AJ Styles has revealed that he quietly helped produce one of WWE NXT’s biggest matches of the summer- the NXT Championship Street Fight between Tony D’Angelo and Naraku.
Even though Styles isn’t wrestling full-time anymore, he still works behind the scenes in WWE. He mainly focuses on scouting talent and helping with WWE’s ID program. In the past, he has said he doesn’t want to become a full-time producer or join WWE’s creative team.
However, Styles recently stepped into a producer’s role for the historic NXT Championship Street Fight. Moreover, he revealed it was a great experience.
AJ Styles helped put together the NXT Championship match
Speaking on the Phenomenally Retro podcast, Styles confirmed that he helped plan the main event between Tony D’Angelo and Naraku that happened on the July 21 episode of NXT.
He admitted that once the match started, he got so caught up watching it that he almost forgot he was supposed to be producing.
“It’s funny that you say that because I was able to do… helped with the producing of the Tony D’Angelo and Naraku match…And I thought it went really really well. I’m one of those people that are still heavily involved in watching the match. So, right while I was on the headset, I did not do a good job of saying anything other than, ‘Yeah…ah…Yes.’ So I let somebody else handle that part… but we got together and I think we did a good job,” Styles said.
In the end, he was happy because everything turned out just the way he had imagined during the planning stage.
Styles said both wrestlers did an excellent job and brought the match to life exactly as planned.
“I think those two did an excellent job of… you know, you have something in your head and it came out on television exactly the way I had it. So, kudos to those guys for making that happen… they did it perfectly, man,” Styles said.
He lavished praise on Tony D’Angelo, saying he looks ready for WWE’s main roster. He also praised Naraku, saying the rising star completely changes once the cameras start rolling.
“Naraku, when that light is on, he’s different, man. I can’t explain it to you because, as most Japanese are, they’re very quiet and very respectful. But when that red light comes on, he is that character. And he did such a freaking amazing job of being that character with the mist. Tony D, obviously, dude, I think he is on his way. He is the next guy to be taken to the main roster,” Styles said.
The NXT Championship Street Fight was already one of the most talked-about matches of the night. It featured a lot of hard-hitting action and twists. Mike Santana making his debut after Tony D’Angelo retained the title also added to the spectacle of the main event.
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