AJ Styles thought he was defending his son. Instead, he found himself getting piled on by wrestlers and fans who said he completely missed the point.
After Styles jumped into a heated argument with Arik Cannon over whether his son Avery Styles should have helped tear down the ring at a GCW show, Twitter quickly turned against the former WWE Champion. Instead of siding with AJ, plenty of wrestlers argued that helping out after independent shows has nothing to do with getting paid—it’s about earning respect.
One veteran wrestler took to Twitter and said that’s exactly how he was taught, even when promoters told him help wasn’t needed.
“My first few years in the business, I was also paid to wrestle at the shows I was booked for, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t help out with ring crew or at the very least offer to help… I’m 18 years in now… I offered to help with the crew but the promoter literally told me no… But the offer stood and I’d like to believe it meant something. This tweet below though: Sounds more like privilege talking if I’m being honest.”
Another person completely dismantled AJ’s dinner analogy. After Styles argued, “You don’t ask someone to have dinner at your house and have them do the dishes,” one fan fired right back.
“Yes, if you’re invited to someone’s house to eat dinner you bring a side dish, clear the table, and offer to help with dishes. It’s called gratitude and respect.”
Others also pushed back on AJ’s claim that nobody had spoken to Avery privately before the issue reached social media.
“Several people talked to him, face to face, in the building. Venue staff, wrestling staff, the person you are quote tweeting, etc. No acknowledgement from the cosplay kid.”
The criticism didn’t stop there. One fan who had worked independent wrestling shows said helping with setup and teardown was simply something everyone did, regardless of their role on the card.
“I worked maybe 5 shows on commentary. All 5 shows I helped carry s***in from the ring truck. Because I’m not an asshole. Your kid is an a**hole . You know this, you worked on indie shows. You kinda just help out, unless you’re an a**hole.”
Another questioned whether AJ stepping into the argument publicly was helping Avery at all, since Style was talking down to people his son would be working with.
“Ah yeah I’m sure using your massive platform to jump in defense of your son and talk down to the guys he’s going to be working with will get him on people’s good graces.”
The backlash came after AJ publicly defended Avery against Arik Cannon’s accusation that he avoided helping with teardown after the GCW event. AJ argued his son was hired to wrestle—not work ring crew—and believed any issue should’ve been handled face-to-face instead of on Twitter. Cannon countered by claiming Avery had been asked multiple times by veterans and a promoter to help with chairs before allegedly disappearing into the locker room until the work was finished.
Whether people agree with Cannon or AJ, the reaction online made one thing clear: a lot of wrestlers still believe “paying your dues” doesn’t end when the match is over.
Whose side are you on in this debate—AJ Styles or Arik Cannon? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
