AJ Styles may not be ruling out a much bigger backstage future in WWE anymore — because after recently helping produce a match at Evolve, he admitted the idea of eventually running a show now sounds “awesome and exciting.”
While speaking on his Phenomenally Retro podcast, Styles opened up about his recent visit to NXT during the April 28 episode and admitted he unexpectedly ended up helping produce a match during the tapings after one of WWE’s producers needed assistance. According to Styles, he originally just wanted to observe how everything worked behind the curtain while spending time around both NXT and Evolve.
“So I went down there and watched the NXT show, and then I was able to say, ‘Hey, I’m down here now Wednesday, Thursday. I’m going to come to class. I want to see how everything works. Everybody do their thing.’ And then the Evolve show, right? Yeah—I was able to see that and work with them.”
The Phenomenal One explained that he was not officially assigned as a producer, but eventually volunteered to help when things became hectic backstage. He made it clear he had no problem doing it.
“I wasn’t an agent or a producer, as we call it now, but one of our producers needed a little help because he was doing a lot. So I said, ‘Dude, if you want me to, I’ll do it. I have no problem doing it.’”
That assistance eventually included Styles putting on a headset and helping call a match directly to WWE’s television production team — something he admitted he had absolutely no prior experience doing.
“And that includes putting the headset on and calling the match to the TV, which I had no idea how to do.”
Even so, AJ Styles said the feedback he received afterwards completely surprised him and gave him a major confidence boost.
“But I think they came to me like, ‘Actually, dude, you did a really good job because you didn’t say too much. You said enough. You told us where to be, what was about to happen. Where do you need the camera?’ I was like, ‘Oh man, that made me feel like a million bucks.’”
Styles also admitted the experience unexpectedly reconnected him with wrestling from an entirely different perspective because he found himself emotionally reacting to the match like a fan again.
“And dude, I’m watching this match, and I didn’t realize I became a huge cheerleader because I’m like, ‘Oh yes! Yeah! Oh, that’s awesome!’ You know, I’m talking to the TV—nobody can hear me. I got to be a fan again, and that’s awesome. They had a great match, man. I was super happy with that. I’m biased because I’m the one that helped with it, right?”
The biggest surprise came when Styles was directly asked whether becoming a WWE producer or agent could now become part of his long-term future. While Styles admitted he originally had no interest in that path, he revealed WWE immediately compared his current situation to Shawn Michaels first getting involved behind the scenes. Styles then admitted that the idea of eventually helping run a wrestling show actually sounds exciting to him now
“Although I said, ‘Listen, I don’t want to be an agent. That’s not what I want to do.’ And they go, ‘Yeah, well Shawn said the same thing. Shawn Michaels said the exact same thing you did. Now he’s running NXT.’ So if the opportunity comes, and wherever we are, and the possibility of running a show—it sounds pretty awesome and exciting.”
At this point, AJ Styles is still not officially working full-time as a WWE producer. But after quietly helping out backstage at NXT and openly admitting he enjoyed the experience, it suddenly feels very possible that WWE could already be preparing him for a much bigger behind-the-scenes role in the future.
Do you think AJ Styles would make a great long-term WWE producer or even a future NXT executive role like Shawn Michaels? Leave your thoughts and feedback below.
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