Fashion statement: for NWA/TNA's high-flying A.J. Styles, title belts are all the rage this season - National Wrestling Alliance

Wrestling Digest, Dec, 2003 by Matt Berkowitz

THE "PHENOMENAL" A.J. Style has made his mark by setting many precedents in the fledgling NWA/TNA.

* He was the first wrestler to sign a NWA/TNA contact.

* He was the first wrestler to win the NWA/TNA X-title.

* He and Jerry Lynn were the first wrestlers to hold to the NWA/TNA tagteam belts.

* And on June 12, Styles became the first X-title holder to also take the NWA/TNA heavyweight crown, winning the coveted crown in a three-way dance against defending champ Jeff Jarrett and Raven.

For Styles, life in the NWA/TNA is like living a dream. "It's unbelievable. One year ago I was the X-champion, and I was like 'How awesome is that to be the X-champion? The first ever,'" Styles says. "Now, the world heavyweight title is around my waist. It's hard for me to believe. To be honest with you, I feel so unworthy to have it right now because so many great wrestlers have had it."

In the summer of 2002, Styles and many talented "smaller" wrestlers put NWA/TNA on the map with its new noboundaries style of high-flying wrestling.

"The phenomenal matches that I had with Low-Ki, Jerry Lynn, and Psychosis helped make it. The guys were there to have great matches," Styles says. "Regardless of whether I was there, it was going to happen because of the great athletes in the division. The X-title was something special and it still is."

When Styles and Lynn feuded in the early months of NWA/TNA, they brought the promotion its first mainstream popularity. "It wasn't me [leading the way]. It was Lynn," Styles says. "Lynn has been there and done that. He's one of those guys who has worked hard his whole life to get where he needs to be. In ECW, he was the world heavyweight champion. There's a reason for that.

"Ric Flair said a long time ago that the heavyweight champion is the guy that puts fans in the seats. That puts a lot pressure on me now, but Lynn felt that pressure as well. He's just a phenomenal wrestler. The older he gets, the better he gets. The things that you can do with Lynn are incredible. I enjoyed working with him and learning from him as well."

While he delights in his new position at the top of the mountain, Styles still has a soft spot for the X-division.

"Well, I'd be a liar if I said that I didn't love the X-division. It's just more my style," Styles says. "But it's cool to bring it to the heavyweight division as well. You can't do as much stuff, but then it's cool to see Jarrett do a house-show dive or something over the top rope because he wants to be X-division style, too. So it can go both ways, but I like being in the X-division more because it's more my style."

With his smallish body frame (5'9", 220 pounds), many would relate Styles' title reign to Shawn Michaels' early runs as WWE champion.

"I was feeling, 'Am I too small to be a heavyweight champion?' Then I think of Michaels, and he really made that heavyweight title something. When you think of some of the matches he had. 'Wow,'" says Styles. The match he had with 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin was one of my favorite ones. Seeing him do that helped me feel better about being the heavyweight champion here in NWA/TNA."

Because he competes in NWA/TNA and wears the NWA world title, Styles has experienced great benefits in his independent bookings.

"Well obviously that means my pay goes up--I'm joking. Well I'm not joking, but I am. I think I made a respectable name on the indie circuit for myself, but wearing the NWA world title brings respectability with it," Styles says. "The NWA world title is once again getting the respect it deserves in the United States. With the heavyweight title comes responsibility, and I am going to do whatever it takes to make that title mean everything it should be."

With only four years in the business, Styles is one of the youngest NWA world champs in the history of the company.

"I feel so unworthy to hold the title, because the other champs worked so hard to get where riley are at," Styles says. "It's hard for me, because I feel like I've worked hard, but sometimes I don't know if I deserve it because the others worked so hard as well.

"A lot of time, wrestling is right place, right time, right person watching. Luckily I fell into that spot and had great matches with Jarrett and Raven. I feel so honored to have it."

While you could argue for hours about which have been Styles best matches in NWA/TNA, he claims a few personal favorites.

"I think one of my favorite ones was the three-way between me, Low-Ki, and Lynn (not the ladder one). I thought we were very unique in coming up with spots in a three-way match that had never been seen before," Styles says. "Also, when I won the heavyweight title against Jeff Jarrett and Raven was another of my favorites. I can't pick just one."

After his short stint in WCW during its final days, WWE chose not to offer Styles a contract "When WCW went under and WWE did not pick up my contract, it made me mad. I felt now I've got something to prove," Styles says. "I felt if I could not be on the big screen in front of a million people on Monday or Thursday nights, then I'm going to go to these independent scenes and be the best wrestler they've ever seen.