that ring with him if you’re like, ‘hey, that’s the only person you’re going to wrestle,’ I’d be like, ‘well, thank you! That’s easy.’ I mean, it really is.”
Reigns continued, “If you don’t know by now, if you didn’t know AJ before his coming to the WWE, there’s a reason why he’s in the WWE. There’s a reason why he’s used the way he’s used and it was an absolute pleasure to be in the ring with him.”
Reigns, who has had memorable feuds with Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker and John Cena, says he and AJ Styles had instant chemistry from the night AJ made his surprise debut in the 2016 Royal Rumble.
“It was one of those situations I honestly cherish and I’ll never forget those matches we had. I thought our chemistry was incredible from day one in the Rumble. Do you know what I mean? And we had no clue of each other outside just being in that ring and dancing with each other and it was magic. Hopefully, one day, we’ll do it again. He’s over there on the blue side and that’s important because with his leadership, his tenure, being all around the world and having a deep respect for this business. And like we talked about before, that passion, you can’t fake that.”
You can listen to the full episode of Roman Reigns on the In This Corner podcast below:
A fan posted photos on Twitter of Bayley wearing an AJ shirt, reading her book and posing next to her poster. The fan wrote “get a friend who supports you as much as Bayley supports AJ Lee”. AJ retweeted the post and added that Bayley “is a majestic unicorn, too precious for this world”.
The Bella Twins uploaded a new video on their YouTube account with Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella discussing Pediatric Cancer Awareness month. Bryan discussed how he became aware of Connor “The Crusher” Michalek and how they formed a bond.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1VUu5Uq56k
AJ Styles on wearing his Bullet Club mask in Japan
AJ Styles wore the mask he used during his run with NJPW with the Bullet Club at a WWE Live Event in Osaka, Japan. Styles wore the mask down to the ring and then removed it before the match started. Styles posted a photo on Instagram about wearing the mask and added “Had to show that CLUB love in Osaka!”.
The following are results from Saturday’s SmackDown live event from Osaka, Japan:
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day retained over Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin
– Sami Zayn defeated Aiden English
– Randy Orton defeated Rusev in a Last Man Standing match
– United States Champion AJ Styles retained over Kevin Owens. Styles wore a mask resembling the logo of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson’s team, The Club.
* Luke Harper defeated Erick Rowan
– Charlotte Flair, Naomi and Becky Lynch defeated Carmella, Lana, Tamina Snuka and SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya. Asuka, who is set to debut on the RAW brand in the coming weeks, accompanied the babyface team and received a huge pop when she addressed the audience before the match. She was wearing a sling on her arm.
– WWE Champion Jinder Mahal retained over Shinsuke Nakamura in the main event. Nakamura got the biggest pop of the night. He took out The Singh Brothers after the match and spoke to the crowd to thank them for coming to the show.
After strong viewership for this week’s “Sin City” edition of SmackDown Live, WWE is looking to keep the momentum going with a big title match just announced for next week.
United States Champion AJ Styles will defend the gold against Baron Corbin next Tuesday night. The announcement was made Thursday afternoon in a video hosted by Cathy Kelley.
Styles and Corbin have been at odds for weeks. On this week’s show, Corbin got involved in Styles’ title defense against Tye Dillinger. The interference was blocked, but after the match, Corbin laid Styles out with End of Days and told the Phenomenal One he’ll be answering the US ‘Open Challenge’ next week. Now, it’s official.
– As you probably know, many pro wrestlers are big gamers. Video games are great way for them to pass the time on the road and flex their competitive muscles outside the ring.
SmackDown Live stars Randy Orton and AJ Styles had a competitive game of Mario Kart for Nintendo Switch on Wednesday night, with Orton delivering a virtual RKO to the United States Champion. Orton says UpUpDownDown star Xavier Woods witnessed his win, but AJ Styles has multiple excuses for why he lost.
Played with a Joy-Con, not the full controller. He has all the upgrades for his carts. I just got the game, my thumb hurts and I'm sleepy. https://t.co/EEbG0xxnCu
– WWE will hold another round of NXT TV tapings tonight at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. Last night’s show featured WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne defending against Wolfgang, Billie Kay & Payton Royce vs. Ruby Riot & Nikki Cross, Johnny Gargano and the Street Profits in action and an appearance from the Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish).
Click here to check out our detailed recap of this week’s NXT.
WWE Superstar AJ Styles recently did an interview with the Hindustan Times to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. Styles discussed what he believes to be the biggest moment of his career, the transition from New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) to WWE, and if there’s room from improvement for himself inside the squared circle. Here are the highlights:
The biggest moment of his career:
“My debut in the Royal Rumble was the biggest moment of my career! I was quite overwhelmed by the support shown by WWE fans and that is something I will never forget.”
Transitioning from NJPW to WWE:
“I never changed my style with respect to how my wrestle. The only difference was that WWE has a lot more cameras facing you than the independent circuit, but I think that was just a learning curve that you need to go through and it has really helped me.”
If there’s room for improvement:
“Of course I have room for improvement. Look at a talent like Kazuchika Okada; he is one of the best wrestlers in the world and the kid is not even 30. He has won the IWGP championship at such a young age and when you see a talent like that, it inspires you to work harder.”
You can read Styles’ full interview with The Hindustan Times by clicking here.