AJ Styles has been about long enough to know everything there is to know about the world of professional wrestling.
After a glittering career where he had huge success in New Japan, TNA and then WWE, Styles will go down as one of the greatest to ever do it and was rightly inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.
Styles, who many have compared to Shawn Michaels in terms of his in-ring ability, knows that WWE is all about the story and on the back of that, entertaining the fans.
Indeed, speaking on his podcast recently about telling the right story, Styles explained that unlike the UFC, wins and losses matter little in WWE.
Photo by Michael Marques/WWE via Getty Images
Styles went out on his own terms and while a part of WWE, his character had periods of success and failure.
However, none of those successes or failures are an actual reflection on Styles' work in the ring and he's explained why people working in WWE simply need to do their job.
"Sometimes you're not the story in the match. You're just in the match. To tell you the truth, you probably wouldn't remember whether or not I win or lost unless somebody went through and wrote it all down because it's not that important," Styles said.
"Guys win and lose all the time. So it's best served where it's at in the story. That's what means the most to me. I couldn't care less about wins and losses. They don't mean anything. This is a show. This is pure entertainment. This isn't the UFC. That's the biggest difference.
"Definitely the older I got, my job wasn't to be the heavyweight champion of the world," Styles continued.
"Some people want that. Some people need that. I don't. I didn't. So my job was to make sure I get the younger talent over as well, if I could. If they were older, who cares? I had a job to do. Unless I had a better idea of how to do it, then there's no point in saying anything. Do your job. It's like I'm not as concerned with that as much as the fans were."
Styles was a two-time heavyweight champion while with WWE and also enjoyed runs with both the US and Intercontinental titles.
Furthermore, he was a pioneer behind the 'cinematic' matches we saw around the Covid era, with Styles and The Undertaker putting on a classic at WrestleMania 36.
