When AJ Styles initially joined the WWE, there was a worry by some fans that he would receive a push to begin with, but then fade into midcard uncertainty like many other big name indie stars have done before him.
However, through his hard work, The Phenomenal One was able to avoid that and become WWE Champion, exceeding WWE's original expectations if him.
Being the longest reigning WWE Champion in SmackDown history and having a huge part in the success of the blue brand, you have to wonder how on earth Impact Wrestling allowed such a talent to slip out of their grasp.
During a recent interview on Title Match Wrestling, Styles talked about several professional wrestling topics including the real reason why he left Impact Wrestling
The Phenomenal One revealed that he left Impact Wrestling after they cut his pay by over 60 percent. He thought it was disrespectful towards him due to what he was done for Impact.
He said, via Wrestling News: “I think that saying 60% is being generous, to be honest with you. That’s kinda crazy when that’s the first offer you know like, ‘wait what! That doesn’t make any sense!
"I’ve worked here for 11 years and hard for 11 years. I haven’t gotten less popular here in TNA, in fact gotten more popular, especially in the last year, so I don’t know what’s going on.’”
Ultimately, he felt the deal was unfair on his family, resulting in his departure from the company for better pay, which ended up with him signing with the WWE a couple of years later.
He said: “I am a family man. That’s my job, and my job is to take care of them. You don’t know how much I made, or how less I made. But if you are going to take a pay cut at your job, I’m gonna take a pay cut at my job. But think about that! Because you’ve got mouths to feed.”
What was Impact's loss though is WWE's gain, and they've certainly made the most of The Phenomenal One since his arrival in the company in 2016.
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