AJ Styles is not joining the WWE Performance Center coaching staff on a permanent basis. The Hall of Famer clarified on the latest episode of The AJ Styles Show that he is covering a class while a fellow coach recovers from knee surgery.
Styles told co-host Tony Giles in late July that he was “going to be taking over for one of the coaches” at the Orlando facility, but stopped short of saying whether the job was permanent. He has now answered that.
What happens inside the class is still his call. Styles said he has built the sessions around functional work like footwork, and that he rotates material so students do not coast.
I’m trying to make everything that we do very practical,” Styles said. “I’m changing stuff up a little bit because the more you do the same thing over and over, the less you want to come to class and work hard because it gets redundant.
He also argued for why WWE keeps putting former main eventers in front of trainees, and it doubled as a shot at the independent circuit’s coaching pool.
To be able to talk to a trainer who has been there, done that, and main evented on the biggest stage certainly helps,” he said. “A lot of these trainers haven’t done that, so they’re not getting the information they need.
Styles Produced The NXT Underground Main Event
Styles confirmed he served as producer on the NXT Underground title match between Kendal Grey and Lola Vice that closed the August 4 episode on The CW. He credited the competitors’ MMA backgrounds for the fight’s authenticity rather than anything he drew up.
His stated philosophy behind the camera is deliberately unfussy.
At the core of it, everything that we know that’s always worked is A-B-C every time,” he said.
Grey retained the NXT Women’s Championship by armbar, ending Vice’s 4-0 record in Underground matches. Vice appeared to signal her NXT departure shortly afterward.
Styles Asks Fans To Be Patient With Giulia
Asked about fan anger over Giulia’s handling on SmackDown, Styles did not defend the booking so much as ask for runway.
Before we get upset about what’s going on, let’s see where it goes,” he said. “Just give it a second. Sometimes it’s a day, sometimes it’s a week. If we had a little bit of patience, it would go a long way.
The frustration peaked after the July 31 SmackDown, where Giulia lost to Lash Legend in roughly two minutes in the final Interim WWE Women’s Championship qualifier. WWE’s YouTube upload of the match drew several times more dislikes than likes, and Giulia answered on X by telling fans not to worry about her.
