AJ Styles enjoyed one of the longest WWE Championship reigns of the modern era. The two-time WWE Champion held the title for 371 days before eventually losing it in 2018. While many wrestlers hate losing a championship, Styles recently admitted the moment actually brought him relief.
Styles captured his second WWE Championship by defeating Jinder Mahal in 2017. He then carried the title for more than a year, becoming one of WWE SmackDown’s top stars during that period.
AJ Styles explains why losing the WWE title lifted a weight off his shoulders
Speaking on The Phenomenally Retro Podcast, AJ Styles and Tony Giles discussed long championship reigns. While Giles preferred shorter title runs, he noted that Styles’ year-long WWE Championship reign was a good balance.
Styles then explained why carrying the title for that long became exhausting. “And I can tell you this. I can speak from experience. Being a champion for a year is exhausting, right? It is because I feel like they’re saying, ‘Hey, man, we’re counting on you to put butts in seats.’ So, you go out there every week to put on unbelievable matches and do the media and everything that goes around with that, and it’s exhausting. It can get you.”
“I remember getting beat by Daniel Bryan and going, ‘Thank God.’ I was just like, ‘Dude, just take it.’ I was exhausted, and the biggest weight was lifted off my shoulders because I felt like I had the most important job when it came to SmackDown. It was to put on the show every time and be on everything I possibly could. It was a lot.”
Styles lost the WWE Championship to Daniel Bryan on WWE SmackDown in November 2018 after Bryan hit a low blow and followed with the Running Knee.
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