When Eric Bischoff joined TNA Wrestling in late 2009, AJ Styles was the face of the company. He was the TNA World Heavyweight Champion, he had been with the company since the first show, and was adored by the fans whether he was a face or heel. However, Bischoff’s time with the company didn’t exactly go according to plan, with many people crediting him and Hulk Hogan for sending the company on a downward spiral in the early 2010s, and his relationship with Styles didn’t start off well either.

Styles told the story of his first interaction with Bischoff on his “Phenomenally Retro” podcast, revealing that his lack of enthusiasm about his gimmick at the time had rubbed the former WCW executive the wrong way. “The first time that Eric and I started working together, it was just not–our experience wasn’t very good,” Styles said. “I had said some things regarding my Ric Flair lookalike kind of thing and it kind of p***** Eric off, and my intention was to let him know how I feel. So we didn’t start off so well and it’s probably my fault more than anybody’s.”

There seemed to be tension between the two men from that point on, but time heals all wounds, and one interaction when Styles wanted a more serious character shift completely changed his relationship with Bischoff. 

“I remember when I went to ‘Lone Wolf’ AJ Styles and I had this idea about I’ll be coming from the crowd, and I told Eric about it. He goes ‘No we’re not going to do that right now.’ I said ‘Okay’ and I walk off, he goes ‘Hey, hey, AJ, let me tell you why.’ After that, our relationship went through the roof.” Styles rounded off by saying that he has a lot of respect for Bischoff, not just because of what he’s accomplished throughout his career, but because of the fact he took the time to explain why something wasn’t the right move, rather than just brushing Styles to the side.

Please credit “Phenomenally Retro” when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.