Leon Slater never got the singles match with AJ Styles that he kept trying to speak into existence, but apparently the idea wasn’t completely imaginary. Slater says he heard there were “rumblings” about making it happen before time ultimately ran out.
While speaking to BCP+, Slater was asked just how close he and Styles came to having a singles match. He was careful not to pretend he knew exactly how far things got behind the scenes, but confirmed he had heard some talk.
“As far as his dad, like, I cannot really speak on how close that was. I mean, I heard there was rumblings, obviously.”
Slater certainly wasn’t keeping his interest in the match a secret. He had repeatedly pushed the idea publicly in hopes of making it happen. Looking back, Slater believes there simply wasn’t enough time left to get the match together.
“Like you were saying, like I’m a big manifesting guy, so I was always trying to put it out there, put it out there, put it out there, but I think we just ran out of time, you know what I mean? Which is unfortunate.”
At least Slater still got his AJ Styles moment. The two shared the ring during John Cena’s retirement show, and Slater is grateful that he got to wrestle Styles on a stage that big even if their one-on-one match never happened.
“I’m very, very glad that when I got to do John Cena’s retirement show that it was against AJ. So, it’s not like we never touched. It’s not like we never shared the ring.”
Slater isn’t completely giving up on the match either. He knows how wrestling works, and as far as he’s concerned, there’s always a chance their paths could somehow cross again.
“But I’m always open for that singles match, you know? I’m still after that singles match. And in wrestling, they always say never say never, right?”
There’s another Styles match Slater finds pretty interesting now too. With AJ’s son Avery Styles part of the picture, Slater sees a natural story between AJ’s biological son and someone he considers almost like AJ’s wrestling little brother or son.
“Me versus Avery Styles is a super, super interesting concept, right? I mean, AJ Styles’ biological son versus his kind of wrestling little brother/son in myself, you know what I mean? So, it’s super interesting.”
Slater may have run out of time to get the AJ Styles singles match he wanted, but he at least knows there were rumblings about it. Now he has another Styles waiting in the wings—and that one comes with a story already built in.
What do you think about Leon Slater revealing there were rumblings about an AJ Styles singles match? Let us know in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
