Although it's been quite some time some Roman Reigns and AJ Styles faced off against each in a singles match, Styles holds a lot of respect for the former Universal Champion.
Two of Styles' biggest matches in his first year with WWE since signing with them in 2016 was against Reigns for the WWE Championship at both the Payback and Extreme Rules shows. During an interview with the Irish Sun, Styles talked about how big those matches were for his WWE career, saying Reigns is part of the reason his WWE career has been filled with a myriad of accolades.
“You have this indie guy in 2016. This guy from Japan just walked right in there and step in the ring with Roman Reigns. Now the perfect scenario was in place because not everybody loved Roman. Now he is definitely one of the biggest stars but not everyone loved Roman then and so you have this indie darling, right? And it was like, oh, they made it easy for me to be in there with Roman, because Roman is such a huge star. It only got better from there when I had the opportunity to get in the ring with Roman, one of the pay per views, actually a couple of pay per views I think. When I’ve got a title opportunity, it was against Roman Reigns. Unbelievable match. I’ve watched it back. Wow. I can’t believe we did all this stuff that was really good. So, yeah, Roman Reigns is a big part of the reason why my career’s where it’s at," Styles said.
Of course, Reigns has not been seen on television for months as he is staying home during the current pandemic to not only protect his health, but also the health of his family. Styles says Reigns is needed in WWE and that him coming back would be huge for the company.
“You can’t deny the fact that Roman Reigns is one of the biggest stars in WWE. He’s WWE. I mean, he’s the guy. so to get him back could be a big help," Styles said.
The full interview can be read at this link.
