AJ Styles

5 Feb 2026 · 1 h 45 min · 37 chapters

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In short

Podcast Episode Summary: AJ Styles on "What's Your Story?" with Steph McMahon

Episode Overview In this episode of "What's Your Story?" hosted by Steph McMahon, newly retired WWE superstar AJ Styles shares an in-depth conversation about his wrestling career, personal struggles, and familial bonds. The discussion covers his retirement from wrestling, his relationship with his wife, and reflections on life as a father and husband.

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Key Discussions

Retirement and Reflections

  • Retirement Announcement: AJ Styles announced his retirement at the Royal Rumble 2026.
  • Emotional Farewells: Styles shares his feelings about stepping back from the ring and the emotional weight it carries.
  • Last Match: He humorously notes he almost put his gloves down but decided against it, leaving the door open for future possibilities.

Family and Relationships

  • Wife's Perspective: AJ talks about his wife’s mixed feelings towards wrestling and how their relationship has evolved.
  • Fatherhood: Discusses the challenges of parenting, including the balance of providing for his children while teaching them the value of hard work.
  • Parenting Strategies: AJ reflects on the struggles of raising children in a comfortable environment while ensuring they learn important life lessons.
  • Family Time: The importance of being present for his children, especially now that he is retired.

Financial and Educational Lessons

  • Lessons from Upbringing: AJ discusses growing up in a financially struggling household and how it shaped his perspective on money and success.
  • Advice for Parents: Urges parents to teach their children about finances, budgeting, and the importance of hard work.

Personal Growth and Life Lessons

  • Intent in Conversations: AJ emphasizes the importance of being intentional in interactions and understanding others’ perspectives.
  • Judgment and Empathy: He shares insights on not judging others based on external appearances or stories, highlighting the importance of empathy in human interactions.

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Key Takeaways

  • Never Say Never: AJ reflects on the unpredictability of wrestling, hinting at the possibility of returning to the ring in the future.
  • Love and Support: Emphasizes the significance of having a supportive family and community throughout his journey.
  • Life's Experiences: AJ connects wrestling experiences to life lessons, advocating for openness to understanding others' backgrounds and struggles.
  • Parenting Challenges: Discusses the balance of providing for children while instilling values of hard work and gratitude.

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Final Thoughts

  • AJ Styles expresses deep gratitude for his career and the relationships built along the way, particularly in the WWE locker room. He highlights the importance of camaraderie among wrestlers, likening them to a family that supports each other through various ups and downs.

Closing Remarks The episode concludes with a heartfelt note on the need for kindness in interactions and the recognition that everyone has their battles, encouraging listeners to approach life with empathy and understanding.

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This episode not only offers insights into AJ Styles’s career but also provides valuable lessons on family, love, and the importance of community, making it a rich listen for fans and aspiring wrestlers alike.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

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Growing Up and Family Background

0:45 to 3:05

Discussion about childhood experiences and family dynamics.

“I wouldn't have married my wife if she was like a Georgia Tech.”

Money Management Lessons

3:05 to 6:00

Insights on financial literacy and lessons learned from parents.

“And the older I've gotten, I've realized they are terrible, 1 ,000 % terrible with money.”

Raising Children and Parenting Challenges

6:00 to 7:43

Exploring the complexities of parenting and providing for children.

“And, and rise above it and somehow reach, you know, a different place.”

Life Lessons from Parenting

7:43 to 14:01

Conversations about the lessons learned as parents and the importance of experience.

“So she's saving, but yet she still only spends her gift cards.”

Fatherhood and Personal Growth

14:01 to 15:59

Discussing the importance of supporting children's growth and evolution.

“He was trying to make sure I wasn't doing too many stupid things.”

Fighting for Opportunities in Wrestling

17:06 to 19:26

AJ Styles shares his experiences and challenges in the wrestling industry.

“I mean, you were born in North Carolina, so.”

Navigating Relationships and Mistakes

19:26 to 21:40

AJ recounts his early romantic missteps and eventual success with his wife.

“So, but it was, you know, the opportunity that was hard, like to say no to.”

AJ's Journey with His Wife

21:40 to 28:00

AJ Styles reflects on his relationship with his wife and their shared journey.

“Um, and I don't know how I tricked her into dating me.”

A Loving Tribute to AJ Styles

28:00 to 29:44

AJ Styles reads a heartfelt letter from his wife about their journey together.

“And I won't look at you while I read it, so it won't be weird.”

AJ's Reflection on Career Choices

29:44 to 31:44

AJ discusses the impact of his decisions on his wrestling career and family life.

“Well, I mean, she's my biggest fan, you know.”
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The Role of Faith in Love and Family

31:44 to 33:58

AJ explains how his faith influences his marriage and family priorities.

“So I'm thankful for everything that we went through and we went through it together and there's been ups and downs and it was been hard times and lonely times.”

Balancing Work and Family Life

33:58 to 36:28

AJ shares challenges of balancing wrestling commitments with family responsibilities.

“And then sometimes my daughter's on our side.”

Adjusting to Family Life at Home

36:28 to 38:28

AJ discusses the adjustments needed to reconnect with his family after time away.

“And how strong your wife is that she had these babies without you there.”

The Joys and Challenges of Parenting

38:28 to 42:02

AJ and his co-host reflect on the joys and challenges of raising children together.

“She's definitely ready for me to come home.”

Reflections on Parenting: Unexpected Surprises

42:02 to 43:04

AJ Styles shares a touching story about his children and an unexpected pregnancy.

Affectionate Bonds: Fatherhood and Sons

43:05 to 45:04

AJ discusses the affectionate relationships he maintains with his sons as they grow older.

“That just goes to show you, she's not one in a million.”

The Quirks of Childhood: Sleeping Habits

45:05 to 46:42

The hosts recount humorous tales of their children's unique sleeping habits and choices.

“Like if they're asleep and it's kind of hard to put my hands on them, I'll give them a little kiss on the forehead or something.”

Nightmares and Protectiveness: A Parent's Fear

46:43 to 49:50

AJ opens up about his nightmares related to his daughter's safety and the emotional weight of fatherhood.

“I guess not he went right to sleep I feel like it's the reverse of being scared yeah I went to wake him up He's under the bed.”

The Challenges of Daughters and Dating

49:51 to 51:18

The hosts discuss potential challenges they foresee regarding their daughters and dating.

“I don't know how I'm going to be with guys and my daughter.”

Protective Instincts: Confrontations on the Field

51:19 to 55:10

AJ recounts a heated encounter at his daughter's soccer game and the protective instincts that surfaced.

“You remember I told you my daughter, one of my daughters was getting bullied, and that's exactly what Paul said.”

Road Rage and Unexpected Encounters

56:00 to 58:06

The hosts share humorous and tense stories about road rage incidents.

“And for some reason, we're at a standoff at a stop sign.”

A Mother's Intuition and Protectiveness

58:06 to 1:00:42

Steph recounts a harrowing experience of protecting her daughter from a reckless driver.

“The world's number one sports fan festival, Fanatics Fest, is making its return to New York City.”

Foolish Wrestling Antics at Home

1:00:42 to 1:05:34

AJ shares comical stories involving wrestling moves and mishaps with his wife.

“So I was also, we were pulling up, we were in Bridgeport and we were going to this sneaker store.”

A Lighthearted Anecdote

1:10:00 to 1:10:33

A humorous story about an older lady's unexpected strength.

“This would be a great time to read that message.”

Reflections on AJ Styles

1:10:33 to 1:12:49

A series of heartfelt messages highlighting AJ Styles' influence and character.

“Speaking of, that was not the only message that we have.”

The Impact of Brotherhood in Wrestling

1:12:49 to 1:15:31

Discussion on the deep connections and friendships formed in the wrestling community.

“So sad to see you go, but happy that we got the time with you that we did.”

A Legacy of Companionship

1:15:31 to 1:18:39

Exploring the significance of camaraderie among wrestlers and its emotional weight.

“and even the girls in the locker room to see me that way.”

Future of Wrestling in the Family

1:18:39 to 1:22:19

AJ Styles discusses the possibility of his children pursuing wrestling careers.

“He got me choked up a little bit because, you know, I got him into TNA.”

A Personal Story from Childhood

1:22:19 to 1:24:01

A nostalgic recollection of a memorable moment involving AJ's daughter’s reaction to wrestling.

“And then my daughter, I've caught her many a times watching it.”

A Child's First Encounter with Wrestling

1:24:01 to 1:25:19

Learn about the moment AJ Styles' daughter first displayed excitement for wrestling.

“And she's like totally reacting, loving all the right moments, like really getting it.”

Pride in Parenting and Watching Kids Thrive

1:25:20 to 1:27:44

Explore the joys and challenges of watching children pursue their passions in sports.

“People do think she looks a lot like me.”

Reflections on Wrestling and Life Lessons

1:27:45 to 1:31:30

Discover parallels between wrestling and life, including intensity and intention.

“Do you think they have any idea how nervous we are?”

Empathy and Understanding in Life

1:31:31 to 1:38:00

Understand the importance of empathy and kindness towards others' experiences.

“So I'm not quite old enough to be a grandpa, but just an uncle.”

The Importance of Kindness

1:38:00 to 1:39:44

Learn how small acts of kindness can make a significant impact on others.

“front of you and they could be falling apart inside it's very true everybody is struggling with something at some point in time.”

The Value of Perspective

1:39:44 to 1:41:01

Discover the significance of understanding others' experiences before judging them.

“I mean, they could be real jerks to you, but just give them a second chance.”

Personal Anecdotes and Insights

1:41:01 to 1:42:54

Gain insights from personal stories about relationships and experiences in life.

“people and uh and and how the little things go the furthest in the conversations you know yeah i think time is the greatest gift you can give somebody outside of love but you know just time Time is love, right?”

Celebrating Personal Connections

1:42:54 to 1:44:49

Explore the appreciation of personal connections and the impact of genuine relationships.

“and I know what they feel like to give and receive and your poor little wife and she's tiny yeah he made me so mad she is a tough cookie she was a cheerleader right they have to be tough.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

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0:30It looked like you were going to put your gloves down. But then you didn't. And you put him back on. What does that mean? I don't know. I don't know. Oh, what's your story? Don't you dare be sour. Clap for Stephanie. And feel the power. I wouldn't have married my wife if she was like a Georgia Tech. fan. It's like you're just done. You screwed it all up. The conversation doesn't even start. Yeah. What team? Out of here. She's out. My son is dating a girl and because she thought it looked cute, she literally had on a Georgia Tech sweat. Oh, oh. And I was like, hey, Maggie.

1:24She goes, was that strike two? And I was like, mm-hmm. Yeah, exactly. I forget what strike one was. Sinister. Sinister things. Yeah. What happens after three strikes? I don't know You're out I've seen red flags She's not good for you, bud So you were How old were you when you moved from North Carolina to Florida? I was a baby Florida, did you hear that, guys? The mistake that everybody makes I'm sorry I did that I'm sorry I'm sorry Man, we're starting off bad Can we start over? I'm trying to, you know, make something. I'm sorry. Yeah. You know what? Shawn Watson. She only did that because you didn't know about Massachusetts.

2:14She's trying to make it level. Actually, there we go. She's been her good friend. Thank you. I told you she's great at everything. Yeah, you did. You did. She's trying to make it feel better. Thanks, Elise. Appreciate it. Got your back. Gainesville, Georgia. I was just a baby, so I don't remember. My grandmother lived in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Yep. And, you know, I used to go to the base there at Camp Lejeune. Oh, really? Yeah, because her second husband was a vet. Did you drink the water? Because that wasn't good. May have during those times. My mom did. It might explain a lot. Yeah. Yeah.

2:47So you grew up in Georgia. And where did you grow up? Like in what kind of environment? So trailer park kid, you know. Parents had job. You know, both of my parents had a job, but they just weren't very good jobs. And the older I've gotten, I've realized they are terrible, 1 ,000 % terrible with money. They never, either they were stingy with it or didn't know how to use it or I don't know what it was, but they just, they had no idea how to make it work for them. You know, I think that's actually a failure of the education system. I agree. Because you're not taught how to manage money at all. You're not taught about making money.

3:26Like you learn math, but you don't learn how to use like actual applied math. or like show us how to fill out tax right yeah and what you're going to be expected to do because when you graduate high school you graduate at 18 a lot of people don't go on to school they go to work yeah my parents didn't finish high school or you get your GED and so but still like if you don't know how to manage your money you don't know how to write a check like that stuff can come back to bite you in the butt people can take advantage of you like all that stuff can happen so I'm assuming that's what happened to them they just were terrible with money and maybe we could have had a place because this the welfare came by our house i was like yes we're gonna get food right and they're like oh your parents make too much money i'm like this is this is terrible we had really my mom and dad had four boys we ate a lot yeah so uh by a lot i mean of mayonnaise sandwiches because that's all there were you know there wasn't a lot to eat there but you know it is what it is it made me who i am i'm okay with that so i agree with that i think that hard times shape our character.

4:31And you know, I've also, my dad grew up in a trailer park. He told me. Yeah. And he said he didn't know what was worse, the outhouse in the summer or the winter. Because he didn't have any, you know, indoor plumbing at first. And then he said, well, summer for many reasons, but winter, you're very, very cold. I mean, you've got to pee in the middle of the night. yeah holy crap and it's cold yeah and especially as we get older right you're so sleepy you don't even know where you're going

5:09coyote i was gonna say forget being pregnant oh my god yeah see well and how about sounds real terrible yeah no it really does yeah for real damn yeah he he told me that uh he he grew up in the trailer park he told me or at least in a trailer so i was like well how about that yeah you know we have something in common yeah you know uh which was a good thing maybe maybe he's like all right let me help this redneck out you know i know what it's like you know i think he i think for sure you know i think he can relate you know and i think not a lot of people have that success story you know and are able and i mean you as well like not a lot of people are able to come from that environment where the odds are just so stacked against you, right?

6:00And, and rise above it and somehow reach, you know, a different place. And I often hear that, you know, people who have like you who have gone through that, the part of the drive and the motivation is because you never, ever, ever want to go back because you know what that's like. Oh, man, that is the scariest thing. Even now, this sounds bad to say it, but I don't want to live paycheck to paycheck. And that frightens me to get to that point where we're like, oh, we have to budget all this and do that and do it perfectly. And that's kind of scary. so to go back to that I'm not I'll find a way to do something to make sure that we'll never be like that again but you know what the crazy thing is and me and my friend have talked about this before that you try so hard to never go back to that you spoil your kids all at the same time they don't learn the same lessons no they don't it's hard to learn those lessons because mom and dad are going to be able to get it for you Right.

7:07And you are so proud to be in that position, to be able to do that, to provide for them so that they don't have to go through that. Right. But then how do you teach them gratitude and work ethic and everything else? I don't know. That's a good one. Sometimes it's just going, hey, man, no. Yeah, this was this is one of mine. Hey, dude, you know, that credit card that is mine that I'm paying for that you have? that's for you not your friends to take them out to dinner so stop spending my money on all your friends yeah you know they I'm glad that they're able to do it and be able to take care of their friends if they need to but at the same time I'm like spend your money you got Christmas money spend that right so at what age is the right age for them to get a job oh I think if they're not playing sports or extra activities after school that's keeping them busy you get a job yep I'm the same way so they go, oh no dad, I'm working I'm doing this, I'm playing this I'm like, okay, you can still go to work Yeah Mom takes care of them Oh well, they're really doing school and they're doing a lot of homework Whatever Bag some groceries at Kroger or something My youngest bags groceries She's a checkout girl There's nothing wrong with that It's an honest work They get to talk to people I think it's good for them I think it is too Well, and they make a little money for themselves, right?

8:38That's right. And she's saving. Hey, how about you pay for your gas? She's so smart, though. So she's saving, but yet she still only spends her gift cards. That's smart. That she gets at Christmas. Yeah, or she works me. She's working you. Yeah, most of the time she's working me. Yeah. I do fall for it, though, a lot. But she does have her job, and she is saving her money. I don't think it's fair for you and Hunter to go through three girls. because listen if I had three girls they get anything they want I got one I'm like you know what you're not getting that do you want it really so yeah it is tough they know how to push those buttons nah dog get over there shut up I have a boy and a girl and I can see it already my husband's like not yelling at my son but like get away from your sister whatever it is and then he's like oh come here I'm like, so I go to the boy.

9:36Like, he's my boy, and that's his girl, you know? Yeah, it's a real thing, yeah. Listen, it's very different. The way I treated my sons to my daughter, oh, man, I would throw them around the house. I don't care. Yeah, my brother would say the same thing. I mean, I don't play around with him. He would. Yeah. I mean, but you have to show them, like, some tough kind of love. They got to bring, we're not raising boys, we're raising men, right? So I have to be a little bit harder on them than I would my daughter. You know, my job is to protect her until she finds a man to protect her. My mom always told me it is your father's job to, let me think of how she said it.

10:14It's your father's job to raise Shane to be a man and it's my job to raise you to be a woman. It sounds about right. Yeah. And she had no problem being strict. I feel like she did great. Yeah. Linda laid the law. I've said this many times. Your mom's going to spank you. It ain't going to be me. I'm not doing it. No way. I'm like, your dad's going to spank you. Yeah. 100%. So it's funny you say that because I was always on the road, you know, have been for 27 years. So there were some days, you know, I'd get the call like so-and-so was doing this. You got to come home and discipline him. Okay. I get home.

10:56I shut the door. What are you doing, man? Yeah. All right, listen, I'm going to act like I'm going to hit the belt on the bed a couple times. You just stay in here and act like you're crying because I don't feel like whooping you today. Okay? Okay. That happened more than once. Wow. Yeah. That's pretty amazing. You know, they've cut me some slack over the years. They've been a little bit easier on Dad, but we've had some moments where they were just like them. Like, dude, would you stop? I wonder how they really felt. you know because you were so honest with them and they could see how tired you were right like i think so and how hard you were working and it's like i wonder what their perspective was as kids you know i i'm gonna get them in here one day i'm like all right tell me what you're thinking the patience that you're gonna kill me yeah well for sure right yeah but like the patience in that moment of like i just let's just talk for a second like sometimes it's yeah sometimes you overcompensate the other way right human nature i mean right but it's you know it's it's easier now um i've told them several times as they're they're growing up it's like listen you're not going to understand until you have kids or you're on well you're not going to understand until you get a little bit older and sure enough yeah they've come to me like dad you're right dad you're right everything you said was right you know when they've had a broken heart you know you had to the hardest thing was for him to tell me I was right probably but it was you know it's like son I didn't want to be right it's just we could see it yeah so we had a similar situation there was a bad apple that was influencing one of our daughters and we kept making her aware of it, making her aware of it.

12:50And then eventually it blew up into a situation. She got caught up in a bad deal. And we had that conversation. We said we didn't, it doesn't make us feel good to say we told you so, right? But this is what we were trying to tell you. That if you kept hanging out with her, that eventually something, we didn't know what, but eventually something was going to happen. and now it has. And how do you feel about it? And she felt awful about it. And I said, and how does your friend feel about it? She goes, oh, actually, she didn't really care. I was like, right. That's what we're trying to tell you. Yeah.

13:34It's like that. But they have to learn their own lessons. They do. And that's one of the hardest parts, I think, of being a parent. I always say that either you can learn from your parents' mistakes or follow in their footsteps. I prefer to learn from their mistakes. And then sometimes, you know, I get it. I had to learn things on my own, too. You know, I hated to admit that my dad was right. But I'm glad he was. You know, at least I knew he loved me. He was trying to make sure I wasn't doing too many stupid things. It was all I love. Yeah. As long as you come from that. yeah I mean you've heard the saying I'm sure that there's only one man on this planet that wants you to be better than him that's your dad like I want my kids to be if you've got a good dad well yeah if you've got a good dad I guess not all dads are like that I'd like to think I'm one of them but then again I've had my moments but you know I wanted them to be as successful as they possibly could be and I want to be able to say I'm proud of you and cheer for them all the way through.

14:42Yeah. I've never heard that expression before. I love it. And it's true, right? Like I want my kids to be bigger, stronger, smarter, faster. Like that's evolution, right? And I cheer for my girls. I mean, I wasn't ready for it at five when my youngest surpassed my intellect. But it happened fast, much faster than I anticipated. but you know it's um it's that is what you want and yeah from the male perspective that's that's really interesting it's uh i mean because we're in competition with everybody else yeah trying to do better and be better and at the same time i'm one of those guys that doesn't want to compare myself to someone else but i'm we're in competition to get to the next level you know i'm not going to stab you in the back to get there but i'm going to outwork you yeah and uh to be able to hopefully show my kids that it can be done.

15:34It may not come when you want it. Right. Eventually it will be there. If you work hard enough for it and you don't give up. Somebody's going to slip up. Somebody's going to get hurt. Something's going to happen. You got to be ready to step up. Yeah. When preparation meets opportunity. Right. Heck yes. Hell yeah. I will make the best out of every opportunity you give me. Just as long as you give me an opportunity. I'll make the best out of it. This message is sponsored by Raycon. With the Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics this month, there's no better time to get inspired, push harder, and upgrade your workout routine.

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16:50The Everyday Earbuds Classic are here to help you go for gold. Go to buyraycon.com slash W-Y-S to get 15 % off. Thanks Raycon for sponsoring. What's one of the opportunities you've had to fight the hardest for? Wow.

17:16That's a tough one. That's really tough. You know what? I remember the opportunity to wrestle for WCW and they didn't like the way my partner and you were what like how many five months in or something yeah I worked I was signed with WCW for a total of five months and I was the happiest camper you ever saw like I was with WCW it was a big deal but they had me and my partner wear fighter pilot suits oh well that makes sense Yeah, it was terrible. I mean, you were born in North Carolina, so. Well, I mean, that's a Marine base, not an Air Force base. The stage is first in flight. Come on. I don't know.

17:59All I know is that what they were having is this get up. The Wright Brothers. Yeah, whatever that suit was they gave me to wear, it was going up my butt. So that's all I can remember. Oh, this was uncomfortable. But I was like, man, you know what? They're going to get the best fighter pilot they've ever seen. Oh, yeah. You know what? Fighter pilot with a witchy. Wear the glasses, the aviator glasses. were you you know top gun that's exactly what i was picturing that's exactly what we were yeah i mean that's not a bad gimmick at the time i mean it's a gimmick it was a it was a you couldn't relate to it we're talking about what uh 2001 i think it was so how'd you fight for the opportunity well uh so wcw offered me a deal like a developmental deal to to go to the power plant 500 bucks a week and i was like i don't know i'm making that at my regular job and then you know since I'm an independent contractor they'll take out more taxes and I was like I can barely pay for anything now then I'd have to drive it to Atlanta I was like this isn't gonna work and I had to turn down the opportunity to be able to you know but that was WWE right?

19:00No that was WCW. Oh I thought I did it twice. Oh okay because the same amount of money well yes. That's interesting yep and so I just couldn't afford to to live like that so you turned down WCW and WWE listen it wasn't easy I know it sounds like it was and it worked out and then you went on to well I'll tell you this and then they offered me again a couple months later instead of 500 bucks it was 800 here we go I didn't have to go to the power plant I went straight to WCW so you were negotiating you didn't realize it I guess they just needed some guys to beat up on and I will be that guy. Yeah.

19:44So, but it was, you know, the opportunity that was hard, like to say no to. Right. You know, 500 bucks, but just WCW, that was hard. That was really difficult. With such perspective. But think about WCW and then getting offered by WWE and having to turn that down. That was even harder. Yeah. You know, the biggest wrestling company in the world and I had to turn them down. You know, I've told this story before I got offered 500 bucks a week to move to Cincinnati. My wife is in college chasing her dream to be a school teacher. I was like, I can't move to Cincinnati. I can't leave her. My job is to take care of her.

20:28I've heard you say that. It was hard to swallow. She even told me, you can go. Because she's been with you since day one. We started dating in 96. Wow. and so that's over 30 years that we've been together yeah and you said your date nights were going to the indie shows oh yeah I mean she had to love me did she fall in love with wrestling no no not at all she never liked it but she to this day I don't think she really liked it I mean She'll watch it, but, you know, she gets caught up in, like, it's weird that she knows, but she's like, ah, I don't like him. I'm like, he is playing a character. You would love him.

21:21He's a great guy. Well, then she does like it. Maybe she does. If she's getting hooked. Maybe she does. Yeah. I mean, if not. At least a little. If not, that's a damn good partner. Right? Yeah. She is. I mean, that's true, too. I'm not going to lie to you guys. I hit the jackpot. Like she is a sweetest person I've ever met. Um, and I don't know how I tricked her into dating me. So, cause I didn't, I didn't do well the first couple of times I tried to date her. I didn't. Oh yeah. Tell, tell, tell these stories. This, I think this was your biggest opportunity, AJ. Yeah. Well, you know, um, so I broke up with this girl that I dated for two years, you know, and it was a terrible mess.

22:02And I was one, you know, that guy that argued with his girlfriend every morning in school, like in the locker. That was me. Yeah. So I look like a turd. Not a good relationship. Yeah, I look like the biggest turd in high school. But then I was like, hey, you know, I called her and I was like, oh, God, I hate telling this story. This is going to make me look really, really bad. You win or in the end? You win. I win. You win. So I was like, I'm going to call up Wendy. And I always thought she was cute. I played football with both her brothers. So I knew of her. I didn't know her well. But I know she was really cute.

22:36So I called her. I said hey we should hang out she goes okay give it a shot I guess and I was like alright well and then here we go like an idiot I called her from her friend's house I went back to her friend's house the next day did something I shouldn't have done with her friend so yeah we didn't ever go out on that date yeah real idiot Oh, wow. And you win her in the end anyway. I wish I could tell you that was the only time I did something stupid. Yeah. Similar? Yeah, so I was like, hey, you know what? Wendy, you should definitely come to one of my wrestling matches. This is now, we're in November, December.

23:23And she didn't say whether or not she was coming. I just invited her. I also invited another girl. I knew. I was going to say, who else did you invite? I knew it was going there. You didn't think they'd both show up. Yeah, they did. So, yeah, ruined it again. Were they sitting next to each other? No, but I think she goes on to tell the story. She saw me kiss her. Oof. Yeah. I don't know. At least I'm not the smartest kid. I'm getting that right now. You know, then I straightened up and basically got on to me. So how did you ultimately win her? I begged her to go out of the way. How long after that moment?

24:01Probably it was, I can tell you, it was January. I had to start working on her from January to February 14th. That's not that long. It took me a whole month. I'm going to her homeroom every morning. She never looked for me. I had to go to her homeroom every morning and talk to her and say nice things and sweet things in her ear so that she'd given me another opportunity. And sure enough. And did she say twice? Two strikes. She should have. She certainly could have. But, yeah, the great thing about it is her brothers liked me and her dad liked me. Did she have her eye on you? I don't think so. No?

24:43You don't think ever? No. She didn't see you with her brothers or anything? No. No? No chance. And her homeroom teacher is not like, get out of here. Yeah, hey, kid. Well, no. The teacher liked you, too. Yeah. I think I was a likable guy. Everybody's in on her. I just made a lot of mistakes, you know? So, yeah, my my husband would say, because sometimes he's counseling our daughters with guys, you know, and he's like, yeah, honey, he's a teenage boy. He's stupid. No offense to teenage boys. Just you make most mistakes. You make some mistakes. Most of us are stupid. You learn. Right. Yeah. I mean, I wanted to be like my older brother who, guess what, was stupid.

25:26Teenage boy. I made some mistakes. I made some mistakes. well wait but so then valentine's day valentine's day that's right well i said hey everybody's asking for a date and we should probably just make it official and uh yeah we did so i think the next week we went on a date to burger king where she paid because i didn't have any money junior whoppers for all was that what you got yeah yeah i didn't pay for it i didn't have any money i didn't have a car i didn't have nothing but you were a real winner. You fucked up twice. Oh, I'm sorry. I cursed. I know you don't curse. What did you just curse?

26:02I did. I said fucked up. Oh. I didn't even hear it. I'm sorry. I might have missed it. I mean, I know you've obviously... Well, listen, you put me in the right situation. I'll drop some F-bombs. Oh, yeah, okay. But listen, you know I'm mad, though. Or something's really bothering me. If you actually use language. It's got to be up there. Yeah, and that's the same as something in our business. Yeah, well, I mean. Particularly when you're putting a match together, I found the most colorful language. And I'll F and go on over here, and I'll F and do that, and I'll F and do this. Everything's an F.

26:34Oh, yeah, everything is. Yeah. It is. Mound, verb, adjective, it is everything. There's been time to go, how many F-bombs can you drop? It's almost like you can't, but you've proved otherwise. You can put a match together. So, yeah, but mine's like, look, I'm going to freaking go over here. And then when you freaking come over here, everybody who knows me, they're like, he says freak a lot. He says freak. He's freaking freak freak. So it's all the same. I think Valentine's day is coming and whether you're doing something big or keeping it low key, the best gift you can give is showing up as the best version of yourself.

27:15That's where game day men's health comes in. They offer premium in-person men's health care focused on optimizing testosterone, energy, focus, and overall performance with real testing, face-to-face visits, and personalized treatment plans. No long waits, no online guesswork. If you've been feeling tired, foggy, or just not quite like yourself, this is your sign to get checked. Book your free in-clinic consultation at gamedaymenshealth.com and start feeling like yourself again, just in time for Valentine's Day. Well, I happen to have a message from your wife. Oh. If I may read it. Okay. And I won't look at you while I read it, so it won't be weird.

28:03Okay. Okay. Because these are her words. All right. To my loving husband whom I call Alan and the world calls the phenomenal AJ Styles. Growing up, who knew I would marry a wrestler? Sure, I would watch wrestling with my grandmother, but I never had a desire to marry one. Well, we paid for our small wedding with money made by your short stint in the WCW when you started chasing this dream. You always told me to trust you that you would make it. Never once did you doubt yourself. As your bride, I trusted you and even encouraged you to go when the WWE came knocking very early in your career. I believe that required you to move to Cincinnati.

28:46I was in college at the time. As a young married couple, you refused. You chose me. Even when I was pushing you to go, you politely declined the offer. You always said we would do this together and not apart. Together we have. You have traveled the world wrestling and conquered what many only dream of accomplishing. You have put God and your family first in this business. I truly believe God opened every door and allowed not just you, but our family to walk through them. For that, I am eternally grateful. You wanted to beat the house. Well, you did. A phenomenal career. Four amazing and individually gifted kids.

29:31And a loving, always supportive wife who has stood beside you the entire time. You won. Come home. The phenomenal times are just beginning. I love you, babe. That's really good.

29:58That's stupid. No, it's beautiful. It's beautiful.

30:06Well, I mean, she's my biggest fan, you know. like uh clearly that totally supported me even going to indie shows and how bad those sucked uh so so what would you say to her i am that you feel comfortable i am nothing without her i would have nothing without her like everything i've done and the decisions i've made are based on us and because of those decisions i think i was blessed because of it um if i hadn't turned down you know WWE at the time I believe HWA was in Cincinnati that was a developmental area and within like six months or something like that it went out WWE stopped using them and I would have went out with them so because I put her first I didn't have to go through that and even though I didn't get to WWE until years later, I still got here.

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31:11I was at TNA for 11 years, went to Japan for a couple years, and then came here, but all that was for a reason. I don't think it was my mistake at all. I think everything happens for a reason. The timing was perfect from when I came. I wouldn't have made it any other time. I don't think I would have survived. I don't think I would have been well when it comes to being ribbed backstage or something like that. You got a dumb redneck kid that they'll fight you and then I'll get fired. So, but we didn't have to go through that when I got here. Actually, I was pretty respected by the time I got to the WWE.

31:43Yeah. So I'm thankful for everything that we went through and we went through it together and there's been ups and downs and it was been hard times and lonely times. So for us to still be together after all these years and everything that we've been through, I think that says a lot about how we feel about each other. I feel like you read that to try to see if you can make me cry because you did I think it's beautiful and I think love is so beautiful especially true love and the devotion that you have for one another and to want to put her first and your family first how did you come from being that dumb kid who screwed up twice and marry this woman who you adore and know that you were always, no matter what, going to put her first?

32:45How do you answer that? It's just the way it's supposed to be. That's the way it is. My job is to take care of her. She's my wife. And who taught you that? Because it didn't sound like you learned that growing up. by example, or did you? No, I mean, I guess I knew, like, I knew my dad loved me, and I knew he loved his mom. He just had some stuff that he was dealing with that we had no idea, you know, and that it destroyed his marriage and him to an extent, and, you know, but, I mean, being a grown man now, I understand that, but I wasn't letting, And my example is my faith and what I believe. I'm a Christian.

33:31I believe in Jesus. I believe he died for my sins. And I know that love conquers all. And when her and I got married, we are now one. We're not separate. We're one. My job is to take care of her, to love her as Christ loved the church. And I can tell you, we are the church. And he loves us more than you can ever know. And that's how I feel about my wife. I love her. She's the most special person This sucks No, can I tell you how much this is going to mean to her to watch this It's so beautiful It's so beautiful Just as long as she knows I love you That I love her, especially when those times come when I really piss her off Because nobody can piss her off like me, I can tell you that right now That's because she loves you I'm going to kill this guy When she gets fired up That little thing she's only four foot ten and she's like a ball of fire man yeah can you calm down quick tempered uh no no no she's not but once she gets there it's go time don't mess with her guys leave her alone um the only people she cusses at is our kids she doesn't cuss either she doesn't they do that can you stop calling them like like when you have four she doesn't call them like big names but she has to let them know that she's serious like she'll right uh you know get your ass over oh so you know but yeah it's not like we're she's dropping some bombs but i'm like but i'm just like hey can even i'm like can you just calm down a little bit maybe need to walk around the house yeah i gotta get out of here so those teenage boys we've taken her toll uh on on mom in the in the styles household with a bunch of guys and then two little women, you know.

35:19And then sometimes my daughter's on our side. Oh. So everybody is mom. Yeah. Yeah, that's not fair. Yeah, it's not. Mom's alone. It's not. Yeah. Mommy's holding down the fort while you're gone and then you come back and they all side with you. You know what the crazy thing is? I'll tell you this. I would lose it. So, you know, WWE has changed so much since I first started. You know, it was five days a week when I first got here. and it was tough yeah i'm sure it's been like that for a long time but now before that it was even worse yeah it was even worse yeah that's probably why so many guys and you know got a divorce back then because it was so tough um it's and the technology didn't exist right it was a lot harder to stay in touch it's no face time you know it's a lonely road you miss a lot you know when my son was being born I had to go do an Indy in Hawaii.

36:14Sounds awesome. Hawaii? I was the most miserable man on that island. I bet. You know because I wanted to be home with my son. You know he's a newborn you know I just couldn't wait to be there. So but being gone so much. And how strong your wife is that she had these babies without you there. I cut every umbilical cord though. I never missed it. I was there for their births. every one of them oh you did make it yeah i was there she was just in labor but no she was she was never in labor never i was somehow always there okay at the time but being gone literally right after oh yeah you know that was tough and for her to raise them so i what i realized after now the schedule not even being close to as difficult as as it was i had made her put my kids first because I wasn't there.

37:06So now I'm home. Like, hey, here I am. Hey, give me some attention. She ain't got time. You know, she's dedicated all her time to those kids. And so it was hard to get used to being home. Like, hey, I want to be important. Daddy's own. I put that on her. You know, that was difficult times right there. I mean, it's getting better now. But, you know, that was the thing that we got to realize as men, as wrestlers is that sometimes we've forced our wives into a place where they have to put the kids first. That's not how it's supposed to be. I don't think our, my kids should come before me and I, and my kids shouldn't come before my wife.

37:45That's not, we are one, not, we can make more of you. So they shouldn't come between us. But, um, you know, there was my fault that, that she had to put them first. She had to take care of them. She was, it was just them. Yeah. So how is it going to be when you're home now. I don't know. Do you think you're going to earn the spot? It's a possibility. How's it going to feel to be a number five? Yeah. I've got to make my way back to number one. I don't know how to do that, but I'm assuming that we get up and we go for a walk in the morning, have some brunch, talk about things we don't get to talk about, make her mad, work out together, stuff like that we get to do.

38:29I think it's going to be fun. Sounds great. It does. and she's ready for it. I think so. Yeah. I think so. She's definitely ready for me to come home. And you've been gone almost the whole time, right? Yeah. So you're going to have a little adjustment period. There were times when I would go home and I would screw everything up. I would be like, oh, well, they're not supposed to be up past this time. I didn't know. I just wanted to hang out with them. Right. Yeah. Yeah. No, I know. I definitely kept the kids up late. Elisa and I would talk about this all the time because I'd leave the office so late.

39:08And I was like, well, I'm sorry, but you got to keep them up a little longer. I'm talking to the nanny, you know, like I just, mommy's on her way home. Mommy's on her way home just so I could have five minutes, you know, before they went to bed. Just read them a story. Just hold them, you know. It was, it's not easy. That's the sacrifice though. Yeah. Like a lot of people don't understand because they only hear the funny stories and stuff that we have on the road. We don't tell them the bad ones. We don't want to think about it. So we don't tell anybody that. We just tell them the funny stuff.

39:40But there's some sacrifice that goes on where you're missing a lot of birthdays, a lot of daddy-daughter dances. Yeah. Performances. Performances. School plays. Football games. I called my son from Japan. Like he got hurt. And I said, you know, and had kind of, he was like one of the main kids on the team. And they were in the national championship. They were in the championship game. And, you know, I had to coach him back into the game. They ended up winning, you know, with a lot of his help. So, but that's, you know, some things that I missed out on. I've loved watching the sports. But you were still there for him when he needed you.

40:19I'd like to think so. Yeah. There's times where, you know, I'm sure there was times where little boys were running up, running, you know, hugging their dads after the big game. I wasn't there. Or his wasn't there. So, but mom was. You know, mom was always there. I remember, you know, he made a run. And we're talking about Pee Wee, the little Pee Wee football where. Yeah, but it's a big deal. His helmet's bigger than his body. The shoulder pads. You know, and I hear the story about my little four foot ten wife. he makes the scoring touchdown with no time in the game left and scores a touchdown.

40:55She jumps over a fence and runs on. I was like, oh, that could have been me, you know? How cute. But I will say this. So my daughter, my wife texted me this. This was like maybe two or three weeks ago. And my daughter said to my wife, everybody thinks that I am lucky because I have AJ Styles as my dad. but they're the lucky ones because their dad gets to come home and now you do and now I'm going to the daddy daughter dance when is it? the 11th oh awesome I'm going to be there with my little khaki pants we're going to have a couple dances then me and the dads are going to sit and talk together and then we may have a couple dances with our daughters and then the daughters will have fun without us they mostly dance with their friends oh yeah nor would you want to be a part of it sometimes yeah i'll go in there and give a couple twirls you know when's the big daddy but uh a lot of times it's me and the dad's going yeah you know talking about eating some banana pudding or something yeah no paul's been we have i just actually because my oldest is going to be this year she'll be 20 my middle will be 18 and my baby will be 16 and i so they're done with their daddy daughter dances and i just put together this whole wall it wraps all the way down our staircase and it's the princess ball that's what they called it oh okay um so it's the daddy daughter dance pictures and it's like key moments and it's it's in chronological order and it's like just finished this project with this guy that i work with who's just amazing but really tells the story our kids are the same age 20 i mine's 20 18 and 16 the boys are how old's your daughter she's 11 she was the sweetest surprise i'm like wait 16 five years yeah my wife had an iud and oh oh shit so it really wasn't supposed to happen it was well it was it was meant to happen we just unexpected we weren't trying to make it happen.

43:04Yes. Yeah. That just goes to show you, she's not one in a million. She's one in whatever billions of billions of billions because you've got to think what it is. For us to be born in the first place, right? Right. It's crazy and then she was able to find a way to get through an IUD. That was my reaction. I'm like, those are supposed to be. Which was in there perfectly. It was 99.9 % effective. For some guys, I guess some guys are special you know they don't have what it takes they don't give up that's right it's definitely in your blood that's right I've told my boys she is my favorite sorry just so you guys know she tells me she loves me for no reason I'll take that all day long it's not for no reason Well, I mean, I guess not, but I didn't do anything.

44:04And she is lucky she has AJ Styles as her dad. Well, I'd like to think so, but I guess it makes it easier when I'm home and she's able to see him, right? And you will be. I will be. And she wants you home. Yeah. I mean, imagine it could have been worse, right? She doesn't want you to come home. She could be like my boys. 16, maybe. I don't know. Hey, guys. All right. What's up, Dad? Yeah. They're like, oh, Dad's home. Do you hug and kiss your sons? So if I ever leave and they're home everybody gets a kiss and a hug before I leave. I will never leave without doing that because you never know what can happen.

44:44So yeah, there's been many a times and as they've gotten older, right? I go in there and kind of just squeeze them and you're like, hey, hey, hey. Like there's some old man. Go ahead, bro. And they'll give me the hug. So that's, I actually love that when they do that. It makes me feel good. And they haven't reached a point where they're like, Dad, I can't kiss you anymore. Well, we kind of stopped the kissing. Like if they're asleep and it's kind of hard to put my hands on them, I'll give them a little kiss on the forehead or something. Yeah, I remember my dad saying that about my brother. Yeah, there was a time where I used to love snuggling to the boys.

45:22I'm like, here boy, let me snug you up, you know. and sometimes I just go and like you know see what they're doing and we'd be in their bed and we'd just snuggle it up and then there was one time I was like wait a second I'm like you're like a man I was like this is weird so I got up when I got in the bed with my other son I was like I don't know man this guy it's weird this grown ass man in my bed yeah it wasn't cool In your race car. I was totally picturing like the kiddie bed and he's like, wait a minute. Well, you know, my oldest son, we got a new bed and he wanted our bed, you know, the big king size bed.

46:05So, you know, we had plenty of room, but this guy would sleep with so many blankets. I would go to wake him up for school. I'm like, where the freak is he? I'm looking under blankets trying to find him. Twelve layers deep. he got mad at me one time and I went to pick him up like at night he got mad at me I forgot I made him go to bed and I go to get him up for school couldn't find him I was like where the frick I'm lifting all the blankets where is he where the frick is he is he in the bed did he get in my bed I don't know I'm looking for him this turd went to sleep under his bed oh my goodness put his pillow and a blanket under the bed and slept under it was he scared I guess not he went right to sleep I feel like it's the reverse of being scared yeah I went to wake him up He's under the bed.

46:51That's really scary. But I mean, what is that decision to go to sleep under the bed? You're just like really mad. Yeah, he was really mad. That's like a stubborn, right? Yeah, he was really mad. Oh, so that was defiant. Yeah. Okay. I'm not going to sleep on top of that. Dad's going to wake me up and I'm not going to be there and he's going to be so sad. And then he falls asleep. But he fell asleep. I don't think he meant to. Oh, okay. I thought it was like pillow and blanket under there. He did, but there's no way he thought, I'm going to sleep under here, right? I think he did. How old was he?

47:20Probably like seven. Yeah, totally he could have. Maybe he did. I used to love ports and closets. We had a fold-out sofa that you could actually, I mean, it was probably a little dangerous, but you could fold up in it in a way that there was like a space. Do you know what I'm talking about? I know exactly what you're talking about. Yeah. Absolutely. Let's put this couch up. So you went back into your couch. I loved hiding under that space. Yeah, no one would find you. Oh, man. But I could have gone to sleep there for sure. Yeah, no, my son is six, and he's definitely not. He's coming running to our room.

47:55No, like I'm just sitting there. Oh, yeah. No, we made a big mistake with my first son. We had him in the bassinet, you know, beside the bed when he was little. But I found myself waking up, like laying over the bassinet, because I was just worried that, you know, what if he stops breathing? I'll put him in the bed with us. Oh, no. Yeah. He never made it to his crib. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Until he was 20. 20, yeah. Until he was how old? He was probably at least three. Oh, okay. And they often, when I was gone, would sleep with their mom. All of them would. Yeah, yeah. When Paul's gone, my kids still sleep with me, my girls.

48:37Oh, my daughter still sleeps. She's like, hey, dad, now that you're home, I'm going to make sure I sleep in my bed a lot. I'm like, oh, really? Guess where she slept last night? we have a couch bed you know the one you're talking about she pulls that little thing out she gets right on there sleeps on there I was like come on man I thought you were going to sleep in your bed I'm going to when you get home tomorrow tomorrow okay she's a liar and you're going to let her yeah because you can't say no to her no it's really hard guys so and she used to sleep with us all the time and I loved it but I'd have nightmares oh because like something happened to her so there's been so many times Wendy my wife wake up and I've got my daughter in her arm my arms going she goes what are you doing I go I don't know but she's okay that's all I care about I put her down but that happened so much I was like you can't sleep with us when I'm home I have nightmares just I felt like something's happened to her or something I don't know I think that has a lot to do with things you've seen in your life I just have seen that pattern I wasn't like that with my boys yeah it's your daughter yeah I don't know there's something about her that yeah cause you know I think cause it's your job to protect her right I mean your whole family but especially your baby girl of course right yeah so that's like you're wired for that yeah oh man I dare anybody I will take joy my husband has a shirt that says anything you do to my daughter I do to you she'll just wear a shirt that says I'm triple H well yeah I mean she has a shirt that says no he should though I just feel like no one's look at their dad well it can attract the right kind of guy who's going to be nervous or it can attract the wrong kind of guy who doesn't care.

50:43Yeah. He's, yeah. I don't know how I'm going to be with guys and my daughter. I don't, I can't promise you. I feel bad for them. Good. Just saying. I hope they hear this and know that one day when they try to date my daughter, it's not going to be easy. No. I feel like she might not appreciate this though. Well, they said what, usually you marry someone similar to your father and stuff like that. I'm not good enough. So, good luck to anybody else trying to date my daughter. she's dating someone like me screwed that up don't worry she's 11 I know I think about it all the time remember when he said if you get mad enough he might start swearing hey you little mother he figured it out that's how yes unlock the key that would send me over the edge I don't know I talked about you know some little boy doing something not anything bad, just be a mean-toer and not have to go beat up his dad.

51:44Right. Oh, yeah. You remember I told you my daughter, one of my daughters was getting bullied, and that's exactly what Paul said. He's like, well, I'm gonna, I have to go be the shit out of her dad. Yeah. So they make shirts now where they're like on Etsy or it says, if your kid's mean, I hope you can fight. Or if your kid's a bully, I hope you can fight. Oh. Just saying. Sounds right to me. Yeah, like the mom would wear it. So it says if your kid's a bully, I hope. Yeah. I don't own it. Actually, the maddest I've ever, like, and I'm quick-tempered. Really? I flash hot quick. Yeah. I'm also quick to calm down, I think.

52:27Totally. But I can get, I can, yeah, I'm Irish. I just looked around the room and no one's reacting. So my daughter was in middle school. And she's playing soccer. And this girl comes over, checks her. And she hits the ground hard and hits the back of her head. And the dad is cheering on his daughter. And they have this, like, moment. And I'm like, first and foremost, I want to make sure she's okay. So I go over to the sideline. I talk with her coach. I check on my baby girl. And she's fine. She wants to get back in the game. Didn't see stars. No signs of concussion or anything. Like, okay. and I said hey coach um that man over there is he one of the coaches of the other team or is he a dad and they said no he's a dad I was like okay thank you so I now go back around on the sideline I'm gonna try to like not get mad on camera here I can feel it but and I say hey um just so you know there's no checking and actually in this league you know apparently there's no checking in soccer anyway, but I didn't actually know that.

53:37I was like, in this league. You don't do it when the ref's looking. Like, come on. And he fires up on me. Oh. And you don't know what you're talking about. And I'm like, so I go to walk away. And I'm going to do it from this side, even though it was this side, because I'm going to knock the microphone out of my hand. And he grabs my arm. Shut up. As I go to walk away. And I throw my arm. and I said, take your fucking hands off me and I get in his face, asshole. And I'm like ready to beat the shit out of this guy, which I don't think I really would be able to. But his eyes went wide and he took a step back and I was like, that's right, motherfucker.

54:22I knew it, I knew it. I was mad. That sounds like the appropriate words to use in this situation. Teaching your kid to hurt another child. Okay, but then also touching you. And then, yeah. Yeah. Like, whew. Has he seen your slap? No, but when I told Paul, because he wasn't there. Of course. That's why it happened. He was mad. Because we're never there. When that kind of thing happens. Freak. There's been times I'm like. Right? Drives you crazy. Every time. Well, it wouldn't have happened if we would have been there. That's the problem. Yeah. Well, it happened. And this is your oldest daughter?

55:01This is my middle daughter. So Triple H is, you know, Triple H. Oh, yeah. He's definitely not. In his prime. He's definitely not doing anything. He's definitely not grabbing you by the arm either. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it wouldn't happen. So just enjoy that moment that you got to cuss this guy. No, but I'm still so mad about it. Oh, it just drives me crazy. You probably scared the shit out of him. That's what his eyes went wide, and he stepped back. I was like, okay. But it could have gone the other way. You know, you never know. he was such a jerk. Yeah. Like to grab my arm like that. I've never really ran into that situation.

55:37I'd hope to one day. Yeah. He's like, now that I'm home, I hope the situation arises. Yeah. I mean, I'm ready. Like, hey, dude, you got to swing first. Cause I don't trust you that you won't sue me. So he's swinging. Exactly. And then I'm going to murder you. Yes. I've, I've, when Paul and I were first dating there, like, it's funny. Cause I'm on the phone with my mom who has many stories about my dad, who's very hot tempered. as you might imagine. And for some reason, we're at a standoff at a stop sign. It's like a four-way intersection. This guy's being a dick. And I'm on the phone with my mom and Paul's like getting madder and madder and yelling and flipping this guy off like mad.

56:17You know, you could like flip someone, but he's like angry flipping him off like he means it. And then all of a sudden he's out of the car and I'm like, oh, mom, gotta go. Things have escalated. And she's like, sweetheart, it's okay. I've been in these situations before just trying to be calm. I'm like, what madness is this? And I'm like, but Paul, you can't touch him. He's going to sue you for everything. It was before we had kids. I mean, obviously we weren't even married yet, but just those moments where you guys are all ready to go. You just need a reason. Oh, I can tell you one, maybe five years ago that happened.

56:54I had my kids, at least one or two, maybe a nephew with me. And we're going to the IHOP. But I pull out and this guy's just on my tail. I'm like, what? I was like, I see you in the mirror. Ooh, I mean, you know. Right. I'm not worried about it. He passes me. It was no passing. He just passes me on a short street. And then as I'm about to turn into where I'm going, he pulls in front of me. And literally, I pull that over. I was like, yes. Oh, it's time. And I get out of the car. And you'll appreciate this. he goes um i ain't scared of you i said i bet you are mother right and i turn and he goes alan and i go huh i was like oh crap this guy knows me so um he apparently he wrestled for the other team in high school you're kidding i wrestled for and as soon as he said alan like he knew who i was yeah like who you really are yeah and i was like i was like you know what man we're done my bad you know but I can tell you this when he knew who I was his freaking eyeballs popped out of his head oh yeah he knew what was about to happen to him I promise you that but it was oh Alan but it was you know there was a moment there they couldn't wait to tell their mom like dad you shouldn't even see what dad was he was going to kill this guy but your kids were with you well I think two and a nephew oh okay not all of them but they got to see that but it was the boys yes what would you have done if your daughter was in the car think you would have been different lock the car watch your sister I'll be back in a second big news Choose WWE and sports fans.

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1:00:28Be sure to subscribe to the WWE Topps Now mailing list on Topps.com and follow Topps on all social media platforms so you never miss a single moment. So I was also, we were pulling up, we were in Bridgeport and we were going to this sneaker store. And my daughter, my oldest daughter had just gotten her license. And there was a really tricky intersection and I was driving and I was meeting her there. So for some reason, I had this like feeling something was going to happen, but I didn't know what it was. And I was just really on edge. And I drive into the sneaker store parking lot. I'm on the phone with her and I'm watching her in my rearview mirror because I can see her now at this intersection.

1:01:18And then I see her start to go. This guy swerve, cut her off, peel around. He chases her into the parking lot and he pulls his car on this man. She's 16. She parks. He pulls this way and I am out of the car and I am coming. I have you ever been so mad? You see white. Oh, I've been so mad. I don't remember what I've done. Yeah. Like it's this weird others time and space. You're in like heat and white light. And it's like the blood's just rushing in your ears. you don't hear or like nothing. It's just, yeah, tunnel vision on this guy. And I'm like, I don't know what I'm going to do, but like even if I'm sacrificing myself, but he is not getting to my daughter.

1:02:07And my daughter said the greatest thing in the world. She said, as soon as she saw me come in, she knew she was okay. Yes. I was like, oh. So what ended up happening? So I guess here I come. And I must have had quite a look on my face because once again, this guy who's kind of a scrawny little guy, truthfully. I think I stood somewhat of a chance unless he was on something. But I wish he very well could have been. And he looked up at me and saw me coming and his eyes went wide and he stumbled back into his car and took off with his legs still sticking out of the car. And I am chasing this car, cursing this kid.

1:02:49He was a man, cursing this man. and he peeled out of the parking lot and that's my story. I'm going to call up. But he could have hit me with his car. I mean, he could have done a million different things, you know, but I knew he wasn't getting to her. Well, dude, there's something about moms that you guys can sense something about to happen. You guys, your intuition is ridiculous. It's like that. It is like that. I don't have it. I don't have that kind of, I'm like, they're fine. No. Yeah, something's off. Moms have this thing about them. They can feel it coming. Yeah. So, yeah, I get it. Yeah.

1:03:25I get it. I don't see it. I would never see it. I am oblivious to pretty much anything. You know, I just think everything's fine until it's blatant. And so, yeah. I do feel like we're going to need the footage from that. There has to be some security camera footage. You just go like full. And then after the guy peels out Then this woman pops out of one of the stores Do you need any help? I'm like not anymore Took care of it You could have called the cops Like you need any help? She saw you turning into the Hulk You need any help? Oh ma 'am I wasn't talking to you Are you okay? This guy's 120 pounds of mustache He's scared to death He looked kind of like A little bit like Eminem Thank you.

1:04:16Oh. A little bit. No disrespect to Eminem. No. How about to say. Oh, my God. We should count that. I don't mean to disrespect Eminem. Eminem's very little. Just the hate starts. Blonde-headed, skinny dude. But he was like a smaller, tough, scrappy-looking kind of guy, you know? And he drove away with like one foot out the door. Well, that part he didn't look like Eminem when I saw him. No, I just. I should just stop referencing. What? No, this is. I mean, I got an idea of what he looks like at least. We're going to get him on the pod to talk about it. I just need a description of what he looked like.

1:04:52But he was bald. Wait a minute. Now you've thrown everything. He was a white skinny guy? Is that what you're saying? So no blonde hair. No blonde hair. I thought that was the M &M reference. Wife beater? White, dirty white t-shirt. Okay, maybe that's what it was. And jeans. He just doesn't sound very intimidating at this point now that you've described him. He was to me. I feel like maybe you won't do the thing where like you describe it to the people and they draw. Oh, yeah. I feel like we. But I because I couldn't really see him truthfully. Well, you know what? You probably forgot what he looks like.

1:05:28Honestly, it was just a threat for the best. Like I don't like when you're that angry. Yeah. You don't even know what you're saying. You're just stuff just coming out your mouth. So I actually said, you know, and I was recapping the story to my children. You pipsqueak. Trying to tell him. And like, and I said, and I didn't even curse. My niece who was there was like... She was like, oh, yeah. She's so mad she forgot how to curse. Stream of consciousness of curses. Oh, yeah. No doubt. I mean, you blew my mind when you said you saw white. Like you went past red. Oh, no, no. It went right. It is a different...

1:06:05I haven't been there. I'm not trying to go there. Yeah, that's a different level. Yeah. Just red. Just hot, though. Yeah. And you're mad. You start sweating. Yeah. It's 60 degrees. so it's about that time which feels great outside. Right, you're not supposed to be sweating. Yeah. Yeah, that happens to women as we get older anyway. I know. Yeah. I don't like going through that with you guys. It's rough. It's a rough patch. By that I mean with my wife. I know what you meant. It sucks. What do you mean? I just, don't touch me. Listen. I just got in the bed. You're home now. I didn't even do anything.

1:06:39Yeah, but you're thinking about it. Well, yeah. Yes. I feel like we need a series. You at home now? Oh, yes. That's a reality show. At home with AJ? Yeah. It'd be quite boring, honestly. Oh, that's fun. I'm not that entertaining, to be honest with you. You don't think? We'd have to ham it up somehow. It's a lot of Wendy washing the dishes or making some dinner and me slapping her on the butt every time I go by. Not that entertaining. It's not that entertaining. her reaction might be does it change will you stop

1:07:23really my husband says if I didn't do it you'd be mad it's probably true actually I have seen that meme where it's like the husband's always slapping the wife she's in the kitchen she's doing laundry she's doing whatever and she gets annoyed every time and then the one time he doesn't do it she starts crying and she says he's gonna leave me something's wrong that's true yeah i've doubted back though i will say that i used to like pick her up and power bomb on the couch and stuff like that so see i feel like this is fun yeah this is entertaining it was it was you know when she was younger i could do that now i'm she could break a hip you know or something i don't know i don't power bomb her anymore but i practice a lot of wrestling moves on her which was a bad idea did she get hurt?

1:08:12oh yes no wonder she's not really a fan of it speaking the fold out couch beds so I don't know why but I grabbed her in the pedigree and I jumped on the couch to give her the pedigree her face went through where the cushions meet right into the metal part of the bed oh that must have hurt so bad I heard it I just heard it did she hit metal no she didn't but I was like oh oops sorry honey sorry baby that wasn't supposed to happen I remember her sitting in just the living room in the floor doing something and I go to give her a kick in the back you know a wrestling kick this sounds like my brother it was a real one I totally just punted her in the back and she couldn't breathe she couldn't breathe there there was another instance where a doctor like almost threw the refrigerator I was like alright I gotta stop I gotta stop this is getting ridiculous we're gonna have to go to the doctor sorry sweetheart the punt to the back I can hear the sound I know the sound it makes it's like a hollow it was bad she didn't cry because she couldn't breathe She must have been so unexpected to just be sitting here.

1:09:38She's just sitting there being sweet and peaceful and I just kick her in the back. She's crocheting. Whatever the most peaceful thing is, she was doing it. Napping. I did stitching. She's crocheting. She's super old, I guess. She's an old soul crocheting. This is in the future. That's now. She's 46. She was doing the dishes. like she's not in her rocking chair yeah she's walking in with her cane that's how you see look at her

1:10:12she takes it to the extreme right like oh this old lady good grief that's stuff in a nutshell oh no that punting her in the back god bless her you should and dropping her in the sofa you're perfectly safe honey just tuck your head oh I didn't tell her anything I just gave it to her She had no choice. She was taking it. This would be a great time to read that message. Yeah, like, should I read that again? Just a reminder. No, don't read it again. I feel bad. You know what, though? Speaking of, that was not the only message that we have. So our team was able to capture some remarks that wanted to play for you.

1:10:53All right. I'm a hell of a worker. I'm a hell of a teammate. You know, just an old-ass video game brother. you know what I mean? But that reflects, I think, who he is as a person, the discipline that he has, being involved in professional wrestling, being on the road, but continuing to stay true to being a family man, being a father. You know, just happy that I was able to make some art with him when our time, you know, came a few years ago. It would have been cool to be able to run it back and do it again, you know, explore like new chapters of what we could do together because they're just of unintended, phenomenal chemistry there.

1:11:31So, big Al. Have fun, be safe with it, and we'll see you down the road. What I really respect about him is the kind of husband and the kind of father he is. AJ, if you're listening to this man, I love you, buddy. I wish you the best, and thanks for the good times inside the ring and out. I don't know anybody who has been a better, positive influence in the locker room than you in my time here. So thank you so much for being you. AJ is special to a lot of people. But for me, it's more than that. One of my best friends. Also, sometimes I feel like he's like my brother. I miss him already. Hi, my name is Anthony Cairo, and I've been a social media producer with WWE since 2016.

1:12:21If you're watching, brother, I just want to say thank you for everything you've done for us. Sorry that we've annoyed you with so many little requests over the years. And brother, I know whatever you do next is going to be special. And just thank you for everything and good luck to you. Because of AJ Styles, I made my way into TNA, which helped me get my way into WWE, helped me find the New Day, helped me create that, and helped me have the career that I've had. So I want to say thank you, AJ. You are the man. So sad to see you go, but happy that we got the time with you that we did. My favorite match ever to this day, 2005, lockdown, first lockdown, Steel Cage, you and me.

1:13:02My single greatest match I ever had because of you. God bless you, Wendy, your children. Have a great retirement. I love you to death. I always will. AJ, what to say, buddy? I've been really weirdly, disproportionately emotional about the thought of you leaving. I don't know, it's doing something to me, man. You wouldn't want me to get emotional. Because it'll make you emotional. So we won't do that now. And I'll miss you. I am thankful to have AJ as a WWE superstar, as a friend. And I'm going to miss him a lot. Because AJ is one of those guys that you want to have around. But now he gets time to have his time with his family, be with them.

1:13:50So I guess I'm thankful for that too. I feel so happy for him that he's able to retire with his health. And AJ, I just want to say congratulations on such an incredible career. And from a personal standpoint, I want to say thank you.

1:14:13because you've always been such a constant source of inspiration for me. I know we've had very similar career paths, but I hope you know that I've always, always looked up to you. So, for me you are the benchmark for what it is to be a professional both inside and outside of the ring. I'm very grateful that I got the opportunity to share the last 10 years with you here in this company. I know we kind of dodged each other a lot on the indies. You were in TNA, I was in Japan. When you came to Japan I went to NXT so we missed each other for a long time. but I feel like getting to know you over the last 10 years on a personal level and in the ring and just witnessing how great and phenomenal you really are.

1:15:13I want to say thank you for for being AJ Stonis.

1:15:21That was tough.

1:15:28I've always wanted, you know, these guys that, and even the girls in the locker room to see me that way. Like, I always wanted to be just, you know, one of those guys where, you know, the old saying is that people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

1:15:49So I'm just glad that they see me in that light. That's what you strive for. And there's business for them to say that and be...

1:16:07That's what it is, man. That's what I'm going to miss the most is those guys and hanging out with them, spending time with them. Brotherhood. Yep, that's it. But when you're alone and you got no one, like, it's nice to have those guys around that you can, you know, everybody has problems, stuff they're going through and be able to bounce them off them knowing that you're not alone. It means everything, everything. And, I mean, guys like Miz saying that stuff, like it's all he's done. And as long as he's been there, man, it makes you feel like a million bucks. Roman Reigns him saying the Damian Priest like there's and then Finn like you never knew sometimes you never know how much it means to somebody yeah but I'm glad that I never took a day off from trying to mean something to them you know I always wanted to be there for those guys and not just be another wrestler out there who thinks of himself but thinks of them first and what we could do together in that ring I think that's so perfectly said

1:17:18I've never heard it said so eloquently and it is really hard right because this is your family too different family your road family Sean was Paul's road wife or Paul was his I'm not sure But that was always the joke, you know. But I also always, I've had the privilege of bearing witness to it all, you know, and watching you guys and the women. But specifically watching you guys and what you've been through and hearing the stories and having a slight appreciation for what it means to be in the ring together. and you are gone from your family so much. And who do you share those hard times with?

1:18:15Them. And they're going through the same thing. A lot of them. And that very, very special brotherhood that you might, I don't know if you'll be in touch with them on a regular basis the same way you would, right, if you were there day in and day out. But when you do see each other, it's going to be like no time has passed. Right. You know. And it's, you know, Xavier got me first. He got me choked up a little bit because, you know, I got him into TNA. And actually it was Wendy who said, hey, that Austin guy that you were working out with, you should see if he wants to. No, because we needed a guy.

1:18:55And he just kind of stepped up and was that guy. And so got him in the TNA, got him in the, eventually he's in WWE. and when I seen that of him coming up, I don't know if you guys know, like, I'm fine. I was AJ Styles all the way from the end of the match all the way until I got to the back. First person I hugged was Chris Park, Abyss, and then so on, and Punk, and a lot of the other guys. I hugged everybody in there and it was great. You're talking about in Saudi? In Saudi. Yeah. And as soon as I walked around to leave, it freaking hit me. See, then you see me power walking, and a little bit of running to get to where they were stacking the bags because I just made it my locker room.

1:19:39And I thought I shut the door. It didn't shut apparently. So I just had my back to the door and I'm just kind of trying not to like the biggest baby in the world. And Shane comes, Shane Helms comes up and just kind of grabs me, you know. And he says, you know, he just said it was all right. you know you're good man you don't have to turn your back you know and meant so much for him to come up and see me and then Jolene or you know seem sure she came up and she's hugging on me and then you know Xavier comes up and probably squeezed him the hardest because he's been I've known him for so long and seen him do so well and so many different things and likewise um so yeah it's just uh it was a special moment like it wasn't it's not a i squeezed him hard like you know i'm saying like he's he's my guy man so uh it's cool i i squeezed a lot of people hard that night you know but it's like you said it's like we might not be able to talk to each other like we used to but when we see each other it's like no time has passed and like we still know each other you know it'll still be the biggest hug you know yeah i'll miss that i really will so let's hope let's hope i find a way to stay connected yeah stay connected exactly yes and i noticed it looked like you were gonna put your gloves down but then you didn't and you put them back on what does that mean i don't know i don't know i think because you know this is wrestling I know.

1:21:19The door is always open is all I mean. I know. Never say never, right? That's the saying. You know, there's, I know there's, I think everybody's allowed at least once come out of retirement. For sure. I'm not saying that I'll do it anytime soon. I'm just saying that. I mean, has there been anybody who hasn't?

1:21:44I don't know. Has there? You know, pretty much everyone who's retired has actually come back. At least once, right? Yeah, at least at least once. I thought that was how it worked here. Yeah. I mean, it seems to be. Well, I mean, what if my son wrestles? Yeah. The opportunity to tag with him once? Right. You never know. So there'll be a time where the gloves will never go back on, and it may be now, but we'll see. Do your sons show any interest? or your daughter? My second oldest is, I'm working with him now. So he's in it. And then my daughter, I've caught her many a times watching it. And to the point where I was like, baby, please turn that off.

1:22:30I just came from work. So I think they all got a little bit of it. I think once my second oldest takes off, my oldest will probably end up going that way too. And then who knows if my daughter, My third son has nothing to do With anything sports whatsoever He doesn't care about it But it would surprise me if my daughter got into it She'd be like the Rey Mysterio of the women's She's tiny She's small But you know We'll see You never know I never thought I would want my kids to wrestle But it's way different than it's ever been And a lot better than it's ever been When it comes to professional wrestling It's done right at this point.

1:23:16I'd be happy if they wrestled. Yeah. What about you? You gonna let your daughters wrestle? Absolutely. I've seen them. I've seen them in Gorilla. They were. So my oldest has been in the ring with Natty and Charlotte and she's trained a little bit. Oh. But when she was younger, like eight to ten. Oh, okay, okay. And my niece trained a little bit. But she had a knack for it, as you can imagine. So I remember, because I used to go on the road with Paul, you know, and I brought our kids with us. So she came, we were in Waco, Texas, and she was nearly two, maybe not quite, because I don't remember how pregnant I was.

1:24:00But we're there, and it was DX against I don't know who, and she was on my shoulders. and it was boggling my mind that she started to get excited as Sean's coming over to make the hot tag because they were getting the heat on Uncle Sean and then he's like, you know, desperately trying to make the tag and he makes the tag to Paul slash Hunter and she starts jumping up and down like on my shoulders. She's a baby. I'm like, oh, shit, she gets it. And she's like totally reacting, loving all the right moments, like really getting it. And he is so proud when he comes back from the ring and sees her on my shoulders that even though we have discussed not ever having our kids when they were babies on television or in the public, he then takes her off my shoulders and parades her around the arena because he's so proud.

1:24:57Right. And when he hands her back to me, her eyes were this big. And I was like, oh, my goodness. you know the moment when they get bit by the bug she got bit in that moment and she wasn't even two years old I mean it was unbelievable and so yes she's always had an interest in it always she's in school to get her doctorate of physical therapy and she wants to work with kids so she has a whole other path that's what my son's going to he plays baseball in college she plays softball she's a catcher how tall is she she's 5 11 she's tall girl yeah she won't like my son

1:25:43we're not doing well unless she wants a short king you know i'm saying you never know we're not we're not doing too well in the tall department uh mine seem to be skyrocketing well i mean you and you and hunter are tall people me and my wife are not they're like thanks dad I'm like I didn't know she was cute I don't know what to tell you she was cute so yeah we're not we gotta marry tall women to break this mold okay so see then maybe that's the path yeah well it's like hey man you're a short king brother yeah there you go I guess that's average height but still when your daughter's 5 '11 yeah I felt like your oldest daughter I remember the first time I saw her I was like oh my god She cloned her.

1:26:30She cloned Stephanie. People do think she looks a lot like me. Yeah, she really did. Like the younger pictures of you, like as an eight-year-old model or whatever. No, but really the face and same color hair. Yeah. But she looks the most like you, I think. Noticed, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I'm so proud. I saw her backstage and I was like, there she is. Just so proud of her. Like all of them. I just really am. I'm so proud. the greatest gift in the world they're the best entertainment i've ever had and the worst people you'll ever meet it's amazing because they're showing you they're human right and they're showing you all sides of themselves and as their parents that's why we're there to protect and guide them right and teach them but you do see all their sides you know there's been many times I was like, dude, I'm going to kill you.

1:27:27I'm going to murder you. But then you're so proud of them. As much as I love playing sports, I'd rather watch them play. Oh, yeah. It's the greatest feeling in the world. When I watch Aurora hit a home run. Oh, it's the best. It's the best feeling. It's the best feeling in the world. How nervous? Do you think they have any idea how nervous we are? No. When we step up to the plate? Come on, man. Yeah. Come on, dude. I can't sit. Oh, man. It's unreal. Yeah. It's the greatest. And now you have the opportunity to be home and to watch those games and to be with your family. And you're always still a part of this bigger wrestling family that we're all a part of.

1:28:11And I'm just so grateful that I've had this opportunity to get to know you, but that I've had the opportunity to interact with you for all these years, even though we never had the chance to have a storyline together or anything. That would have been fun. You never got to slap me. Do you know why? Because it's what? I was just going to say it's not too late. No, no, no. It is. It is. Apparently it is. It is. For both of us. He said maybe. But what you talk about, what you bring to the ring is intensity. Right? Right. And that I'm the same. You have to bring everything you have to make it feel right.

1:28:50I agree. I totally agree. Like no wasted movement. Yeah. everything has to count I know I'm not the biggest guy but when we get in the ring you're going to think I'm right there with you like I'm going to be a heavyweight everything I do is with intent and I think as long as you have that it doesn't matter what size you are everything in life as well or in the ring in the ring definitely intent life some things you maybe not so balls to the wall to do get you in trouble but but with intention yeah you know with the right intention yes yes for sure oh for sure um you know and i think in life i always said wrestling's a lot like life it's experience it is and the more experience you have the better you're going to be able to navigate through it so what other lessons as we sort of wrap this up because you know i know you're going to have many moments right and hopefully we have the opportunity to capture a lot of those moments because it's your human journey right and where you came from to finding the love of your life so young yeah to where she has to pay for your burger king date yep like and you you remember that and your life that you built together, the trials and tribulations, like you said, little things that, you know, you haven't necessarily shared with us, but moments I'm sure where you're alone, maybe in an empty room and all you have is a mattress and making that up.

1:30:32But it's like those moments where what you have is what matters most. and then to have this incredible, remarkable, you know, what will, no doubt, Hall of Fame career and to now retire and go, be able to bring all of that back to your family and never losing sight of what mattered most all along. And I imagine as a human being, you're gonna go back and forth. you're going to feel all different ways. You're going to feel like you did where you couldn't turn around, and you just had to go for a minute, and you didn't know where you were going, but you were going there fast. And have that moment to freak out for a second.

1:31:22And then have your friends, your brothers, hold you together. Even when you think you're alone, you're really not. there's always but it means hopefully as long as you always have someone that you can call on and talk to and be there for you and i was just so blessed enough that i've got a couple of those guys um sounds like you have more than a couple yeah it really does it i like i said i am blessed to have all those guys and even the girls are just just sweet as they can be and i you know what I get a thrill out of and it's kind of funny is that they call me Uncle Al. You know? So I'm not quite old enough to be a grandpa, but just an uncle.

1:32:06An uncle. Yeah. I'm always sister. Yeah. But that's a cool thing. I think so too. To me, you know, I don't know. It's like I trust you. Your family do. Yeah. You know. You mean more to me than... Yeah. Yeah. And I will say this. Austin Theory calls me dad. He's the only one. Hold on. Hold on. At least I felt that same way. Well, yeah. No, go ahead. I felt that. He's like, hey, dad. And I go, mother freaker. And then it was my fault because I said, Austin, I'm old enough to be your father. My fault. So he called me that and I thought, wait a second. And then he's so freaking funny. I was like, yeah, I'm all right with it.

1:32:50Yeah, because he doesn't mean anything by it. No, he's such a goofball. So he told me how much I look like his mom. Which I know he meant Is the most extreme compliment That he could possibly give He was probably saying my mom is beautiful That's what he meant Right? Like very sweet He meant everything good Hey man screw you I was like That's a first We're at that point We are I know They're like Roxanne Perez She said we were talking about something. I said, you know what, Roxanne? Me and your mom used to listen to this music. And it was true.

1:33:37Yeah. And then there are generations that don't understand your movie references. No. Or your cultural references. Okay. One question for everybody in this room. Okay, here we go. That's my girl, Jackie, over there. She knows what I'm talking about. Okay, yes. I wore a shirt in salty. And I thought, oh, man, I'm about to get everybody with this shirt. They're going to love this shirt. the shirt was rad the movie right and if you've never seen it okay but if you've seen it holy cow it is the coolest shirt ever ever do you know what i'm talking about rad don't it was a i know it was a bmx movie oh okay i watched bmx bandits with nicole kidman in australia i'm telling you i saw a movie called bmx bandits well listen this is the first time we ever saw someone do a backflip on a bicycle.

1:34:27Okay. And it was crazy. In the 80s? Yeah. I don't know how I missed this movie. Like, I've seen Youngblood. I've seen, like, all of the movies. Yeah, I mean... But I missed Rad. You missed Rad. I missed Rad. Do you know what Rad is? No. When she said, people don't get your movie references, it was for me. Yes. Oh. Yes, that was the gesture. It feels a little bit nice that she didn't get this one. Yeah, I didn't. But not Not because it wasn't my generation. I just didn't see it. I know we're trying to write this thing up. I didn't help where I was born or when I was born. I don't understand why guys, or maybe even the women, married guys like 15 years younger.

1:35:07I'm like, what are we going to talk about? What are we going to talk about? You want to talk about music? No, because you didn't listen to my music. To the same music. It'd be terrible. Yeah, and the technology's different. Oh, my gosh. I don't know how it works, but it works for some people. I got it. Here, fix my... When I don't know what I'm doing, I'm like, son... Give it to your kid. show me what I'm supposed to do right here on Instagram because I don't know how to collaborate what does that even mean they know at least he does it for me and I'm blessed there's been times I'm like I don't know if I look cool in this let me go ask my son can I wear this dad that's cool you can wear it I completely do that this is great she's like thanks the girls picked it out I do it all the time I know I'm not that cool so I need you guys to help me because I think this looks good.

1:35:52Have you ever had that like, what are you wearing? I'm taking this off. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I look bad. But they're more, you know, they're girls, so it's more like, it's the look on the face. I've seen you wear better things. Oh, that's nice. That's a sweet way of saying it. Yeah. I mean, 86, that outfit. My six-year-old, when I come home from shooting podcasts with full face makeup, up is like why does your face look like that what does it normally look like i'm gonna go wash my face he likes the yeah yeah the normal version just brutally honest you know that is a good thing like fine won't tell jackie what are your other um key lessons you think that you've learned along the way thus far the older you get the more you understand the world there's stuff that you can't understand when you're younger that you'll only understand when you're older and you get more experiences everywhere else just because they don't cuss in the bible doesn't mean they can't be Christian people that cuss in the north you know because well you know I learned pretty quickly wrestling in Philly that these guys are dropping everything and they don't mean anything by it it's just words right you know it's your intention behind the words that have a problem and how you use them so that was a big thing for me to learn you know but uh if stuff is always changing it's always changing your mind if you're willing to open up and try to understand yeah and not have a complete open mind where you're like all right let me give that a shot you stick to what you know and but like be open enough to see it somebody from somebody else's perspective for their eyes and and just try to understand what they're going through you know i think that helps me a lot not everybody's come up the way that i have and i didn't come up the way they did either it's all that's right so if i just kind of understand where they're coming from it doesn't help the conversation at least yeah because you never know what someone else is going through you really don't they could put on a good you know act in front of you and they could be falling apart inside it's very true everybody is struggling with something at some point in time.

1:38:11And so that's why you need to be nice and take the time to, you know, just be kind to everybody. It isn't very hard, you know, just say thank you or whatever. You know, it's like it's the smallest things that go so far. It really is. You're reminding me of a story that I just heard about. There was a woman in line to pay for, I think it was gas, and she didn't have quite enough. She was a couple bucks short and she was really upset about it. And the guy behind her, you know, said something and she cussed at him and was really rude and stormed out of the store. And then he said, I'm going to pay for her gas.

1:38:52And the guy behind her goes, dude, why are you doing that? She was like not nice to you at all. And he said, because I was taught to always smile and to always be kind. and when they came out of the store this woman came running up to them apologized to the guy cried her eyes out she had lost her job she was trying to make a payment on on you know so she didn't lose electricity or whatever it was and she couldn't afford the gas and how grateful she was and how much better that man felt you know because he said see and he looked at the other guy and he He said, you never know what someone's going through.

1:39:32And he felt so good about that money. You know? That's why I don't believe in first impressions. Give them a second. Because you have no idea what they're going through that day. That's so interesting. Yep. I mean, they could be real jerks to you, but just give them a second chance. Because, again, it's been a long day. Maybe they've been up all night. Maybe the kid was sick. Maybe the kid's, you know, who knows? I'm in the hospital. Like, there's some things that can really wreck you, a really good person. so I get it just another lesson I was taught is never judge anyone based on what other people tell you right it's only your own experience with that person and that's what I try to that's what I try to do yeah just because someone else does it just because this woman doesn't doesn't mean all women are like that and by the way when she treated you like that she could have been having a bad day yeah right yeah absolutely i mean you could he uh could be missing out on the woman of his life because he thinks all women are like that right you know i'm saying like there's there's someone out there dude don't let her ruin it for you yeah like you just mean we're not all bad i mean not everybody but life is all about perspective i agree i agree that's all about experience and you'll know more than the older you get the experience they have you know how to talk to people and uh and and how the little things go the furthest in the conversations you know yeah i think time is the greatest gift you can give somebody outside of love but you know just time Time is love, right?

1:41:19Yeah, it is. I mean, like you think about that. Yes. I mean, we both love Jackie over there because she just listens all the time. Yeah. Jackie's great for so many reasons. Information between those two ears. Oh, my gosh. She knows all about us. She knows all of our problems. Oh, my gosh. I know I've always encouraged the makeup team, but this is like for decades, to write a book. Oh, man. And not just wrestling. Not just wrestling, but, you know, they've worked in various different genres, a lot of those makeup artists. Like the celebrity stories, the wrestling stories, the like wherever the industry took them stories.

1:41:58Jackie, you know what I'm talking about? You know, like that would be fascinating. Fascinating book. Did Jackie do your makeup? She did. Did you tell her, you're like, hey, I'm dating Hunter. Don't say anything, Jackie. No, because it wasn't Jackie at the time. It was Janet, who was best friends with China. Oh. Let's unpack that. So it was a very interesting time. That was kind of like what I did, right? Hey, I like you, Wendy. Oh, I'm going to bang your friend. I thought you just kissed. It's only a kiss. not the smartest thing I've ever done Wendy's a saint she is a saint I keep picturing that part to the back oh my god especially because I've given those kicks and I know what they feel like to give and receive and your poor little wife and she's tiny yeah he made me so mad she is a tough cookie she was a cheerleader right they have to be tough.

1:43:12She was so good. She was so good. Let me tell you how sweet she is. She was going to a college in Georgia. They wanted her bad. They took her like a bunch of idiots. They took her to a party when she was visiting. They loved her because she was so amazing. Right. Took her to a party. They were smoking and drinking. Like trying to impress her that way. That was the wrong thing. Yeah. That's not who she was. She came back and cried to her parents. She couldn't believe it. You know, it broke her heart. Oh, no. So she never went. And I think by her sophomore and junior year, she would have been a national champion.

1:43:52Wow. But she was that good. Wow. She was tiny, could do it all. Right. So all I brag about is how, like, I'm a two-time state champion. You could have been. National champion. You never won state. You never won national. But she could have. Yeah. but she's like just that kind of person just as innocent as she possibly could be and then I tried to ruin it still am still am trying to ruin it and now he's home and now daddy's home daddy's home Jackie you know we've had many talks me and Jackie she might be your lifeline what did you tell Jackie gotta watch the pod yeah I'm just telling her how much I love you and I suck which is pretty true yeah well obviously you don't suck because it seems like every person who has a story about you has such respect and admiration and love for you and that's just because of who you are and how you treat people and that you show up 100 % yourself no matter what environment you're in, whether you're in the ring, whether you're backstage, whether you're at home, and you're just a remarkable man.

1:45:12Not everybody is such a true soul, and I'm just really, really grateful that I've had this opportunity to know you because I feel exactly the same way. Well, thank you very much. Thank you. All right. Yeah. You're like, thank God. I don't appreciate you trying to make me cry. Freakin' Finn got me that joke.

From the publisher

Newly retired AJ Styles sits down with Steph McMahon to talk about retiring at Royal Rumble 2026, his wife’s true feelings about wrestling, and why he put his gloves back on after the match. A WWE and Fanatics Original Production, presented by Raycon. The Everyday Earbuds Classic are here to help you go for gold. Go to https://buyraycon.com/WYS to get 15% off. Thanks Raycon for sponsoring!

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