In a title lineage that includes "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair, "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, "Handsome" Harley

Race, and Lou Thesz, AJ Styles is hoping to cement his status as being one of the best National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)

World champions ever. He continued that this past Wednesday night when he defeated Jeff Jarrett for his second NWA Title.

In 1998, Allen Jones underwent training to become a professional wrestler in 1998. He sought training at NCW Training

School, which was run by Rick Michaels. After several months of intense training, Jones made his pro debut months later. His first gimmick was wrestling under a mask as Mr. Olympia. He did the job to Michael Brooks.

Over the next few months, Jones decided that wrestling under a mask was not for him. He dumped that gimmick and incorporated his real name into his gimmick name. He became AJ Styles and set out to be one of the best in his profession.

AJ competed in NWA Wildside, based in Georgia, in the early part of his career. He won his first championship on January 8, 2000 by defeating K-Krush, aka Ron "The Truth" Killings, for the Television title. He enjoyed a three-month reign before dropping the title to Eddie Golden April 1, 2000 in Cornelia, GA.

During his time in Wildside, AJ began an intense feud with Air Paris. It was one of the more storied rivalries in the promotion. On January 6, 2001, AJ regained the Television title from Paris in Cornelia, GA. His second reign lasted just over a month as he lost it to Robbie Rage, of High Voltage fame, on February 21, 2001 in Athens, GA.

It was right around this time World Championship Wrestling (WCW) began to take notice of Styles and Paris. There WCW debut was in a Diamond Dallas Page vignette when Paris & AJ brawled at a Diamond Dallas Page book signing, which saw them set up DDP and get him arrested.

Soon after, the rivals were brought in as wrestlers and were paired up as a tag team. AJ was renamed as Air Styles and he and Paris were known as Air Raid. Shortly before the sale of WCW to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), WCW held a Cruiserweight Tag Team Title tournament. Air Raid faced off against and jobbed to Elix Skipper & Kid Romeo in the first round.

After WCW was bought out, Air Styles went back to being AJ Styles and was again on the independent scene. He continued to wrestle for Wildside in Georgia and also ventured to Florida to compete in Independent Professional Wrestling (IPW). In one of his first matches there, he challenged IPW champion "The Black Nature Boy" Scoot Andrews for his title on September 3, 2001, but came up short of winning it.

AJ started coming into his own in the business and was being taken seriously. The NWA held it's 53rd Anniversary Show on October 13, 2001 and AJ had a spot on the show. He defeated West Coast sensation "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels on the show.

Later that month, he competed in the All Pro Wrestling (APW) King of the Indies tournament in California. He defeated Jardi Frantz in the first round, but Christopher Daniels got his NWA Anniversary revenge and eliminated Styles in the second round. The American Dragon was the eventual winner of the tournament.

On November 24, 2001, Styles ventured back to IPW, and finally dethroned Scoot Andrews for the IPW Title in St. Petersburg, FL. Styles IPW Title reign was forgettable as he dropped it two weeks later to Billy Fives in the same city.

Just a few weeks after dropping the IPW Title, Styles won the NWA Wildside Title when he beat his trainer, Rick Michaels, for the title on December 22, 2001.

WWE came calling in early 2002 and Styles got a match on WWE Jakked and jobbed to The Hurricane after taking the Vertebreaker. WWE officials were impressed with Styles and kept him in their back of their minds over the next few months.

An overseas company named World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) started and was looking to make themselves number two to WWE. They had hired many athletes not under contract to WWE, including Sting, Buff Bagwell, Jeff Jarrett, among others. The first show was held on February 24, 2002 and it was called Revolution. Styles made his pay-per-view debut in the opening match of that show. It was an elimination match that also included Low Ki, Shark Boy, WWE developmental star Nova, Tony Mamaluke, and Christopher Daniels. The match was eventually Nova. Styles used this as an opportunity to impress fans around the world with his innovative arsenal of moves, and it worked.

AJ Styles was invited to compete in East Coast Wrestling Association's (ECWA) annual Super 8 Tournament on March 2, 2002. Styles defeated Xavier and The Amazing Red before losing to Donovan Morgan in the finals. Later that month, he dropped the NWA Wildside Title to David Young in Cornelia, GA.

On March 31, 2002, Styles faced off against Young again, but the title wasn't on the line. They wrestled to a 20-minute draw at the Tojo Yammamoto Memorial Show. A few weeks later, Styles was asked back by WWA to compete on their next PPV. On April 13, 2002, he beat Nova early in the show, and later on beat Jerry Lynn to win the vacant WWA International Cruiserweight title.

It was around this time that WWE finally offered AJ Styles a developmental deal. It was for reportedly $500 a week. Styles shocked many by not accepting the contract. At the time, he cited that his wife was currently enrolled in college and it was not fair to her to relocate so Styles can report to WWE. It was a smart move because Styles would go on to accomplish more than he would ever do in WWE.

Another upstart promotion began called Ring of Honor (RoH). Styles made his debut in the company on April 27, 2002 in Philadelphia, PA. In his debut, he fell to future RoH champion, Low Ki.

Styles traveled the mid-south and did some shows for OMEGA. On May 24, 2002, he competed in the OMEGA Cruiserweight Title Tournament. He defeated Derrick Driver and J Freeze, but then lost to Krazy K in the finals.

Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW) has a respectable annual tournament like APW and ECWA called the J Cup Tournament. On June 15, 2002, Styles competed in the tournament and defeated Qeenan Creed and Colt Cabana in the first two rounds, then lost to eventual winner Reckless Youth.

Jeff & Jerry Jarrett started NWA: Total Non-stop Action (NWA:TNA) around this time and was set to air a weekly PPV on Wednesday nights. The inaugural show saw marquee names such as Ken Shamrock and Scott Hall compete on it. Styles was also on it, but nobody knew he would see his amazing career flourish in this company.

On June 19, 2002, AJ Styles won the NWA:TNA X Division Title when he beat former WCW Cruiserweight champion Psicosis, former ECW World champion Jerry Lynn and former RoH champion Low Ki in one night.

Styles would go on to form a partnership with Jerry Lynn and the two paired up in the NWA World Tag Team Title tournament, which included three other teams, and defeated The Rainbow Express (Lenny Lane & Allan "Bruce" Funk) to win the titles.

Styles began to develop quite an ego and felt he no longer wanted anything to do with Jerry Lynn and soon turned heel and enlisted the managerial services of Mortimer Plumtree. Soon after, Styles didn't really need a mouthpiece like Plumtree and was put out on his own. Styles and Lynn remained partners and champions, but they despised each other.

Styles was a true fighting champion as he defended the NWA:TNA X Division Title outside of TNA in other promotions. One of his title defenses took place on a RoH show on July 27, 2002. He successfully defended the title in a 3 Way Dance against David Young and Adam Jacobs in Philadelphia.

A short time later on August 7, Styles would compete on TNA in another triple threat match, this time against Low Ki and Jerry Lynn. Unlike his RoH defense, this had a different ending. Low Ki walked out with the title.

On August 14, 2002, the NWA Tag Team Titles were rendered held up in a match involving Styles & Lynn against Jeff Jarrett & Ron "The Truth" Killings. A controversial pin took place, and the titles were held up.

One week after having their titles held up, Lynn faced off against his ex-partner Styles. They wrestled 2 out of 3 falls. The first match was won by Jerry Lynn in a Falls Count Anywhere Match. Styles tied it up by winning a No DQ match. In the third fall, Lynn & Styles battled to a draw in an Iron Man Match. Styles & Lynn were busy that night, as they also competed in a triple threat Ladder Match for the X Division Title, which also included champion Low Ki. Jerry Lynn walked away the champion.

Styles returned to RoH where he challenged his X Division rival, Low Ki, for his RoH Title. On August 24, 2002, Low Ki was able to hold off the challenge of Styles and retain his RoH title.

On October 19, 2002, Styles made his USA Pro debut in Queens, NY. On that night, he didn’t wrestle just once on the marathon show. He had two separate matches. He defeated The Amazing Red then returned later in the night to lose to USA Pro Xtreme champion Xavier.

A few days later, Styles regained the X Division Title when he defeated former WWE Tag Team champion Syxx-Pac in Nashville. Three days later, the NWA held it's 54th Anniversary Show and Styles teamed with Rocky Reynolds to face NWA Tag Team champions America's Most Wanted (James Storm & Chris Harris) and jobbed to the champs.

Independent Wrestling Association Mid-South (IWA Mid-South) held it's first annual Ted Petty Invitational Tournament on November 1 & 2, 2002 in memory of Rocco Rock of The Public Enemy. On the first night, Styles competed in the tournament and lost to Christopher Daniels in the first round. The next night, Styles won a 4 Corners Match over M-Dogg 20, Super Dragon and Matt Stryker.

Styles continued to defend his X Division Title, but lost it to his rival, Jerry Lynn, on November 6, 2002. Three nights later, He defeated The American Dragon to earn another shot at the RoH Title. He got his rematch for the RoH title on December 7 in Philadelphia, but lost to champion Xavier. Earlier in the night, Styles beat Jimmy Rave.

In the early part of 2003, Styles received the opportunity to wrestle in Japan. He toured with the Zero-1 promotion. On January 5, 2003, he challenged NWA International Junior Heavyweight champion Low Ki for the title in Korakuen Hall. He did the job to Low Ki.

Later in the month, Styles embarked in a small angle with former American Wrestling Association (AWA) World champion Larry Zbyszko. In their first match against each other, Styles stole a win over "The Living Legend." Zbyszko would later gain revenge in their rematch and defeated Styles.

February marked the first time Styles would challenge for the prestigious NWA World Title. On February 19, 2003, he took and jobbed to NWA champion Jeff Jarrett in Nashville. Styles would get the last laugh.

Styles was hungry for another championship. He teamed with The Amazing Red and they challenged and defeated RoH Tag Team champions Christopher Daniels & Donovan Morgan for the titles in Cambridge, MA on March 15, 2003. They would hold onto the titles until they were stripped In August as Red suffered a knee injury on a tour of Japan and needed major reconstructive knee surgery.

On April 19, 2003, Styles added another title to his resume when he defeated the late Malice for the All Access Wrestling (AAW) Title.

June was when things began to cement Styles status as one of the best in the world. On June 4, 2003, he defeated D'Lo Brown to become the #1 Contender to the NWA Title. The following week, in a triple threat match, Styles won the NWA World Title from Jeff Jarrett and Raven.

Styles became a true fighting champion. He defended the title all over the world, much like previous champions like Jarrett and Steve Corino had done. On June 14, Styles made his first title defense in a RoH ring when he defeated WWE superstar Paul London in Philadelphia.

Styles then made a defense in Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) on July 20. He defeated RoH rival Jimmy Rave in another title defense. Styles was very busy during his first reign as NWA champion, defending it against the likes of Chris Sabin, Low Ki, D'Lo Brown, Raven, "The Future" Frankie Kazarian, and even former NWA champion "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes.

On July 23, 2003, Styles defended the NWA Title 2 out of 3 falls against D'Lo Brown. Styles won the first fall in a Pinfalls Only Match. Brown won the second match, which was a Submission Match. Styles won the third fall in a Ladder Match.

Collecting titles was becoming a way of life for Styles. On September 12, 2003, he defeated Christopher Daniels and Chris Sabin in Ft. Lauderdale, FL to capture the Maximum Pro Wrestling (MPW) Television Title.

In one of several NWA Title defenses overseas, Styles traveled all the way to Helsinki, Finland and defeated Jonny Storm on September 27, 2003. Styles was out to make a name for himself all over the world. He continued to defend the NWA Title outside of the TNA ring on October 16, 2003 when he defeated CM Punk in RoH.

During his reign as champion, Styles returned to being a babyface. He eventually lost the NWA Title back to Jarrett on October 22, 2003. He got the biggest rub possible from former multiple time NWA/WCW champion Sting. On the NWA:TNA First Anniversary Show on November 12, 2003, Styles teamed with Sting to defeat Jeff Jarrett & former WCW champion "The Total Package" Lex Luger.

A few weeks later, Styles returned to RoH, and wanted another shot at becoming RoH champion. On November 29, 2003, Styles challenged and jobbed to reigning RoH champion, Samoa Joe.

Styles competed on December 27, 2003 in a joint card between RoH and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). At the event entitled Final Battle, Styles defeated former WCW & WWE wrestler Kaz Hayashi with his patented Styles Clash.

At the beginning of 2004, Styles was awarded Mr. TNA by the NWA for his remarkable 2003 performances. On January 9, 2004, RoH had another joint show, this time with Jersey All Pro (JAP). In the main event, Christopher Daniels defeat CM Punk, "Hurricane" John Walters and Styles in a 4 Corners Match.

Styles had been paired up with Abyss in TNA and they faced off against NWA Tag Team champions Legend and Kevin Northcutt. On February 4, 2004, Abyss walked out on Styles mid-match. That didn't stop Styles as he won the Tag Team Titles by himself. He and Abyss were the new champions, even though Abyss walked out.

RoH held a Pure Wrestling Title Tournament on Valentine's Day of this year. The Pure Title was a trophy that was going to be just as important as the RoH Title. In a one-night tournament, Styles defeated Jimmy Rave, Matt Styker and CM Punk to win the title in Braintree, MA.

On February 25, Styles faced off against his "partner" Abyss in a Tables Match. Abyss won the match, thus gave him control over the NWA Tag Team Titles.

At Zero-1's Third Anniversary Show on February 29, Styles teamed with Frankie Kazarian and they jobbed to NWA International Light Heavyweight Tag Team champions Leonardo Spanky & Low Ki.

March 13 saw Styles defeat the man he beat in the finals to win the RoH Pure Wrestling Title, CM Punk, in a defense of the title. Styles won and the match was reffed by former NWA World champion Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat.

It was right after this that RoH ran into a huge scandal with its owner. Due to the nature of this, NWA:TNA demanded all contracted wrestlers do not work for RoH because TNA was close to a television deal and they didn't want it jeopardized.

To TNA's credit, they are compensating all talent pulled from RoH shows, including Styles. RoH is hoping to have something worked out in the future with TNA, and at the moment, Styles is still the Pure Wrestling champion.

On April 21, Styles became, for the second time, the new NWA champion. He defeated Jeff Jarrett in a cage match to win the title. It was originally supposed to be Jarrett defending against "Wildcat" Chris Harris, but Harris sent to the hospital in an angle shot earlier in the night. Styles got the match, and walked away with the title one more time.

Styles is a great representative for the NWA and any promotion he competes in. Here's hoping his second reign will be just as successful as his first. For your northeast fans that have lost out on Styles in RoH for the meantime, he will be making his return to USA Pro in June.

For more information on AJ Styles, you can check out his website http://www.stylesclash.com

John Gjoni
johnftw7533@aol.com

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