AJ Styles' loss to Chris Jericho at his first WrestleMania didn't feel like the smartest move but the night after that (when he won a match for the right to face Roman Reigns for the WWE Championship), he was off to the races and things have been going well for him ever since. The current WWE Champion and face of SmackDown Live, Styles is even the cover star of this year's WWE 2K19 video game.
"Surely I’m not the only one surprised by this," he said when asked about his success. "If you’d told me years ago that I’d be WWE champion two times, a United States champion and you’re going to have the belt at least half your career, I would have said that’s ridiculous. Hard work has paid off. If I was to lose this title tomorrow, I’ve had a great run and I’m very happy."
As for his favourite matches, Styles singled out three men in particular. "That’s tough. I have so many memorable moments so far. There is the Royal Rumble, and John Cena. There is also Roman Reigns. Then when I won the championship from Dean Ambrose. There are so many matches that are hard to pick." Those were all great opponents for Styles and put him on the map!
Right now, he's feuding with Samoa Joe and the two men will go head to head at Hell in a Cell next weekend. Whether his lengthy WWE Championship reign will continue is hard to say, though...