Courtesy: www.MondayNightMayhem.com
Former three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, six-time TNA X Division Champion, & TNA World Tag Team Champion, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, was a special guest on this week’s live edition (10/06/08) of Monday Night Mayhem, hosted by The Big Mosh, Blade, & DFL. “Your Home Of Wrestling Radio” is officially presented by Sweet Sunshine Sauces, “the official finishing sauce of The Mayhem,” and is also sponsored by: Custom Muscle, The Monster Factory, Old Time Wrestling, The History Of WWE.com, & TicketRelief.com.
You can feel The Mayhem live & in streaming audio every Monday night (at 8PM ET/7PM CT), exclusively on The Monday Night Mayhem Radio Network (www.MondayNightMayhem.com, www.OnlineWorldOfWrestling.com, & www.ITunes.com).
AJ’s return appearance on The Mayhem (co-hosted by The Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly’s Dr. Keith Lipinski) is now available for FREE in Windows Streaming Media, or via podcast/the MNM On ITunes:
October 6th MNM Streaming Audio: www.mondaynightmayhemarchives.com/waxfiles/100608.wax
October 6th MNM Podcast On ITunes: www.mondaynightmayhemarchives.com/oct08/100608.mp3
Here are some of the highlights from AJ?s interview on the show, provided by The Mayhem’s senior show correspondent, Dan Kriegbaum:
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The Mayhem Crew welcomed AJ back to the show (for his first MNM appearance in over one year), as part of the global media blitz for this Sunday night’s TNA Bound For Glory Pay-Per-View, which AJ says he is excited for, being one of TNA’s biggest Pay-Per-Views of the year. He added that Chicago is a great place to wrestle & is a city that has awesome fans — which makes the wrestlers want to go out & perform that much more, with everybody being involved.
Mosh then mentioned AJ’s opponents for the night, Booker T & “The Instant Classic” Christian Cage in a Triple-Threat Match, which some fans are looking forward to more so than the Grudge Match between Kurt Angle & Jeff Jarrett or the TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match between Sting & “The Samoan Submission Machine,” Samoa Joe. AJ then talked about the storied careers of both Booker & Christian, who have been competing longer than he has — which he added that it feels great to be able to perform “on-par” with them on such a big stage. In regards what the fans can expect from his match at BFG, AJ said simply “expect the unexpected.”
Mosh, Blade, & DFL then asked AJ about the TNA high-definition debut, as well as the live TNA iMPACT show from The Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas, NV later this month on October 23rd. AJ said that going HD shows how much & how fast TNA is growing, even though it will “show his imperfections.” He added that he is a little bit of a gambler & even though he says he does not lose a lot of money, “if I win it, then it’s ok to lose it.”
In regards to the new TNA/Midway “iMPACT”video game, AJ alluded to the 2 out-of-5 star rating that the game received from X-Play on G4. He said that the rating is understandable, and then added that it is TNA & Midway’s first wrestling game, which also means it’s the first wrestling game that’s “easy to fix what’s wrong” for the second game which is already in development. AJ then mentioned “WWE’s SmackDown vs RAW” video game series, which has a full library of things to use, but still is not fun to play for him. AJ envisions the second game to shadow “Virtual Pro Wrestling II,” a reference prefaced by Dr. Keith Lipinski himself!
Mosh discussed TNA’s newest & latest acquisition, Mick Foley, and asked AJ for his thoughts on the signing, as well as some of the recent criticism it has been getting. AJ said that whether or not he can still wrestle, it’s still Mick Foley, “a genius when it comes to wrestling”. AJ said that Mick is willing to help to bring TNA to the next level, and that he is also excited to be able to have somebody like Mick in the locker room to ask questions & learn from. Blade mentioned that Mick was one of the guys who had a choice of whether to stay with the WWE or go to TNA, which AJ added, “It’s one thing to make money, but it’s another to enjoy what you’re doing, and why not do both?”
The Mayhem mentioned several of TNA’s future stops, including California & a return trip to the United Kingdom, and Mosh asked AJ where he would like to wrestle that he/TNA never have been. AJ said that in some of the places TNA has already been, it has been a huge surprise to see how many fans were really into the product. With regards to TNA, AJ said that he was recently in the Denver, CO area for a show, and he had a lot of people tell him with confidence that a lot of people would show up there if TNA were to do an event in that area.
Mosh asked AJ what he would like to see out of TNA from now until years end, in addition to the HD launch coming later this month. AJ said that he would like to see TNA continue to grow & have more people become attached to the company when they turn it on the television. He also gave a little hint that “something great is about to happen” even though he could not give out any details, and expects the next few months to once again continue TNA’s rapid growth.
Throughout AJ’s spectacular, he has been a part of many great matches, as well as experienced some spectacular memories. With the biggest event of the year for TNA this upcoming weekend, Mosh asked AJ for his “Top Three Moments In TNA Wrestling.” AJ mentioned that the first moment would be the very first Pay-Per-View in Huntsville,AL — when minutes before the match, they were not sure if they would be able to use the top rope as the ring was somewhat broken, but it ended up being perfect by the time they went out. Secondly, AJ said would be all of his matches against Low-Ki, Jerry Lynn, & Psicosis. Finally, he said would be the Triple-Threat Match between himself, “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, & Samoa Joe at Sacrifice a few years ago. He said there are plenty of others, but those three stick out immediately — with a fourth being when he kissed Karen Angle.
In closing, AJ told The Mayhem’s worldwide listening audience/everybody to stay warm & try to avoid getting sick, like the cold he is battling from a current house show sweep through the northeast.
Remember to tune into TNA iMPACT tonight (beginning at 9PM ET/8PM CT), as “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles will square off against Booker T in one-on-one action! The final countdown to Sunday’s Bound For Glory spectacular is on! You might be shut out for the TNA “Bound For Glory IV Fan InterAction” this Saturday, but you can still be a part of the live Bound For Glory IV PPV! Head on over to www.TNAWrestling.com on how to purchase tickets. If you cannot make it to “The Windy City” in person, call your local cable or satellite provider for availability.
*Join “Your Home Of Wrestling Radio” on Friday, as former TNA color-commentator, AJ’s No Surrender PPV opponent, & international MMA fighter, Frank Trigg, will step into The Mayhem’s squared circle for an exclusive special interview! Frank will be giving the latest current TNA Wrestling status, why he believes the Mixed MMA Fight at No Surrender last month in Canada did not translate for a majority of wrestling fans, his takes on the recent Kimbo Slice/Ken Shamrock fallout from EliteXC, & what lies ahead for his own personal MMA career!
*All new & old Mayhem listeners can still check out the archived programs/shows of “Your Home Of Wrestling Radio” from our near seven years of audio excellence, featuring our worldwide exclusives with the co-executive producer of “Hulk Hogan‘s Celebrity Championship Wrestling”/New York Times best-selling author/the former President of World Championship Wrestling, Eric Bischoff, plus the cast of VH-1’s hit show, “Brooke Knows Best” (Brooke Hogan, Glenn Douglas Packard, & Ashley Menendez), in addition to the official Monday Night Mayhem WrestleMania XXIV Countdown Special (w/J.J. Dillon, The Orlando Sentinel’s Andrea Adelson, SLAM Wrestling’s Bob Kapur, The Baltimore Sun’s Kevin Eck, Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Dan Murphy, & many more), The Mayhem’s WrestleMania 23 Countdown Special from Detroit’s Hilton Garden Inn, the official Monday Night Mayhem Dream Reunion II On-Location Special from Kokomo, IN — featuring: former WWE Diva search contestant Jessica Hatch, Al Snow, Marty Jannetty, Chavo “Classic” Guerrero Sr., “Nasty Boy” Brian Knobbs, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, Rosey, The Midnight Express (“Loverboy” Dennis Condrey & “Beautiful” Bobby Eaton), “The Genius” Lanny Poffo, & The Orient Express’ Pat Tanaka, & our “Best Of 2007” show (featuring the top three interviews of 2k7 heard on The Mayhem), plus current WWE superstars (Chris Jericho, CM Punk, Candice Michelle, Charlie Haas, & D-Lo Brown), WWE Hall Of Famers (Jesse “The Body” Ventura, Jim Ross, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Bobby “The Brain” Heenan, “Superstar” Billy Graham, “The Mouth Of The South” Jimmy Hart, The Iron Sheik, Tito Santana, “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff, Harley Race, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, & Don Muraco), the finest from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA President Dixie Carter, Jeff Jarrett, Terry Taylor, Jim Cornette, Kevin Nash, “The Instant Classic” Christian Cage, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, Team 3-D, Scott Steiner, Kip/BG James, “The Notorious 187” Homicide, Beer Money’s Robert Roode, “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal, Kaz, Eric Young, Tomko, & Lance “Rock” Hoyt — along with TNA Knockouts Taylor Wilde, Angelina Love, Velvet Sky, Christy Hemme, So-Cal Val, & Traci Brooks), Ring Of Honor’s warriors (ROH Champion Nigel McGuinness, “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson, Austin Aries, Claudio Castagnoli, & ROH head booker Gabe Sapolsky), ECW originals (ECW’s founder Tod Gordon, Rob Van Dam, “The Franchise” Shane Douglas, Raven, The Sandman, Francine, 2 Cold Scorpio, New Jack, Axl Rotten, Jerry Lynn, Lance Storm, Mike “Nova” Bucci, “The Pitbull” Gary Wolfe, & Danny Doring), the most-beautiful some of the greatest managers in the history of our business (Percy Pringle III/Paul Bearer, “The Doctor Of Style” Slick, JJ Dillon, & the late Gary Hart), the voices that have called the sport/sports-entertainment for years (World Class’ Bill Mercer, the Mid-Atlantic/NWA’s Bob Caudle, & WCW/AWA’s Lee Marshall), the beautiful managers/valets that have graced the squared circle (Missy Hyatt, Terri Runnels, Lisa “Ivory” Moretti, Dawn Marie, Nora “Molly Holly” Greenwald, Jackie Gayda Haas), wrestling legends/personalities from over the years, past & present (Bruno Sammartino, Jerry Jarrett, Terry Funk, Dory Funk, Jr., Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, “The Taskmaster” Kevin Sullivan, “The Living Legend” Larry Zbyszko, Sid, Tully Blanchard, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, “Dr. Death” Steve Williams, “Bushwacker” Luke Williams, The Honky Tonk Man, Barry “Smash” Darsow, Virgil, Diamond Dallas Page, Vader, “Nasty Boy” Brian Knobbs, Konnan, Bruno “Harvey Whippleman” Lauer, “The Wildman” Marc Mero, Scotty 2 Hotty, David “Gangrel” Heath, Chris Kanyon, Nick “U-Gene” Dinsmore, Chris Nowinski, Low-Ki, Tomko, & The Highlanders), & some of the most well-known athletes & entertainers from the football gridiron, the basketball court, stage, & screen (including: Dennis Rodman, NFL Hall Of Famer Jim Kelly, former NFL Defensive Tackle/Nebraska All-American/author of “Hero Of The Underground,” Jason Peter, Dave Coulier of TV’s “Full House,” VH-1 “Best Week Ever’s” Greg Fitzsimmons of VH-1’s “Best Week Ever,” Dustin “Screech” Diamond of TV’s “Saved By The Bell,” Howard Stern’s Gary The Retard, Erin “Steel” Toughill & Dan “Nitro” Clark from “American Gladiators,” “Mad TV’s” Aries Spears, & Comic Relief founder Bob Zmuda). All this & so much more…now available on The Monday Night Mayhem Radio Network. World Wide 365 — www.MondayNightMayhem.com & www.MySpace.com/MondayNightMayhem!