Seth Rollins: “AJ Styles Is An Example Of A Guy Who Was A Hero Of Mine That I Met That Exceeded All Of My Expectations”

Rollins speaks highly of Styles.

Seth Rollins and AJ Styles have an in-ring history that dates back to 2006. Rollins looked back on that time, coming off the heels of Styles’ WWE in-ring career coming to an end.

Rollins sat down with Casey Buscher at Super Bowl LX Radio Row and said the following about Styles:

“Maybe 18 or 19 years old, I got to wrestle a young AJ Styles on an independent show in Muscatine, Iowa, in a singles match in front of my friends and family right down the road from me, and the match was wonderful. AJ was a great teacher, a great leader. He beat me that night… The next night, we had another show in Missouri, so we had to drive there; he flew there. I met him there. We were on the same show. We didn’t wrestle each other. But afterwards, we went out to a local pizzeria, and he picked up the tab for me. He bought my food, and the food of my tag team partner who was there with me, and I was like, ‘Oh, can I repay you in any way?’ And all he told me was, ‘Just make sure you pay that forward. That’s how you repay me,’ and that was an example of how to treat people that were coming up underneath you and that respected you. A lot of times, you meet your heroes and you can be disappointed by that. AJ Styles is an example of a guy who was a hero of mine that I met that exceeded all of my expectations.”

Rollins and Styles had five singles matches during their time together in WWE. The last was at the 2023 Night of Champions Premium Live Event, where Rollins defeated Styles to capture the World Heavyweight Championship.

If the quote in this article is used, please credit Casey Buscher with an H/T to Fightful for the transcription.