AJ Styles wasn’t waiting around for WWE to make main-roster stars showing up in NXT a regular thing. He was already pushing the idea while Vince McMahon was still running the show.
Styles opened up during his podcast about it while discussing Grayson Waller and how NXT has changed over the years. There was once a time when dropping from Raw or SmackDown to NXT could be viewed as a step backward, but Styles saw another opportunity entirely — let experienced WWE stars go down there and help the next generation get better. Styles said he was one of the people pitching exactly that during the McMahon era, and he eventually got the chance to do it himself with Waller.
“I was one of the guys that said, when Vince was in control of it all, of course, I was like, ‘Hey, I can go down there and work with some of the NXT talent,’ which I worked with Grayson Waller and had a great match with this guy.”
Styles and Waller crossed paths during Waller’s rise through NXT, giving the younger star the chance to work directly with somebody who had already spent years wrestling at the highest levels around the world. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Pbf9uR3tPgFor Styles, that was the whole point. Putting an established main-roster wrestler in there with developing talent gives those wrestlers a different kind of experience.
“But I just thought that a main-roster talent able to go down and work with these guys, it just helps. I think that they have this main-roster experience and they bring it down here, and this is kind of why we do what we do.”
Styles isn’t just talking about that philosophy anymore either. Since stepping away from in-ring competition, the WWE legend has been spending plenty of time coaching and producing younger talent in NXT and Evolve.
He’s already talked about producing matches and running wrestlers through intense in-ring training sessions, so this has become a legitimate part of his post-wrestling career. Styles made it clear that he wants to pass along what he learned instead of keeping all that knowledge to himself.
“I just want to be a part of it all with, you know, helping you get to the next level.”
WWE has leaned heavily into main-roster stars appearing in NXT over the years, and Styles clearly believes there’s more value to those appearances than simply putting another familiar name on television. For him, it’s about putting younger wrestlers in the ring with people who have already been where they’re trying to go.
Styles may be done taking bumps every week, but he’s still finding ways to leave fingerprints all over WWE’s future — and helping NXT talent reach the main roster appears to be a big part of that next chapter.
What do you think about AJ Styles pushing for main-roster WWE stars to work with NXT talent? Which current WWE veteran would you like to see spend more time working with younger wrestlers in NXT? Leave your feedback in the comments.
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