Although I am a Christian, I am not even close to perfect.
— A.J. Styles
Everybody either hates or loves John Cena; there's no medium. I feel like that I've accomplished something when I get people to cheer for John Cena. I feel like I've done something.
At my house, it's an, 'If dad says it, you can say it' kind of deal, so a lot of my slang words come off very childish at this point in my career.
There's a couple guys that I'd like to wrestle, but truthfully, I want to wrestle as many guys as I can.
Wrestling in Japan, obviously, the fans are a little bit different - very quiet, very respectful in New Japan - but here in the WWE, these fans are going nuts.
Sometimes I feel like if I'm not getting people to boo me, then I'm not doing my job right.
Who would have ever thought that, within a couple months of getting into the WWE, that I'd be wrestling in the main event for the world championship? Then, nine months after getting here, actually being the world champion.
Do I think Vince McMahon was looking at my matches in Japan going, 'We need him?' No. He wasn't. He's too busy. There's no way. But somebody may have been looking and going, 'All right, I like this guy. Let's give him a shot.'
Everything I do, I want to be A.J. Styles. When you see a guy come out with dry, long hair, I want you to be like, 'Hey, that reminds me of A.J. Styles.' That's what I want.
There's plenty of people who've never gotten the opportunity to wrestle at WrestleMania. To perform there and do that, I never thought it would ever happen. I had learned to live with it. So to say I did, that is a big notch in my belt.
I'm not trying to be something that I'm not, and I think a lot of people can relate to that. They want something that's real, and I think I give that to them.
I think the thing that I get most excited about is the fact that I know I'm gonna have a great match. That's when I get the butterflies. When it's just a regular match or something like that, I may not get that.
I went to church when I was younger, but it was never something pushed down my throat or anything, which is a good thing. I found out for myself where I belonged.
I want to be known as A.J. Styles, the WWE Superstar that he is, and have amazing matches, make memories - I think that's the goal.
You're only as old as you feel, and I feel pretty young. I've got one gear, and till it gets reversed, I'm going all out.
I would love to tell you that it's been absolutely perfect, that I've been a man that's been super Christian. But I've had mistakes, dumb things I've regretted, so it's not a perfect life. But it's one that has helped me make better decisions.
That's the great thing with the WWE. They want you to be like John Cena, they want you to be like The Rock, and they definitely give you that platform.
I always say when it comes to dream matches, that is not up to me: that's up to the WWE Universe. That's up to the fans. But there is a guy on 'SmackDown' that I have yet to wrestle yet that's certainly gonna happen at some point, and that's Randy Orton.
I've never really felt like a veteran. I've never felt like the guy who's like, 'OK, everyone needs to look up to me and respect me.' I've always just been one of the guys that people are excited to get in the ring with. That's all I want.
You just remember back when you were watching as a kid and going, 'Man, Sting's so cool,' and now I'm wrestling the guy. It's breathtaking.
The WWE is based on, I think, reaction. You know, if you can't get a reaction, that means you can't put butts in the seats.
Shinsuke Nakamura is probably one of the best wrestlers I've ever been in the ring with. He's very unorthodox. Everything he does is with knockout power. He's a guy who is very flamboyant, so don't let his Michael Jackson antics fool you. This guy is deadly.
I hope to have more than one main weapon. I have the Phenomenal Forearm as we're calling it now, the Calf Crusher - the Styles Clash is still available. I like to have a lot of alternative moves to hit people with, and whatever seems to work is what I'll go with.
If we're talking about guys who set the tone, you've got to go way back. But if we're talking about guys who made it possible for guys like A.J. Styles, Shawn Michaels kind of opened that door, along with Daniel Bryan.
I've been a video game guy since I was eight years old and got my first Nintendo. I've been addicted to video games ever since.
You just can't compare the WWE to anything else when it comes to sports entertainment. There is nothing like the WWE, nothing like this machine I am working for and I'm proud to work for.
I busted my tail for so long, I'm just glad it's getting recognized now as part of the WWE. Because let's face it, the WWE is the biggest company out there when it comes to wrestling. I'm just happy that I'm being recognized as somebody who works hard, I guess.
There's a lot of goals I've set in the WWE that I want to accomplish. I'm always setting goals for myself, and someday I want to be in the Hall of Fame.
