AJ Styles Says One Loss Doesn’t Derail a Career If WWE Actually Has Plans for You

AJ Styles is not backing off his take on wins and losses in WWE, and now he is making the whole thing even sharper.

Speaking on his Phenomenally Retro podcast, AJ responded to fans who pushed back after he said wins and losses do not matter to him the way they might matter in a real sport. Basically, AJ said he gets paid the same either way, and wrestling is about the story.

“Okay. So, wins and losses don’t mean a thing to AJ Styles, right? Like, I am going to get paid the same, as I said before, whether I win or I lose.”

The Phenomenal One said he understands why fans get frustrated when someone they love keeps losing. Fans want to believe their favorites are important, and if those wrestlers never win, people start checking out.

“Fans, I think, of pro wrestling were going, ‘Hey, listen, though. Some of the guys that I love never get to win anymore, and I’m losing faith in that. So wins and losses do matter because if they don’t win, I’m not going to care about them anymore.’”

Then the WWE Hall of Famer dropped the real meat of the argument. He said if one loss supposedly derails someone’s career, then the company probably never had big plans for them anyway.

“And what I think I was responding to is the one person that said, ‘I’ve seen people’s careers derailed because of that loss.’ If that’s true, they never intended on using them. That’s just the fact of the matter. It wasn’t a derailment because they lost—it was because they had no intention of using them, so boom, that’s kind of where they went.”

That is AJ’s whole point. A star does not get ruined by one loss if WWE really wants them to be a star. If that loss kills everything, then maybe the push was never real to begin with. AJ also said wrestlers have different jobs depending on where they are in their careers. Sometimes the job is not to win every match. Sometimes the job is to help somebody else get hotter.

“And I think, you know, depending on where you are in your career, your job is to help others get over rather than to win every freaking match.”

Of course, AJ also brought up Brock Lesnar, because Brock is always the example fans use when talking about protected stars. Styles said he gets what fans are saying, but he was not trying to say he does not care as a WWE performer. His point is that the story should decide the outcome.

“And you go, ‘Yeah, but what about Brock Lesnar?’ Well, you know what can I say? I mean, Brock Lesnar does win most of the time, but he’s also not there all the time, so it’s different. I get what they’re saying, but I wasn’t saying anything in regards of, you know, I don’t care as a contracted guy. In other words, if the story is where it needs to be, then that’s exactly what it needs to be.”

This all comes after AJ previously said WWE is entertainment, not UFC, and that wins and losses only really matter when the story makes them matter. That comment got fans talking, especially when names like Finn Balor were brought up as examples of wrestlers who can go long stretches without major premium live event singles wins.

AJ’s latest explanation makes it pretty simple. He is not saying fans are stupid for caring. He is saying WWE booking is not a sports standings table. If the company has real plans for someone, one loss should not bury them. If it does, AJ thinks the company probably never planned to do much with them in the first place.

Please credit Ringside News if you use the above transcript in your publication.