AJ Styles and Arik Cannon got into a heated back-and-forth on X after Cannon took a shot at Avery Styles for allegedly avoiding setup work at a GCW show in Minneapolis.
The whole thing started after posted comments from Natalya praising Avery Styles and Marcus Mathers following their GCW match. Natalya said she wanted to get Avery into her school and praised him as someone willing to “pay his dues” as a young wrestler. Cannon, a Minneapolis native and longtime wrestler, clearly didn’t agree with that assessment. He claimed he watched Avery avoid helping with anything at the show.
“As someone who watched this kid skirt away from helping with a single thing at this very show…I’d just like to say: L O F’ING L!”
AJ Styles saw that and immediately fired back, arguing that Avery was booked to wrestle, not work the ring crew.
“He was paid to wrestle at GCW, not help you put up and take down the ring. That sounds like your job. You just sound like a jealous douche.”
Cannon responded by saying he understood why AJ would defend his son, but stood by his point that Avery needs to earn respect on his own instead of leaning on being “AJ’s kid.”
“I have all of the respect in the world for you, AJ. I understand why you’d defend your son, and it is admirable. But the fact remains… He can stay ‘AJ’s kid,’ continue to skirt responsibility, & paying dues. Or he can earn the respect of his peers, & stand on his own as Avery.”
AJ wasn’t done. He argued that if Avery was brought in to wrestle, expecting him to handle extra work afterward wasn’t something that should just be assumed. He also said a veteran should have addressed the issue directly instead of taking it to social media.
“You don’t ask someone to have dinner at your house and have them do the dishes. He was asked to wrestle at GCW. Although grateful for the opportunity, a vet would have talked to him professionally or at least face to face.”
Cannon then added more detail, claiming a veteran and promoter asked Avery twice to help with chairs and that Avery hid in the locker room until the work was finished.
“A 20+ year vet & promoter asked him to help w/ the chairs. TWICE! Instead of helping, he hid in the locker room until everything was done. My 2 cents isn’t going to affect his future… But with all due respect, you stating he doesn’t need to help is only doing him a disservice.”
As of this writing, AJ Styles hasn’t responded again. The argument basically comes down to two very different views of what “paying dues” should look like in wrestling, with Cannon saying young talent should pitch in however they can and AJ saying Avery was there to perform and should have been addressed privately if anyone had an issue.
There’s also some history between AJ Styles and Cannon, as the two wrestled twice back in 2004, with Styles winning both matches.
What do you think about the exchange between AJ Styles and Arik Cannon over Avery Styles? Do you think young wrestlers should be expected to help with setup and cleanup, or was AJ right to say Avery was there to wrestle? Leave your feedback in the comments.
