Joe Dombrowski sent along the following …

AJ Styles – The Missing Matches” Available Now On DVD & Digital Download

He is one of the most gifted athletes of our generation, who has stolen shows and given breathtaking performances throughout his career. While many of his matches were beneath the bright lights of global television and pay-per-view, some of “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles’ best efforts never saw the worldwide stage, leaving even the most ardent of AJ fans unaware of their existence.

Joe-Dombrowski.com, in association with Sorgatron Media, are proud to present the best of these hidden gems, in the first of our series “The Missing Matches”. You’ll see 11 rare matches, spanning the past decade of AJ’s career, plus a special sit-down interview as AJ addresses the subjects everyone is talking about, as well as “The Missing Questions” – topics no other AJ interview to date has covered!

You’ll see the following rarely seen matches –

AJ Styles vs. CM Punk
AJ Styles vs. Matt Hardy
AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels
AJ Styles vs. Christian Cage
AJ Styles vs. Jeff Jarrett
AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels vs. Jonny Storm & Jody Fleisch
AJ Styles vs. Shiima Xion (aka Zema Ion)
AJ Styles vs. Johnny Gargano
AJ Styles vs. Delirious
AJ Styles vs. Tony Nese
AJ Styles vs. Facade

Over four hours for only $20 on DVD or $15 via Digital Download! Purchase now by visiting Joe-Dombrowski.com and click on “Store”!

You can check out the official trailer for the DVD above.

The following are highlights of a new Slam! Wrestling interview with AJ Styles:

On now not being the right time to go to WWE: “It sure doesn’t seem like the right time to be going to WWE. I think the best place for me right now is New Japan. I’m happy with everything that’s going on there right now.”

On retiring in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW): “At this point, I would be more than happy at some point in my career to just retire from New Japan. The respect that they have shown me … and I’m not talking about being the heavyweight champion … I’m talking about just overall treating me with respect and treating me like a star and trusting me to have great matches with guys I’ve never even been in the ring with. That means a lot to me. I hope that they see that ‘this guy’s going to help us out in the long run … he’s a team player.’ And I’d be more to, when my time comes to retire, to retire from New Japan Pro Wrestling.”

Check out the complete interview at Canoe.ca.

The following are highlights of a new Busted Open Radio interview with Jim Ross:

Whether or not he regrets missing out on signing AJ Styles when he was in WWE: “I missed on him. He just started getting rolling and he was just starting on the WCW roster when the WWE bought out WCW. Our team missed on him. We could have hired him, but he did not have the skill set he has now. In hindsight, the right thing occurred. He got more experience and ended up in TNA. I would suggest that his long run in TNA is what kept him from getting hired. From talking to him, he would be a huge asset to anyones roster.”

His contract with WWE ending: “I look it at it a little differently. I’ll never be able to pay back the debt I owe to the wrestling fans since 1974. I’ve been on this amazing journey and the genre of wrestling/sports entertainment whatever you call it. The fans have invested in my work and they have invested in my BBQ sauce, followed me on Twitter, downloaded the podcast. I’m just very grateful. This hasn’t been a sad week. I had to go through a certain period of time from a legal standpoint to fulfill all of my obligations for WWE. I’m now completely out there. I’m not looking for work. There’s plenty to do. I’ve said it a bunch of times, coming to WWE in 1993 was the best career move I ever made. I don’t owe them money and they don’t owe me any. We’re done. I have no regrets. The only thing I would have liked differently was the 3 bells palsy attacks and have to constantly explain to people why I don’t smile. I’d like to be more HD friendly. I wouldn’t change a thing and a lot of things are on the horizon.”

His new interview with Sting & Sting in WWE: “We go all the way back to the mid 80s so we really started way back. I don’t go for the dirt immediately. I let it come out naturally. I can tell you, the funny thing is people don’t understand business. Just because he showed up at Comic Con doesn’t mean he has a contract with WWE. He’s got a contract with Mattel from what I understand. He has a contract with 2K. He has some sort of agreement with WWE to basically sell T-shirts, like a licensing/marketing deal. It’s not a traditional legends deal. Him being in San Diego means zero about him wrestling there. People are getting pissed at me because I’m telling the truth. Wrestling people are not supposed to always be honest, so I say to the best of my knowledge he doesn’t have a wrestler contract, so the lock on Sting being in the ring in some point in time with WWE is there is no lock. If you’re going to have Sting wrestle, book it right. If I was there I can book it in 30 minutes easy. He wrestles once. And if he wrestles once and he says “win lose or draw I’m done”. That match is at Wrestlemania because it takes everything full circle. He’s said he wants to wrestle one Wrestlemania before calling it quits. He doesn’t need to win the Royal Runble. He doesn’t need to come on Raw every Monday. That’s stupid. He could make them a lot of money. I believe that the guy has paid his dues and deserves his Wrestlemania moment.”

Why WWE hasn’t signed Sting yet and should they: “There’s no logical reason why they shouldn’t. He has no drug or alcohol issues. He is in good health. A lot of those younger kids grew up watching him. That’s how I got Shawn Michaels to come back from his hiatus. I said if you don’t want to wrestle, that’s fine. Come back and be a positive influence in the locker room with your born again Christian faith and your outlook on life and how you screwed up your life and fixed it. You would be a positive influence. That’s how Shawn Michaels came back to WWE. He came back to help the young guys, got the itch, and he was better than he ever was. Have Sting around people. Have him at PR functions. There’s a lot of big time players that were one time big wrestling fans. I find it amazing that they say to me ‘man I remember when you said this.’ and sometimes that gets them a gig or interview. Sting has been on national television for how many years without missing a beat. He’s been on TBS, he’s been on Impact, he has a name and has been on ongoing TV forever. Why wouldn’t you have that story and have that great story. I hear WWE supposedly has 30 writers. If you tell me that 30 writers can’t come up with a storyline that would appeal to Vince McMahon, I’m sorry that they’re in that condition, a company that I have been and forever loyal to and a company I feel like I contributed a little bit back in the day when we were almost out of business in the mid 90s. Sing is in great shape. He goes to the gym. He doesn’t drink or smoke. Would you bring him back long term? No. But for one big match as part of an ensemble cast.”

Whether or not Sting has to wrestle for WWE to cement his legacy: “No. I think he wants to do it as a personal goal. When I was trying to hire him after WCW closed, he was owed so much money by Time Warner he would have been foolish to have come worked for us. I feel like he should be in the WWE Hall Of Fame even if he doesn’t wrestle a match. If the WWE is what they say they are, they are the gatekeepers for the business now. You shouldn’t have a 20 year career in the WWE to qualify, and when he goes in you should maximize that chance.”

A Sting vs. The Undertaker dream match: “As it’s working out now, that dream match with the Undertaker doesn’t exist anymore. A match with Undertaker was to try and beat the streak, so that mystique is over. That whole attraction of Undertakers streak is now a DVD. It’s over. You can’t replicate that. Stings opponent could be a lot of things. It could be a hot shot heel. I’m not big on him having to win his last match. If he wins, great. If he doesn’t, well as far as I know him, he could care less. Him winning his last match isn’t the issue. Him building up his last match, him being a part of the program, the promotion, the hype and finally being able to have that entrance and performing at Wrestlemania, that’s the end game. Maybe you could have that match with Undertaker and have that be a one off where both of them retire and go out guns blazing. ‘You were the guy up here (WWE) I was the guy down there (WCW) I just want to know who was best’. No returns, no returns, no appearance on Raw the night after, that’s it. I think they can have a great presentation. On the other side, you could have a hot young heel like Seth Rollins for example. Have him take a beating from Sting and have Rollins go over in the end. There’s so many ways to go about this, but bottom line is he deserves the opportunity. Austins not going to be there to wrestle. I highly doubt The Rock will be, so what are you gonna do?”

The Undertaker’s Streak ending: “If you listen to my podcast, Shawn Michaels explains the whole story. The decision was made 4 hours before Wrestlemania started by Vince McMahon after sitting down and talking to Undertaker. I’m thinking it was to promote the network, which is the be all end all to WWE right now. They need to get subscribers.”

Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena: “I do fantasy booking on my podcast. Brock Lesnar is going to win the title at Summerslam. He’s going to be put into beast mode until April. At the Royal Rumble Roman Reigns will win the Rumble and Lesnar will pass the torch to Reigns at Wrestlemania. Reigns isn’t ready now. He needs to be protected now and the producers on the road have to work with him and coach him up. He has to be ready in April. He’s good enough now to win the Royal Rumble. I think that Lesnar is in beast mode and is not touched until April. He has to be booked like a heel but when he is working with Cena, there is going to be a tremendous amount of people cheering for Brock Lesnar. You can’t have that trend continue. He has to be a heel. You don’t want him going into Wrestlemania 31 as a face. That’s what I would do and I don’t care if wrestling fans are like ‘that’s predictable. I won’t watch!’ Yes you will.”

Check out the complete interview at BustedOpenNation.com.

Former TNA star AJ Styles appeared on Wrestling Observer Radio this week and revealed that he’s already made more money this year working the indy scene than he would have for the entire year of 2014, based on the final contract renewal offer he received.

He added that by the end of the year, he could make the same amount of money that he made in TNA in 2013, a deal that was more lucrative than TNA’s final offer to him this year. Styles made around $350,000 on his last TNA deal. The deal that he turned down would have paid him just over $200,000 and would have paid him based on how often he wrestled.

Another perk of being self employed and taking his own bookings is that independent promotions pay for his hotel rooms, travel expenses. He also receives most of the money generated from the sales of his merchandise.

TNA doesn’t cover road expenses and wrestlers only get a small percentage of merchandise money.

– The latest edition of Jim Ross’ “Ross Report” podcast, which features an interview with AJ Styles, is now available. The official description for the show reads as follows:

TRR – Ep23 – AJ Styles

“He’s arguably the hottest free agent in pro-wrestling, and the one that JR let get away – AJ Styles joins The Ross Report, and here’s what he & good ole JR covered: Raven, Samoa Joe, storytelling, TNA Impact, the 6-sided ring, New Japan, ROH, John Cena, and the Undertaker’s streak ending!”

You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.

– The latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, which features Jericho’s review of the WWE Battleground pay-per-view that he was actually part of, is now available. The official description for the show reads as follows:

TIJ – EP58 – Fozzy & WWE Battleground Review

“Fozzy’s new album is out… and Chris has the whole band together to celebrate. They’re naming favorite songs, telling songwriting secrets, sharing crazy road stories, reveling in tour antics, and bustin’ cajones! Plus, it’s a different kind of family sit-down when Chris, his son Ash The Fish Expert, and dad NHL Great Ted Irvine talk WWE Battleground! It’s the Irvine Family PPV Review!”

You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.

Gunner joined TNA in 2010 but his story goes back to 2001 when he began wrestling but a year later he joined the U.S. Marine Corps as a Machine Gunner and reached the rank of lance corporal serving in the Iraq War.

The 32-year-old from Hickory, North Carolina, is a one-time TNA tag team champion with James Storm and a one-time TNA Television Champion.

We caught up with Gunner to talk about working with the Nature Boy Ric Flair, his dad being involved in story lines, wanting to become TNA Champion, plus much more.

Q. How did you first get into the sport of professional wrestling?

I’ve been a wrestling fan since the age of five and I started wrestling in 2001, and i joined the marine corp 2002 to 2006. I was wrestling before i went to bootcamp and during my time in the marine corp I would travel 20 hour round trips or so every weekend I could to wrestle on certain shows, so I was juggling both at the same time. I’m just living my dream.

Q. Who were some of the wrestlers that you enjoyed watching whilst growing up?

I could sit here and talk to you about that all day, some of the ones that come to mind are; Macho Man Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, and Ric Flair. The main one for me was Macho Man, I was a massive fan of Randy Savage.

Q. What has it been like getting to work with guys you enjoyed watching like Kurt Angle and Ric Flair?

They are both very knowledgable guys, so it was great for them to pass their knowledge on to the younger guys like myself who are the future of the company and the future of the business.

Ric managed me for a while so he would be at ringside for my matches, and just him knowing how to tell a story and paint a picture was amazing. Kurt Angle is a machine, anytime you’re in the ring with him you are going to have to work, but that is great, it has taught me the never say die attitude.

Q. What has it been like in the TNA dressing room with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Jeff Jarrett, Sting, AJ  Styles, Christopher Daniels and Kazarian all leaving the company?

Professional wrestling is a business and like anyone that works in any business we are all expendable. All of those guys that have left the company are off still doing great things, and even though it’s a shame to lose top guys like that it gives the younger guys in the locker room the opportunity to step up to the plate. Those are big boots to fill, nobody is going to be the next Sting or AJ Styles but it gives us a chance to build new characters and new stars.

Q. Your rivalry with James Storm saw some real life elements brought in the the storyline, was that something you enjoyed?

James and I have our differences and we just don’t like each other, but he is still an amazing performer, he can fight and he knows what he is doing in the ring. Those matches I had with James enabled me to step up even more, and it has given the fans the opportunity to invest in my character.

Bringing my father into the storyline was a great experience that I enjoyed. Wrestling is totally different now to when I was a kid, when everything was larger than life and seemed as though it had just come out of a comic book, the guys could still work but now the fans want to know what the wrestlers are like in real life.

Q. What is your next target?

I’ve got my eyes on the big prize, the TNA Heavyweight Title. I feel like I was robbed on the last TNA tour in the UK when I wrestled Magnus for the title and James Storm interfered. I think I’m ready for another title shot, Eric Young is the champion and we have a friendship but when it comes to business we both want to be world champion. Obviously he doesn’t want to lose it, but I want to win it, that is my main goal to be champion.

For more information you can follow Gunner on Twitter @TNA_GUNNER

– Vince McMahon ended up making the trip to London, England for WWE RAW tonight. As previously reported, McMahon — along with company executive George Barrios — held a conference call earlier today to react to the recent WWE stock decline following the announcement of the company’s new agreement with NBCUniversal. McMahon did the call from London, while Barrios was in Stamford, CT.

– WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross has recently listed the following stars as future guests on his “Ross Report” podcast, which airs every Tuesday night at PodcastOne.com: Michelle Beadle of ESPN, Eric Bischoff, Bill Goldberg, Ted DiBiase, MVP, Lance Storm, Kurt Angle, Bully Ray, Sting, AJ Styles and Tony Schiavone.

Eric Young has been in TNA for nearly a decade and in that time we have seen him be a member of Team Canada, a stint a a comic book hero Super Eric, all the way through to being the top dog in the company and current TNA World Heavyweight Champion.

The 34-year-old from Florence, Ontario, Canada has won numerous titles turing his time in the company including; X Division champion, multiple time Tag Team champion, Television champion and ever Knockouts Tag Team champion with ODB, however the current title around his waste tops the lot.

We caught up with EY to talk about, getting to work with some of his heroes, his Animal Planet shows, and of course the night he was crowned TNA World Champion, plus much more.

Q. How did you first get into the sport of professional wrestling?

I’ve been a fan since I was five-years-old, I’ve watched it my whole life and it’s all I ever really wanted to do. The week after I finished high school I began training at a gym, and three months after that I had my first pro match and it ha just snowballed from there. I’ve wrestled in all 50 states, every province, wrestled all over the world and now I’m the World Heavyweight champion, it has been a pretty wild ride.

Q. When growing up who were some of the wrestlers that you enjoyed watching?

Being from Canada, Bret and Owen Hart were massive influences on me. Then there were guys like Sting, Terry Funk, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, I have a huge list of wrestlers that I enjoyed watching. I loved Hulk Hogan and Ultimate Warrior, there was just something about it from the age of five or six and I  couldn’t get enough.

Still to this day I have lots of VHS tapes with tens of thousands of wrestling, I loved it when I five and I still love it today.

Q. You’ve had the chance to work with the likes of Sting, Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair, what was it like working with guys you grew up watching?

It’s hard to put that into words, these were guys that I idolised growing up, these were people that I wanted to be. I actually got to wrestle Sting in his first match back after 10 years away, and just being in the ring with him was a dream come true but very surreal at the same time. Sting was always good to be, Hulk as well, they always had time for me and it was great to be able to share a locker-room with guys like that and be on the same roster.

Q. The likes of Sting, Hulk Hogan, AJ Styles, and Jeff Jarrett have all left TNA in recent months, what has that been like?

There is always massive turnover in professional wrestling, people come, people go, some people go to work in other places and some people end up coming back, that is just the nature of the beast. It’s never nice to see anyone go, but I’m still really good buddies with AJ Styles and we talk whenever we get a chance – we’re actually planning on doing a bike trip together in the summer.

Q. When you first started in TNA did you ever think you’ll become World Heavyweight champion?

It’s always something that I wanted, and personally it’s always something I believed I could do. I don’t think there is anybody that doesn’t want to become World Heavyweight champion when they are in this business. The night I won the belt from Magnus on IMPACT! was a great feeling, I’m not taking anything away from him, it was an amazing match and he’s a super talented guy but I was better that day and now I’m the World champion and that sounds kind of crazy to say out loud.

Q. What can we expect from you as Champion?

I told the fans and I meant it, that I’m going to be a fighting champion, that’s the kind of champion I like and that is the kind of champion I’m going to be. Every chance I get to defend my title I will, I will defend my title against anybody, anytime, any place, any time.

Q. Who are some of the people you are looking forward to defending your title against?

The list is huge, pound-for-pound TNA has one of the pro wrestling rosters in the world. I’ve got a massive history with Bobby Roode, and he was they guy that held the belt longer than anybody, I would love to get in the ring and test myself against him.

Guys like Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, Austin Aries, James Storm, Gunner, Ken Anderson, these are all guys that I want to defend my belt against. They are all worthy, they all deserve a shot at the belt and secondly I want to test myself against the best and see what happens.

Q.  What have been some of the highlights for you during your 10 year tenure in TNA?

Obviously my favourite moment was that night on IMPACT! when I won the gauntlet match and then went on to wrestle Magnus and become the World Heavyweight Champion for the first time. I wouldn’t change anything about my journey, it’s been an amazing journey, I’ve done all these different roles – I’ve been X-Division Champion, I’ve Tag Team champion on numerous occasions, I’ve held the TV title, I’ve even won the Knockouts Tag Titles with ODB.

One of the things I’m most proud of is being on television every week for nearly 10 years, which is something not many people are able to do. I think that shows my versatility, you never know what is going to happen next in this industry, it’s a crazy business but it has been great to experience all of it, the good, the bad and the indifferent.

I’ve always prided myself when the fans say things like, Eric Young is the most entertaining guy in professional wrestling. That’s really important to me, it always has been, it always will be, that’s the name of the game when it comes right down to it, it’s a television show, and it’s about entertaining people, if that with physicality that’s great, if its with comedy that’s great.

My first two years in TNA I didn’t say a singe word, I was the guy on team Canada to carry the action and to be physical, I got hired here because I was a pro wrestler, it had nothing to do with me being funny, and it’s cool to remind people of that because I’m a pro wrestler at my core, or the other stuff is important to me but I’m a pro wrestler first and foremost.

Q. As World Champion, what more can we expect from yourself for the rest of 2014?

More of the same, I’ve always prided myself putting in 100% effort and it doesn’t matter if I’m sick or I’m hurt I will always put in the same amount of effort. As champion I feel that extra weight on my shoulders, being ‘the guy’ it’s important for me that people say Eric Young was involved in the best match on the show. For me it’s about making moments and memories, it’s about making people remember stuff. I’ve had lots of positive feedback so far and I just want to continue defending my belt and being the best I can.

Q. With yourself as TNA Champion and Daniel Bryan as WWE Champion, is it the era of the beard?

Yeah, it’s obviously the era of the beard, I’m not daft, I don’t live under a rock, I hear these things and I’m sure he hears them too. I’ve actually met Daniel in person and I always hear nothing but good things about him. Anytime anyone want to compare me to him, I have absolutely no problem with that, feel free to carry on, he’s a super talented guy and a tremendous wrestler.

Q. Away from wrestling you’ve also presented a number of hit shows on Animal Planet, what has that been like?

It’s amazing, it’s something that I’ve always wanted to do. I still have other goals in my life but TV is something that I’ve always wanted to do. I love entertaining people, the shows allow me to combine my passion of extreme sports, I’ve always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I’ve been all over North America and done lots of crazy things, and it’s been an amazing experience.

Q. What is it like being a guest on the Steve Austin podcast?

Steve and myself are kind of wired the same way, he loves pro wrestling and always has, I love pro wrestling. He’s also an outdoors man, he loves fishing an he watched my shows on Animal Planet and loved them and through the miracle of Twitter I got talking to him, we went back a forth and hit it off right away.

We’re still buddies and talk to this day. For me he was a guy that I idolised and is one of the top five pro wrestlers of all time. I got to go to his house in LA, we sat around his computer with the microphone and we just talked about wrestling and life.

– WWE returns to Albany, New York on Tuesday, November 4th for a Smackdown and Main Event taping. Tickets went on sale last night at RAW.

– The original script for last night’s RAW had Daniel Bryan wrestling Batista, according to PWInsider.com. On Monday afternoon, the decision was made for Bryan to face Alberto Del Rio instead.

– Former TNA star AJ Styles wants to be a future guest on Jim Ross’ Ross Report podcast. He tweeted on Tuesday:

@JRsBBQ give me a follow so I can DM you some info. I would love to be on your show.

@AJStyles.Org (@AJStylesOrg) May 6, 2014

AJ Styles defeated Kazuchika Okada to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the New Japan Pro Wrestling Dontaku iPPV event on Saturday night. By winning the title, Styles became the first American wrestler to hold that particular belt since Brock Lesnar held it in 2005.

Ring Of Honor promoted the event on their official website and noted that the winner of the Styles vs. Okada match would defend the IWGP Championship against Michael Elgin at their “War of the Worlds” event on May 17th.

Styles tweeted the following photo of himself with the IWGP Championship backstage after the show:

#bulletclub pic.twitter.com/SBP6BgxXDn

— AJStyles.Org (@AJStylesOrg) May 3, 2014

The following are highlights of a recent Live Audio Wrestling interview with AJ Styles:

Working the G-1 Climax: “The G-1 tournament is stuff you don’t wanna miss. It’s the best talent coming together and putting one-on-one matches together. I’m expecting nothing but great things out of that. It’s stuff like that, being in this tournament, that makes me feel like I am wanted, and people do want to see AJ Styles wrestle. For a second there when I left TNA, it didn’t seem like TNA wanted me very much. Going back to the indies, New Japan especially, and Ring of Honor, it just goes to show that there’s something I’ve gotta prove, and I expect to do a lot of that in the tournament.”

Whether he can work the ROH June PPV or not: “It doesn’t look good. I would hate to be scheduled for a match, and then have a flight be delayed and the next thing you know I’m not making it. I would assume that when I’m over in Japan it’s a long flight, and it’s some quality matches. I want to be in tip top shape when I wrestle for New Japan and when I wrestle for Ring of Honor.”

Drawing more than some TNA house shows: “I don’t quite understand why this is, but almost every show I’ve been at has drawn that kind of number. I’m not saying it’s me, I’m saying the promoters know what they’re doing. That’s what’s so crazy about this, I’m having so much fun and I’m going, wow, for somebody to say that I wasn’t worth the money, there sure are a lot of people showing up at these independent shows to see exactly what I do. It’s confusing, to say the least, but I’m very excited about the fact that I’m able to work in front of all these people and I’m able to give them their money’s worth.”

Check out the complete interview at FightNetwork.com.

The following are highlights of a Main Event Radio interview with TNA star Bobby Roode:

Looking back at his first world title run: “Things worked out for the best for myself. Becoming World Champion. Obviously the disappointment was there at Bound for Glory. I was the first ever winner of the BFG series. Going through that series and win it the way that I did. Being with Beer Money, winning the tag team titles with James and before that with Eric Young in Team Canada. This was my first real shining moment as a singles competitor. To win the series was a huge deal. And then to walk in to the main event of BFG against a competitor like Kurt Angle. It was a perfect story for me. Walking out without the title that night was very disappointing for me personally. Looking back at it, the way it all went down; I think it actually helped me out.

“It lit a fire under me and made me want the world title even more. In the end, I won the world title; I held it longer than anybody else in the history of the company. Held it longer than anybody else, something that I’m proud of. Those were great matches with Austin [Aries]. We had really good chemistry together, looking back at those series of matches had together make me really proud. Then we had the tag titles together which was awesome. The ultimate goal in this business as wrestler is to be the world champion. From day one, to be the #1 guy, to be the champion has been my number one focus. My sights are set on Eric [Young] or whoever has the World title, maybe Magnus after Sunday. My goal is to once again be a World Heavyweight Champion.”

Thoughts on Eric Young being champion: “I’m happy for Eric. We’re two guys who came up the same way, grew up in Canada, with the dream of being a wrestler and a world champion. He’s a TNA original, we were tag champs together, there’s a lot of history between the two of us. He’s been in the business long enough and he saw the way that I carried the title and he sees there’s a bullseye on his back. When the time comes to doing business, I’m going to do what I have to do. I know what it takes to get it, to win it, to hold it, to keep it. That eagerness to carry the world championship again and to have that responsibility again. That was something I thrived on and something I missed. I will take that opportunity and make the best of it when it comes again.”

Wrestling Kurt Angle: “Kurt is in my personal opinion the best there’s ever been. He can go out there in his entire career and entertain the masses by his professional wrestling, the way he handles himself in the ring, his character. There’s no doubt that he is the best there’s ever been in this business. For me to have been able to go out there with Kurt and to have produced the matches that we did. To have fans talk about our matches as some of the best matches they’ve seen, or as match of the year; it meant a lot to me. Something that I’m proud of. Unfortunately with Kurt’s injury we had to cut the program short. Hopefully down the road we get to meet up again and do something special.”

Beer Money and would they ever reform: “In my personal opinion, Beer Money is probably the most recognizable, most over act that TNA has been able to produce from the ground up. You have two original guys, two guys who went out there as Beer Money. We had the tag team titles longer than anybody else in the history of the company. It’s something special. This week on Impact we came back for one night only. We had a common goal to soften up our opponents before their matches (Bully Ray & Gunner). In the wrestling business, you never say never for down the road. But for right now Bobby Roode’s goal is to put Bully through a table and then go on to become a World Heavyweight Champion again. I’m sure that James Storm feels the same way and has the same goal to become a Heavyweight Champion. Down the road, if the time is right, and we both feel it’s right; maybe Beer Money will come alive again.”

AJ Styles and Sting’s departures: “It’s unfortunate. At the end of the day this is a business Not everybody is going to be happy and people go their separate ways. It’s the wrestling business and we’re seen it happen a million times. Unfortunately, AJ was a TNA original and was the face of our company for a very long time. That departure bothers me the most. I had a great relationship with AJ, we were friends, we were part of Fortune together, and we had some great matches. I understand where AJ’s coming from, it’s all business, and I wish him nothing but the best. Sting was a great guy to have in our locker room. He was a veteran leader. A guy that you can go and talk to, a guy who I had some memorable matches, and a guy who mentored me a lot and taught me a lot in the ring. He’s an icon; his name will live forever in this business. And I wish him nothing but the best of luck. At the end of the day this is a business and you’ve got to do what you can for yourself.”

Future Stars: “Our company is looking really strong for the future. Ethan Carter has a hell of a career in front of him. He’s young; he’s got a lot to learn. His eyes and his ears are always open, always asking for advice. He’s handling himself better each and every week. Down the road he will be a main event guy and possible champion. Gunner’s the same thing. He’s got a look and demeanor about him that is world champion material. The Wolves wrestling ability speaks for themselves. They’re a great tag team and great individual wrestlers as well. The future looks very bright.”

Whatever happened to his classic weapon, the hockey stick: “If it calls for it, I’m not afraid to pull it out. Here’s a funny story: Scott D’Amore, Coach D’Amore introduced the hockey stick every match. I used to wear a hockey pad and we were going to use frozen hockey pucks and put it in my sleeve and hit people in the back of the head with clotheslines. That’s another Canadian cliché, a hockey cliché that we were going to use. Maybe I’ll take out a hockey stick for my match against Bully at Sacrifice. Or maybe they’ll make a table out of hockey sticks and I can put him through that.”

When will TNA return to Canada: “Hopefully we can come back to Canada soon. I would love to get an opportunity to run TV in Montreal, or in Toronto, even in Ottawa. Running 4-5 shows would be great. The guys love coming up to Canada, the Quebec area especially. We didn’t get there last year at all. Hopefully this summer or in the fall we can come up to Canada and have Montreal be one of our stops.”

Check out the complete interview at WebSportsMedia.com.

The following are highlights of a recent Baltimore Sun interview with AJ Styles:

On leaving TNA: “I honestly thought I’d be the guy that TNA could say, “This is the first guy that we signed to this company, and he’s retiring from our company.” And, man, what an awesome thing that would have been. So I never imagined I would leave that company, I assumed I’d retire from there. It sucks, but you can’t fix that now. I left the door open…”

On whether or not he thinks TNA is going out of business: “You know, I really don’t know. I know they’ve made a lot of cuts. That must mean they’re not doing so well. Sting gone, Hogan gone, myself gone, and I’m sure we’re going to see more cuts soon. From what I’ve heard and been told, it’s been horribly mismanaged as a company. I don’t know if they’re going out of business. But they’re definitely doing things that make people think they’re going out of business. And I hope they don’t. I hope TNA doesn’t go out of business because I have a lot of good friends that work there and deserve to be in the national spotlight. My hope is that they never go out of business.”

On returning to TNA in the future: “I tried to leave the door open. I haven’t buried the company. Like I said, I have friends there who do well, so I’m not going to do that. But I don’t know if I’ll ever go back, and it’s definitely not going to be any time soon. And from what one of their higher ups said, it will be ‘Only if there’s space available for AJ Styles.’ So I guess there might not be room for me, according to him.”

Check out the complete interview at BaltimoreSun.com.

Apparently TNA veteran Chris Sabin is parting ways with the company. The former TNA World Heavyweight Champion’s contract with the company expired, as his last official booking was the “One Night Only” pay-per-view taping on Saturday night in Orlando, Florida.

According to one report, TNA did make Sabin an offer to re-sign, however much like the AJ Styles situation, it was reportedly a low-ball type of offer, one that Sabin turned down.

Additionally, Sabin has already started to reach out to independent pro wrestling promoters and is looking to begin taking bookings.

As noted recently, the next TNA veterans that could be on the way out of the company are Kurt Angle, Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian.

The TNA contracts of Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian are both due to expire within the next couple of weeks. As of early this week, neither had signed a new deal with the promotion.

In the case of Daniels, many are watching closely as to how his contract negotiation turns out. He is said to be one of the guys who has one of the better remaining contracts in the company, and following the recent deals with AJ Styles, Hulk Hogan and Sting, all of whom ended up not re-signing with the company, the feeling is that Daniels is the next major one to keep an eye on.

Additionally, there is a feeling that the reason Daniels and Kazarian have been kept off of television for the last several weeks is due to their contractual situation with the company, something that many point to as a negative sign as far as either guy re-signing.

New Japan has booked Prince Devitt vs. Ryusuke Taguchi in a “Loser Leaves Town” match for their “Invasion Attack” iPPV, which takes place in Tokyo, Japan on April 6th. Many are considering this a sign that Devitt is wrapping up business with NJPW and taking the offer on the table from WWE.

Additionally, there’s a general feeling that AJ Styles is being brought into New Japan to sort of replace Devitt as a top foreign talent in the promotion.

AJ Styles is believed to have signed a one-year deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling, according to the Wrestling Observer. An official announcement is expected soon.

– Jeff Jarrett continues to tease the launch of his new wrestling project, with an official announcement scheduled for April 7th, the day after WrestleMania XXX.

Jarrett posted the following on Instagram over the weekend:

ESPN Not Interested In WWE Programming

– ESPN executives are claiming that they are not involved in the current bidding process for WWE’s television rights. While some in ESPN were said to be interested in bringing WWE to their network, the higher-ups in the company are reportedly uninterested.

– AJ Styles will likely begin working for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) as early as April. While Styles in NJPW is not confirmed at this point, those in New Japan expect a deal to be reached soon.

– WWE recently added the following promotional video to their official YouTube channel. The video takes a look at five things you will discover from WCW on the WWE Network.

• MAJOR TNA Star Headed To WWE?, SHOCKING CM Punk Update & NEW Diva Photos!(Partial Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

The following are highlights of a recent SLAM! Wrestling interview with AJ Styles:

On his dream opponent: “Seriously, some (dream matches) for me are with guys that I may never get the opportunity to wrestle. I’d like to wrestle Rey Mysterio, I think he and I could really tear things up. There are definitely some guys in the Fed (WWE) that I think I could have good matches with, that would also be dream matches for the fans as well. But who knows if that ever comes or not.”

On Sting to WWE: “I hope to see Sting wrestle The Undertaker at WrestleMania. I don’t know if that’s going to happen, that may just be wishful thinking. But I can appreciate the (thinking).”

On TNA going out of business: “I’m not saying that they’re going under, but it sure does seem that way. They’re really saving a lot of money in places. If they’re so desperate to save money that they cut loose one of their top guys, the one guy that was known as the TNA guy, they must be hurting pretty bad. Either that or they think that loyalty means absolutely nothing to them, or they think I suck. I don’t know which one of those it is.”

Check out the complete interview online at Slam.Canoe.ca.

The following are highlights from a recent interview with former TNA star AJ Styles:

On pushing back his speaking tour due to lawsuit threats from TNA: “We had something in the works, but then I got threatened by a TNA lawyer about some stuff that was going on – it was meaningless. We were going to do that in March, but now we’re looking at maybe coming over in June. The book should be done by then. So, it actually works out pretty good.”

On TNA’s attempts to take Impact Wrestling on the road: “It wasn’t a bad idea getting on the road doing shows. The problem is they weren’t advertising that we were on the road. We did these buildings and they weren’t even half-way sold out because people didn’t know we were there. I remember staying at a hotel right across the street from the venue and they didn’t even know that wrestling was in there that night. It goes to show that if you don’t have someone getting out there, getting the word out there that you’re in town, you’re not going to do well.”

On TNA signing big name stars to try and pop the Impact Wrestling rating: “With the homegrown guys, we were slowly building the ratings. My opinion is if it’s not broke, don’t fix it, but I think they wanted to see the ratings climb a little faster.”

Check out the complete interview online at TheWrestlingMania.com.

Gail Kim sits down with Peter Rosenberg for almost an hour and talks about Mae Young, AJ Styles, Triple H, her WWE departure and more.

The following are highlights of a recent LAW Radio interview with AJ Styles:

On the year-long angle in TNA and where it was headed: “I don’t think they really knew what gimmick I was going towards when they did the “lone wolf” thing. They asked me about it, and I said I had no problem being at home, but I really don’t think they knew where they wanted it to go. We talked about the Sting lone wolf thing that he did, and something similar to that. I didn’t have a problem with it. You always want to do something different. I wanted to come out with a bit of a different look. It worked for me, I had no problem doing it. As far as I know, until things got changed up a little bit, they wanted me to be the one to take out Aces & Eights, or have a group to help take them out, or something like that. I’m not positive on that, but I think that’s kind of where they were going.”

On whether or not he had talks with WWE: “I know that’s some wishful thinking, but no, there was nothing. Not a phone call. Nothing. I wish I knew who these guys were that were presenting these rumors and whatnot, just so I could say, “Exactly tell me when they did call me, I’d like to know.” It’s just so bizarre, all the stuff that you hear.”

Check out the complete interview online at FightNetwork.com.

Former TNA star AJ Styles was a guest on the SNS Radio Network’s Unplugged show this week. Here are some highlights of what he said about:

The controversial independent contractor issues in wrestling:

“The whole independent contractor thing in pro wrestling doesn’t really work, it doesn’t make much sense but that’s the way its been run for so long. When it comes to independents i don’t think any owner or promoter should say ‘you cant work for this guy or this guy’ but when it comes to TNA and WWE, i understand with those bigger contracts.”

Being pushed aside when Kurt Angle and Christian came into TNA:

“This might make you mad but i was having the most fun at the time. those things worked for me at the time. for me, that stuff was hilarious. I understand you cant be in the spotlight all the time so why not have fun in the process of getting there. the crazy stuff with christian and then with Kurt and then with Karen. Then i was in a main storyline with Kurt. I just wanted to have fun and give off another point of AJ Styles.”

Working with Ric Flair:

“I have no problems doing it. I think there is always a time to turn heel and who better to do it with than with Ric Flair. I have no problems working with Ric Flair but i think it was important for everyone to realize that I’m not Ric Flair. Wearing the robe was great but adding the hood on there made it better. I had a lot of fun with that.”

TNA’s Fortune Stable:

“I think the best stuff was with Fortune. The wacky stuff we were doing. I think the entertainment value went up. We had so much idea but not all of it made it. We were going to be different. Not just the four horsemen but a new age, a new horsemen. Not running around in suits in limos but wearing cool clothes and driving sports cars. We wanted to come off of a plane that had ‘Flair Force-1’ written on it. All of those crazy little things you can think of.”

“There was another time we talked about doing a spoof of the movie ‘the hangover’ where we wake up hungover and we go looking for Flair. James Storm is all hungover and he wakes up with his face face painted like a tiger. Just like those silly face paintings you get at a circus or something. And the hotel is trashed. Stuff like that.”

The reaction backstage that Hulk Hogan was coming to TNA:

“I think we were optimistic. the last thing that hogan really did was he made WCW. He made it a bigger product. We all basically said, the last thing he did was turned to gold. When I heard that things were going to start changing, I had doubts.”

“Like the first thing being the ring. When i heard the ring was going to be changed to a standard 4 sided. They said because it looks more professional. I think that was a big no-no. One thing the ring did was make us look different from others. That to me was the most important thing. The ring was a lot tighter, the ropes. I know this now but the 4 sided ring is a lot better to bump on. The old ring just didn’t give much and you take a lot more impact on your body. Still, it was different and different is good.”

“When i took a belly to belly from Kurt in the 4 sided ring, i told myself I will never again bump in that 6 sided ring because it was like heaven. The last time i wrestled Kurt was in the UK and he gave me that spot with the belly to belly and i told myself I will never take that again. I ended up taking that move again in the 4 sided ring and things changed.”

Having some friction with Hogan and Bischoff:

“Initially there was friction. When i saw all of these changes going on i just said, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it. We were already accumulating viewers more and more every time our show was on the air before they had gotten there.”

“One thing they wanted me to be was a mini ric flair. They wanted to dye my hair and act exactly like flair. I don’t want to be flair, i want to be AJ Styles. Ric Flair is the kind of guy that you can never grow out of his shadow. I think they wanted me to be like flair because they didn’t know who i was. The fans knew who i was but because they didn’t, they wanted to change me into someone they knew, piggyback on to Ric Flair.”

Dropping to belt to RVD:

“We didn’t even have an angle at all. They booked a match with Jeff Hardy vs Rob van Dam to see who was going to wrestle me. Then i found out they were going to put Rob over and i said ‘What!? Why?’ and this wasn’t an ego thing. This was just a thing of, why would you just bring in this guy to go over one of your top guys. Why wouldn’t your top guy go over this guy and show he is the real TNA heavyweight champion? It was just mind blowing. It’s not about me either. I would have had the same reaction if Sting had the title and Rob went over. It just doesn’t make sense. It’s not Rob’s fault either, he just went in there and wrestled.”

The Clair Lynch storyline:

“At first, I’m telling you this was supposed to be a great story. I helped bring it together and Frank and Chris helped bring it together. It fell apart when Clair Lynch was actually brought in. Clair Lynch was never supposed to be a friend of the family. Clair Lynch was supposed to be an irresistible smoking hot niece or something, like a distant relative. When the Dixie Carter stuff rolled on then AJ was the one who was supposed to sort of take care of her. When the allegations surface that AJ was banging Clair, the fans reaction was supposed to be ‘You know what, she is so hot that I’d bang her too’.”

“There were so many missing pieces to this that it just didn’t work. First thing was the friend of the family, well Who cares if she is just a friend. Second, she wasn’t hot, not remotely so you would never believe that i would touch her with a 10 foot pole. There were little things that wrecked everything. Plus the way she departed the company, I’m not too happy about that either. This could have been sort of like ‘The hand that rocks the cradle’ stuff. That could have been good.”

Former TNA standout AJ Styles was recently a guest on the “OMG Wrestling Podcast.” Styles took part in a lengthy interview where he covered such subjects as leaving TNA, returning to ROH, WWE rumors and more.

The video, which you can watch above, is accompanied by the following description: “Today’s episode we get to interview The Phenomenal One AJ Styles. We talk about everything from WCW, NWA Wildside, ROH, TNA, & WWE. Thank you AJ.”

The following are highlights of a recent interview with former TNA announcer Todd Kenley:

On Hulk Hogan’s departure: “I think it was time. I think Hulk went in there and did everything he could do to help the TNA brand and he did a lot of good for them in terms of opening that door to different media channels and a lot of international business. I think he played a solid role. Hulk wasn’t just a figure head. He was in those meetings, he was in creative meetings, he was taking time, he was helping guys fine tune the little nuances in ring and on the mic. He was very active, so anyone who thinks Hulk was there just sitting there collecting a check is wrong and i can tell you that first hand.”

On Jeff Jarrett’s departure: “That one was definitely a big head turner, i mean here’s a guy that really put himself out there, founded that company, took a chance did the weekly PPVs, got on Fox Sports at one point, eventually teamed up with the Carters, got on Spike TV. You think about the roller coaster this guy went through and the sacrifices he made to keep that company around is unbelievable so to walk away from it it’s got to be for a good reason one would think. You read the rumors that he’s going to start his own thing and we’ll see. I honestly hope he does, because the more variety and more opportunity for talented people in this business to get work, be seen and make a living the better. He’s obviously got a great mind for the business, but yeah that’s one where if you followed TNA from day one then he’s the guy who started it all so you gotta look at it and say whats going on here.”

On AJ Styles’ departure: “Time will tell whats really going on there. Obviously as much as Jeff Jarrett founded TNA and is synonymous with TNA in terms of a in ring competitor he’s been labeled at times the poster boy of TNA wrestling, AJ Styles is another guy that you just saw his career, you basically him basically grow up in the business in TNA. They were the ones that really gave him a big opportunity to shine and you saw him go from X Division competitor to holding tag team gold all the way to becoming World Champion. He’s a guy you can’t help but respect, a guy that has tons of class, hard worker, great attitude in terms of working with people. So another guy just like Jarrett where you like wow if they really let him go whats the deal.”

Check out the complete interview online at MoreLikeRadio.org.