AJ Styles recently discussed his past feelings toward Hulk Hogan during their time in TNA Wrestling. The WWE veteran shared these thoughts during an appearance on Chris Van Vliet’s INSIGHT interview series.
Styles revealed he had been unhappy with Hogan for not publicly discussing or promoting TNA Wrestling when the WWE Hall of Famer was signed to the promotion.
The 47-year-old wrestler explained that his perspective on the situation has changed over time. He now believes Hogan’s reluctance to mention TNA stemmed from embarrassment about the company’s status.
During the interview, Styles elaborated on his past frustrations with Hogan’s approach to TNA promotion.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way it was supposed to. We lost a lot of money. I think I was kind of pi**ed at Hogan at the time because I was like, ‘Why doesn’t he talk about TNA? Why is he not helping us? He’s not advertising at all.’ He never talked about TNA. I was pi**ed, but I now realize I think he was embarrassed.
Styles also mentioned that there appeared to be ongoing tensions between Hogan and then-TNA President Dixie Carter, which contributed to the challenging business environment.
It was embarrassing to him to talk about that, so he didn’t. I think Dixie was trying to do some things, and it was just they keep butting heads, so it just kind of fell apart, and when it fell apart, they lost a lot of money. When they lost a lot of money, they expected me to take a pay cut. My contract was up.
The financial difficulties that TNA Wrestling faced during this period directly affected Styles, as he noted the company wanted him to accept reduced compensation when his contract came up for renewal.
Styles has been with WWE since making his surprise debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble, following his departure from TNA Wrestling, where he had been one of the promotion’s cornerstone performers.
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