AJ Styles watched his son Avery Styles make his pro wrestling debut, and dad is not even trying to play it cool. He was blown away.
While speaking on the Phenomenally Retro podcast, AJ opened up about Avery’s first match at SCA Wrestling’s Freedom Fling event on June 26 at the Royston Dome in Royston, Georgia. Avery was originally supposed to work the semi-main event against Ashton Martin, but the match got moved up to the main event, which is a pretty wild spot for someone making their debut. AJ said the pressure did not get to either guy, and by the end of it, he felt they delivered.
“It was a big day. Uh, so Avery, my second oldest, had his first match, his debut match, and uh, it got to be so big that it went from being second to the last match, semi-main event to the main event of the show. And, uh, I don’t think they disappointed anyone.”
AJ said Avery and Ashton Martin wrestled with way more patience than he expected from two young guys, especially with Avery stepping into the ring for the first time. He explained that a lot of inexperienced wrestlers get too excited and rush everything, but Avery and Ashton knew when to slow down, let things breathe, and keep the match from turning into a mess.
“It was the main event of the show. They done… Ashton Martin, Avery Styles. It was the main event. I… listen, dude, I’ve never been so impressed with two young guys. I mean, they’re young. I think Ashley’s maybe a year, year and a half in. And then, of course, this is Avery’s debut match.
And there’s a lot of things that we do with all this energy when we have that young energy that is we use it in the wrong way. Um, they used it really, really well. Um, they didn’t rush through anything. They took their time on things they should have.”
AJ made it clear the match was not perfect, but for a debut in the main event, he thought it was way better than anyone had a right to expect. He even admitted Avery’s first match was better than his own debut, which is not exactly a small thing coming from AJ Styles. The Phenomenal One said Avery’s training showed, and he was impressed by the way both men put the match together and actually executed it under pressure.
“And listen, this is not going to be perfect, but this is a debut match for Avery and, you know, Ashen hadn’t had that many matches. So to see them do so well in a main event, both of them, I was blown away.
If you would have seen my first match, terrible, terrible. But these guys did really, really well. I am so impressed with everything they’ve done… you know, their training and every… but like to see them put together that match and execute it so well… blown away.”
Avery already had fans talking after posting footage from the match on Instagram Stories. In one clip, he slid under the guardrail at ringside before blasting his opponent with a Phenomenal Forearm, making it pretty clear he knew exactly which family move would get people’s attention. Online results listed Avery as defeating Ashton Martin, and AJ was advertised to be in his son’s corner, making the whole thing a full-circle family moment.
AJ said he expects the match to make its way online eventually, but what stood out to him was how simple and easy to follow the story was. He said young wrestlers often try to cram too much into a match, but Avery and Ashton gave fans just enough without overloading everything.
“I don’t know. Um, I’m not sure. I mean I’m sure someone will put it out there. It’s definitely going to make its way onto the internet. I have no doubt about that. But it was, you know, it was a simple story told the way it should have without so much involved that you couldn’t follow it.
You know, a lot of times we put too much, too much crap in one bag and we try to fit it all in. It can’t… we can’t. As fans, we can’t digest everything that’s going on because there’s so much going on. But it was just enough of what they needed to see.”
Then AJ gave Avery one of the biggest compliments possible, saying he was better than him when it came to their debut matches. He also pointed specifically to Avery’s springboard off the guardrail, praising the timing and execution.
“Again, he’s better than me as far as his debut. I’m not just saying that. For him to pull off a springboard off the guard rail, you know, little things like that. The timing… beautiful.”
So yeah, Avery Styles did not just make his wrestling debut. He did it in the main event, won the match, used one of his dad’s most famous moves, and left AJ Styles sounding like one proud father. No pressure or anything.
What do you think about AJ Styles saying Avery’s debut was better than his own? Could Avery Styles be the next major second-generation name to watch? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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