AJ Styles’ time in TNA is where he really became a megastar. From winning the inaugural X Division Championship to TNA World Heavyweight Championship 3x he really did it all.
Starting in TNA, he won the inaugural X Division Championship, and shortly afterwards he won the National Wrestling Alliance (an embellishment of TNA) World Tag Team Championship with Jerry Lyn. He went on to win this four more times, once with Abyss and twice with his former rival Christopher Daniels.
AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn began to bicker, and he lost the X Division Championship in Fatal 3-way with Lynn and Low Ki, it was Low Ki who became the new champion. Styles and Lynn also had a match against Jeff Jarrett and Ron Killings (R Truth) for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. This match ended in a no contest which caused the belts to be vacated. In October, Styles won the X Division Championship, defeating Syxx-Pac however he lost it to Jerry Lynn and was unsuccessful in recapturing it.
AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn
In 03, Styles set his eyes on the NWA Heavyweight Championship, he defeated David Flair to become the number one contender and then aligned himself with Larry Zbysko and Vince Russo’s stable Sports Entertainment Xtreme. Styles lost to Jeff Jarrett who was current NWA Heavyweight Championship, during the match, he attacked S.E.X (Sports Wrestling Xtreme) who tried to interfere in the match. June 4th 03, Styles once again became number one contender, and this time he successfully defeated Jeff Jarrett and Raven in a fatal three way, Russo helped Styles win and he became heel in the process. Styles became the first TNA Triple Crown winner in the process.
Throughout 03, Styles had many successful Championship defences until he lost it back to Jeff Jarrett and becoming face once more
Other highlights of AJ Styles’ TNA Career include two more NWA Heavyweight Championships, two time TNA Legends/Global/Television Championship and two time TNA World Heavyweight Championship to name just a few of the reigns he held
Between 04 and 07, Styles went back to TNA’s X Division and entered many feuds including Frankie Kazarian, Petey Williams and once again Christopher Daniels. During this time, he won the X Division Championship five more times helping elevating the Championship.
After leaving the X Division, Styles began to team with Tomko. They won a tag team gauntlet for a chance for the TNA Tag Team Championship, in which they were successful gaining defeating Adam Jones and Ron Killings. Styles broke away from Tomko after being in a feud with Kurt Angle, and after a loss at Bound For Glory, began to team with Samoa Joe. With Joe, and other younger wrestlers they formed a stable called The TNA Front Line to go against Booker T’s The Main Event Mafia. Styles had a kayfabe injury after Angle proclaimed he would end his career. Upon his return, he stole Booker T’s TNA Legends Championship and eventually actually won the belt becoming TNA’s first Grand Slam Champion in the process.
In 09, Styles was talked out of retiring by Sting, who said he wanted Styles to carry the torch. It was at No Surrender that he was successful winner of the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a fatal five-way defeating Matt Morgan, Sting, Hernandez and Champion – Kurt Angle. At Bound For Glory, Styles defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Sting, breaking Sting’s undefeated streak at the same time. In early 10, Styles turned heel and defended the Championship against Angle with help from Ric Flair, and Flair announced he was teaming with Styles and daubed him “The New Nature Boy”. Hulk Hogan ordered a rematch between Angle and Styles, in which it was announced that if Flair would interfere, Style would be stripped of the Championship and it would go to Angle. During the match, Styles reversed an Angle Lock and held Angle in the move. Referee, Earl Hebner (paid off by Flair) ordered for the bell to be rung even though Angle didn’t tap out. Styles held the Championship for 211 days, during which he was still teamed with Ric Flair, he lost the Championship to Rob Van Dam.
Due to Styles losing the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, Flair decided to take Frankie Kazarian on as a protégé, this causes immensely jealousy from Styles. Trying to get his mentor back, Styles twice tried to beat Jay Lethal and failed both times. However, Flair announced he had realigned with Styles and he was going to recreate The Four Horsemen with Kazarian, Styles, Robert Roode, Desmond Wolfe and James Storm. They named themselves Fourtune, Flair wanted them to earn their spots in the team.
Styles and Kazarian earned their spots by defeating Samoa Joe and Rob Terry with outside interference from Wolfe. Styles defeated Terry to win the Global Championship (formerly the Legends Championship) for the second time. Styles renamed the Championship the TNA Television Championship. Fortune (who by then had dropped the u from their name) began to feud with EV 2.0, Styles defeated EV 2.0’s leader Tommy Dreamer at No Surrender.
Fortune joined forces with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff’s stable Immortal. At Final Resolution, Styles lost the Television Championship to Douglas Williams who had turned on Fortune. Fortune turned face by attacking Immortal by interfering in the TNA World Heavyweight Championship between Mr Anderson and Jeff Hardy. Flair turned on Fortune and jumped to Immortal during a match between Styles and Matt Hardy.
Fortune slowly began to fall apart, and Styles had another feud with Fortune member Christopher Daniels. After defeating Daniels in an I Quit Match, Styles then began to feud with TNA World Heavyweight Champion and Fortune member Bobby Roode. Styles failed to recapture the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Bobby Roode. With Kazarian as the only two remaining members of Fortune, they made it to the finals of the Wild Card Tournament, during the final matches, Kazarian ditched Styles, aligned with Christopher Daniels thus ending Fortune.
At first, it seemed like Kazarian as reluctant to team with Daniels, Styles lost two matches to Kazarian, and on the last one, Kazarian teased that if Styles beat him, then he would share why he’d teamed with Daniels. Kazarian eventually revealed that he teamed with Daniels to keep him from revealing Styles’ “secret”, but changed his mind after learning what the “secret” was, at which point Daniels revealed a series of photographs hinting a relationship between Styles and the president of TNA Dixie Carter. Styles of course vehemently denied these rumours.
Styles defeated Daniels at a TV taping of TNA, afterwards Daniels and Kazarian played phone audio which they claims was proof of Styles’ affair. Styles teaming with Kurt Angle, defeated Kazarian and Daniels for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Styles’ and Fixing Carter revealed their secret was they were helping a addicted pregnant woman names Claire Lynch overcome her problems. Styles and Angle lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship back to Kazarian and Daniels and it was then unveiled that Styles was the Father of Claire Lynch’s baby.
Styles once again defeated Daniels, and the stipulation of the match would be Styles would have a paternity test of Lynch’s baby. It them came out that Claire Lynch wasn’t pregnant, and the whole thing was cooked up by Kazarian and Daniels in order to blackmail Styles. December of 2012, Styles defeated Daniels I what was called their last ever match. Afterwards, Styles declared that he was tired of doing the right thing and that he was going to do his own thing from there on.
In 2013, TNA began airing segments of interviews with Styles’ wife and friend, they tried to interview Styles himself to no avail. Styles was now unrecognisable, with a beard and messy hair, and dressed all in black. Styles, back on TNA stopped an attack on James Storm from Kazarian and Daniels to then attack Storm himself. Styles then had a match with Storm, defeating him an debuting his new Calf Killer submission hold. Styles then moved onto feuding with Kurt Angle after he refused to tell Angle whether he was part of the stable Aces & Eights. On a TV taping of TNA, I seemed like he had teamed with Aces & Eights, joining then on a attack of Angle, however he ten attacked them, and cemented himself as a lone wolf.
On his way to Bound For Glory, AJ Styles defeated many people in order to get the points to qualify for Bound For Glory. At No Surrender before BFG, Styles defeated Austin Aries in the semi finals and Magnus in the finals of the Bound For Glory series in which he would become number one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at BFG.
The week after No Surrender, AJ Styles said he was no longer under contract at TNA and insulted Dixie Carter, Carter responded by saying Styles wasn’t a good wrestler. Even though Styles said he wasn’t contracted with TNA, he still continued to appear on their programming. He defeated Bully Ray for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound For Glory despite interference from Aces & Eights and Dixie Carter. This would be his fifth World Championship for the company. Styles successfully defeated Ray in a rematch for the Championship, even though Mr Anderson helped Ray. Afterwards, Styles refused to sign a contract and walked away with the title. Upon his return, he confronted Dixie Carter and newly appointed TNA Heavyweight Champion Magnus. He challenged Magnus to a title unification with Magnus accepted and won. Several wrestlers got involved with the match, eight to help Magnus and Sting to help Styles.
Contract negotiations broke down with AJ Styles and TNA, it was then revealed Styles would be leaving TNA thus ending his long and storied career with the promotion.
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