Matt Hardy isn’t saying Avery Styles was right. He isn’t saying Arik Cannon was right either. His problem is much simpler—this whole thing never needed to end up on Twitter.
While speaking on The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast, Hardy weighed in on the “pay your dues” controversy surrounding AJ Styles’ 19-year-old son and made it clear he wasn’t a fan of how Cannon handled it.
If Avery really wasn’t helping when he should have been, Hardy believes someone could have addressed it right there at the show. And if that didn’t happen, there were still two pretty obvious people Cannon could have contacted privately. Avery. Or AJ.
“I think putting it out on social media was probably not the best way to go about it. I feel like it didn’t make him look great because it’s probably something that should have been held in a very personal regard. It should have just been addressed at the show or in person or, you know, contact AJ or Avery or whatever else.”
Instead, it went online. And once it did, Hardy believes Avery was suddenly being judged by thousands of people who weren’t even there. Cannon had accused Avery of avoiding setup and teardown work at a GCW event in Minneapolis, claiming he was asked multiple times to help with chairs before disappearing into the locker room until everything was finished. That was enough for people to start forming an opinion about AJ’s son. Spoiled. Lazy. A brat. Hardy isn’t convinced any of those labels are fair.
“I feel like it shouldn’t have went on social media because then you’re automatically bringing the people that have your side against Avery Styles. You know, we’re like, ‘Oh my God, this kid, he’s spoiled, he’s not doing anything, he’s a brat.’ And, you know, that isn’t necessarily true.”
AJ certainly didn’t appreciate the accusation either. He argued that Avery was booked and paid to wrestle, not work ring crew, before the argument eventually got personal enough for him to call Cannon a “jealous douche.”
Cannon responded by bringing out the wrestling receipts. First came a photo of WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Hart helping with chairs after a show. Then came Cody Rhodes sweeping broken glass out of a ring during his independent days. Cannon’s point was pretty obvious—if names like those could pitch in, why couldn’t Avery?
Hardy’s point is different. Maybe Avery should have helped. Maybe somebody should have pulled the 19-year-old aside and told him exactly that. But turning it into a social media trial where strangers decided what kind of person he was? Hardy thinks that’s where this whole thing went off the rails.
What do you make of Matt Hardy’s take on the Avery Styles controversy? Should Cannon have kept the issue backstage instead of putting AJ Styles’ son on blast publicly? Let us know in the comments below.
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