AJ Styles Interview

[Guest SethforPrez840]

From gainesvilletimes.com

 

Wrestling under the stage name AJ Styles, former Johnson High state champion wrestler Allen Jones has made quite an impact on the fledgling National Wrestling Alliance.

 

At age 26, Jones is the second youngest wrestler to hold the "NWA World Heavyweight title". He is a regular on the NWA's weekly televised Total Nonstop Action program that airs at 8 p.m. Wednesdays on Pay-Per-View.

 

During his high school years, Jones wrestled at the 160-pound weight class, winning Class AA championships in 1995 and '96.

 

He also played outside linebacker, tailback and fullback on the football team. The 26-year-old "wrestling superstar" still lives in Gainesville. He sat down this week with staff writer Robert Watson to reflect on his success in the squared circle:

 

Question: What made you decide to be a professional wrestler?

 

Answer: Well, I have to explain this out. (It was) money -- until I found out there wasn't any money in professional wrestling. (But by then), it was too late because I had already fallen in love with it. ... It all kind of worked its way out. But I'm not going to lie and say, 'It was because I loved wrestling.' It was because I wanted to make some money.

 

Q: What is life like as a professional wrestler?

 

A: It's great. I get to go and have fun for a living. Not many people can say that they actually love their job. ... But there's a price to pay. I've gotten my tooth knocked out, my ankles and knees messed up, but that's the price you pay.

 

Q: What are some of the injuries you've sustained in your wrestling career?

 

A: I've had a broken foot, a broken hand and a couple of stitches. My greatest fear is blowing out my knees. Once they're gone, it's hard to do anything else. My knees are nothing but pieces of cartilage and elbows ... but luckily nothing too serious where it's kept me out for weeks at a time.

 

Q: How much of an impact did wrestling at Johnson High have on your decision to pursue a career in professional wrestling?

 

A: Zero. I never thought that I would be a professional wrestler. But since I did wrestle at Johnson, it helped me to be a better professional wrestler because I know ... how moves work. It just made it easier on me.

 

Q: Can you describe your (wrestling) character, AJ Styles?

 

A: My character has gone back and forth a little bit. The thing about wrestling, if people like what you do, then they're going to cheer you. I try to be the bad guy. ... At NWA-TNA, I am a cocky arrogant heel -- and when I say heel, I mean bad guy who doesn't care about anybody but himself and the heavyweight title.

 

Q: Can you talk a little about your style?

 

A: My style is different from everyone else's because I didn't look to anyone else to get my style. I didn't watch wrestling all that much when I grew up. My style ... it's more of a Japanese style. There's a lot of kicking and flipping. Then again, I can throw in the mat wrestling as well because I wrestled in high school. I like to be able to do everything (out there), so I guess that's my style. Everything there is to do in professional wrestling is my style.

 

Q: What's the one question you get asked the most?

 

A: Is wrestling real? It's real. Wrestling is real. Is it predetermined? Yes. But the wrestling is real because I've gotten hurt more in professional wrestling than any other sport I've ever played in my life. So the aspect of it being real is unbelievably brutal on your body. People who say it's not real are ignorant.

 

Q: Have you ever been in a match that deviated from the script?

 

A: Usually that doesn't happen too much unless someone gets hurt. Then it's got to change. If they can't finish the match, it may change that way. But there's never been a case where somebody didn't want to lose and he beat the other guy up. ... It's all about taking care of each other. You've got to trust the guy you wrestle.

 

Q: Are any of the feuds among wrestlers ever based on any kind of fact?

 

A: Not ones that I have been a part of, but I'm sure that there's been some stuff where they wanted to run with it and make a storyline out of it.

 

Q: What was it like wrestling before some of your peers at the "Georgia Mountain Memories" event June 13 at the Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville?

 

A: It was really, really awesome to wrestle at the Georgia Mountains Center. It's been something that I've been wanting to do for a really long time. WCW used to come here all the time, so everybody is familiar with wrestling. It was great to come and wrestle in my hometown.