AJ Styles

AJ Styles: 2022 Biography, Net Worth, Family, Income

Allen Neal Jones was born on June 2nd, 1977 in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Jones had a difficult childhood, growing up in poverty with an alcoholic father. He spent much of his childhood living in a trailer park in Gainesville, Georgia.

Jones joined the amateur wrestling team in high school and became a two-time state champion. The sport allowed him to attend Anderson University in South Carolina on a wrestling and physical education scholarship. It was during his time at the university that he found professional wrestling and soon began training for the squared circle.

In 1998, Jones made his pro wrestling debut for National Championship Wrestling under a mask and the name ‘Mr. Olympia.’ It was here he won his first title, the NCW Television Championship. In December 1999, NCW merged with NWA Georgia to become NWA Wildside. Coinciding with the change, Jones was renamed AJ Styles, the ring name he still goes by today.

In 2001, Styles signed with WCW alongside Air Paris and the pair made several appearances as Air Raid. Shortly after the move, WCW was taken over by WWE and Styles had a try-out match for the company but was not offered a contract.

Over the following few months, he competed all around the US and began making a name for himself on the independent scene. During this time he had matches against other indie stars like Christopher Daniels, Colt Cabana, and Jerry Lynn.

2002 proved to be a pivotal year for Styles as he made his debut in the recently-created Ring of Honor and signed a non-exclusive contract with NWA Total Nonstop Action – now IMPACT Wrestling. That year, he helped establish TNA’s X-Division as its first champion and had acclaimed matches with the likes of Jerry Lynn and Lo-Ki. He also captured the NWA World Tag Team Championship alongside Lynn, although their reign only lasted a few weeks.

In 2003, The Phenomenal One moved up to the main event and, that June, captured the NWA World Heavyweight Championship – at that point the top title in TNA – for the first time by defeating Jeff Jarrett and Raven. He held the title for much of the rest of the year, defending it against Chris Sabin, Raven, and even the legendary Dusty Rhodes. In the end, though, he lost it back to Jarrett that October.

AJ Styles feuded with Jarrett for much of the first half of 2004 and eventually recaptured the NWA World Heavyweight Title that April in a Steel Cage bout between the pair. However, he only held onto it for a few weeks before losing it to Ron Killings – now WWE’s R-Truth – in a Fatal Four-Way Match that also included Raven and Chris Harris. Styles was taken out of the match by Jarrett when he blasted the star over the head with his signature guitar.

Following the Loss, Styles moved back to the X Division, winning that title for the third time in June 2004. He continued in the division for most of the next year, feuding over the championship with Kid Kash, Petey Williams, and his old foe Christopher Daniels.

At Lockdown in April 2005, Styles became the Number One Contender for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and won the title once again the following month. It was another short reign for the star as Raven took the gold at June’s Slammiversary. This led to another successful run in the X Division where Styles became a five-time champion and had memorable rivalries with Daniels and Samoa Joe which included the critically acclaimed Triple Threat Match between the three at that December’s Turning Point.

In 2006, with their feud now behind them, Styles teamed up with Daniels to capture the NWA World Tag Team Championships from America’s Most Wanted on their third attempt at the titles. They then had a brief feud with LAX, losing the championships to them at October’s Bound For Glory in a Six Sides Of Steel bout.

Days afterwards, AJ Styles won the X Division Championship for the sixth and final time when he beat Chris Sabin. However, Less than two weeks later, he lost the title to Christopher Daniels in a Triple Threat match that also featured Sabin.

In 2007, Styles joined up with Christian Cage as part of Christian’s Coalition. While part of the group, he formed a successful tag team with Tomko and the two captured the TNA World Tag Team Championships, going on to hold them for 184 days. During the reign, Styles turned on Christian, joining Kurt Angle’s ‘Angle Alliance’ at Final Resolution in January 2008. Tomko reluctantly joined his partner in the group soon after.

Over the following months, Kurt Angle began to suspect styles of having an affair with his wife, Karen. Tensions between the two boiled over early in 2008, leading to Styles quitting the Alliance and beginning his classic feud with Angle. The pair clashed in multiple matches, culminating in Styles winning Angle’s Olympic Gold Medal and then defeating The Wrestling Machine once again in a Ladder Match.

Kurt Angle then formed a new faction alongside Booker T, Kevin Nash, and Sting, calling themselves the Main Event Mafia. Styles retaliated by joining Samoa Joe and several other stars in the TNA Front Line. The two groups feuded for months with Styles targetting Sting and Kurt Angle for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.

After multiple unsuccessful attempts, AJ Styles became the TNA World Champion for the first time by winning a Fatal Five-way Match. In January 2010, while still the champion, Styles aligned himself with Ric Flair and The Nature Boy began assisting him with title defences. Styles finally lost the championship after 211 days to Rob Van Dam on an episode of Impact.

The loss led to Flair briefly losing faith in his protégé and deciding to form a new version of The Four Horsemen, naming it Fortune. Styles won over Flair by earning his spot in the group alongside Kazarian. The two were also joined by James Storm and Robert Roode.

The group had rivalries with a group of ECW Originals calling themselves EV 2.0 led by Tommy Dreamer. The two teams traded wins and Styles scored a victory over Dreamer in an ‘I Quit’ match at No Surrender that September. However, Fortune was defeated by EV 2.0 in a Lethal Lockdown bout the following month. Things came to an end at Turning Point when Fortune got the win over EV 2.0 in a Ten-Man Tag with the ECW group’s careers on the line – although only Sabu was actually fired.

Going into 2011, Fortune’s next targets were the Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan-led Immortal faction. Flair, who had been out injured when the rivalry started, joined Immortal on his return, turning on Fortune in the process.

During the ongoing tensions between the groups, AJ Styles had matches against the likes of Matt Hardy, Tommy Dreamer, and Bully Ray. His last match against Ray came at Slammiversary 9 that June with the former ECW star coming out on top.

Styles moved back to the X Division the following month and once again began clashing with Christopher Daniels as well as unsuccessfully attempting to win the TNA World Heavyweight Title from Roode.

In 2012, the feud with Daniels grew to include Kazarian and the pair later revealed they had incriminating photographs that showed Styles and TNA President Dixie Carter could be having an affair. However, that June it was revealed that the pair were not in a relationship but actually helping an addicted pregnant woman, Claire Lynch. In the weeks following this reveal, Daniels claimed Styles was the father of the unborn baby, leading to the pair having a match where a victory meant Styles could get a paternity test.

The storyline ended when it was revealed Lynch wasn’t even pregnant and Daniels just wanted to Blackmail Styles. Styles and Daniels had one more match which The Fallen Angel won at Final Resolution that December.

2013 proved to be Styles’ final year in TNA and he took on Bully Ray’s new Aces & Eights stable for much of that time. He defeated Ray for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound For Glory that October but was forced to vacate the title soon after due to refusing an onscreen contract offer. Later in the year, Styles returned with title in hand and had a unification match with the man who won the title in his absence, Magnus. Magnus won the match and, in a case of life imitating art, AJ Styles legitimately left TNA when he couldn’t come to terms with them on a new contract.

Kicking off 2014 as a free agent, Styles began making appearances in multiple independent promotions including ROH, Combat Zone Wrestling, the NWA, and the UK’s Preston City Wrestling. He also signed a contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling. He made his mark in NJPW on April 6th by assaulting the IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada at Invasion Attack. He then revealed himself to be a member of Bullet Club and challenged Okada to a title match. The bout happened on May 3rd at Wrestling Dontaku and Styles captured the IWGP Heavyweight Title for the first time.

AJ Styles’ reign lasted for 163 days and included successful defences in both Japan and the US. He eventually lost the title to Hiroshi Tanahashi on October 13th at King Of Pro Wrestling in a critically acclaimed bout.

Later in the year, he teamed up with fellow Bullet Club member Yujiro Takahashi in the World Tag League tournament but the pair were unable to advance from the block stages. In January 2016, he re-entered the Heavyweight title scene by pinning Tanahashi in a multi-man tag match at New Year’s Dash. He successfully recaptured the title weeks later at new Beginning in Osaka.

This time, he only had one successful defence – against Kota Ibushi – and lost to Okada on his second at Dominion that July. He attempted to get back to the main event by entering the G1 Climax tournament but a loss against Tanahashi prevented him from reaching the finals. His next move was to challenge Shinsuke Nakamura to a match for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Nakamura accepted and the bout went ahead at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in January 2016. He lost the match and news broke that he had given the company his notice. The following night, Bullet Club – now led by Kenny Omega – turned on him to write him out of the company.

On January 24th, AJ Styles made his WWE debut as the third entrant in the annual Royal Rumble match. Although unsuccessful in the 30-man battle royal, Styles made an impression with several eliminations over the course of just under 30 minutes.

Styles’ first feud in WWE was with Chris Jericho. The pair initially teamed up but Jericho turned on Styles after they failed to win the WWE Tag Team Championships. This led to Styles led to the pair facing off at WrestleMania 32 where Jericho took the victory.

Over the following weeks, AJ Styles reunited with his former Bullet Club teammates Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson. Calling themselves The Club, Gallows and Anderson unsuccessfully attempted to help Styles defeat Roman Reigns for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. The trio then set their sights on John Cena and Styles was able to defeat the 16-Time World Champion at both Money in the Bank and SummerSlam, after which he proclaimed himself the ‘New Face of WWE’.

Styles saw more success later in the year as he defeated Jon Moxley – known in WWE as Dean Ambrose – for the WWE World Championship. He held the title for 140 days with successful defences against Moxley and Cena as well as Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler. His reign came to an end at the 2017 Royal Rumble when John Cena finally overcame him with four Attitude Adjustments to capture the title.

Following the loss, Styles had a brief feud with Shane McMahon which The Phenomenal One won by handily defeating McMahon at WrestleMania 33. He then moved on to fighting for the United States Championship and a rivalry with Kevin Owens. The two traded the titles several times until Styles came out on top with a victory over KO at SummerSlam. the following month, however, Styles lost the title to Baron Corbin and was unable to win it back in their rematch.

This was to be a blessing in disguise as he went on to end Jinder Mahal’s WWE Championship reign only a week after losing the US title. It was to be his most notable World Championship reign to date, lasting for 371 days. the run included a lengthy rivalry with his old NJPW foe, Shinsuke Nakamura, who resorted to attempting to defeat Styles with low blows. However, it was to no avail as the Japanese star failed to capture the title despite four attempts at consecutive Premium Live Events.

AJ Styles then saw off challenges from Rusev and Samoa Joe. however, his reign came to an end at the hands of Bryan Danielson – known in WWE as Daniel Bryan – on his second attempt. Danielson won the Championship following a Low Blow on the November 13th edition of SmackDown and Styles was unable to win it back in their rematch at TLC the following month.

During the first half of 2019, Styles tried to get back into the WWE title picture but he was unsuccessful while part of SmackDown. In April, after being drafted to Raw, Styles quickly won a shot at Seth Rollins‘ Universal Championship but was unable to overcome The Architect. He then moved on to challenging ricochet for the US Championship and defeated The One and Only to begin his third reign with the title.

Over the following months, with the help of Gallows and Anderson, he defended the championship against Braun Strowman, Cedric Alexander and Humberto Carrillo. His reign came to an end that November at the hands of Rey Mysterio.

AJ Styles’ next major feud was against The Undertaker, beginning at Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia in February 2020. The Deadman returned at the event after months away and defeated Styles at the end of a gauntlet match for the Tuwaiq Trophy. This led to The Phenomenal One challenging The Phenom to a match at WrestleMania 36 which he accepted. Instead of a regular singles match, the bout was labelled a Boneyard Match and took place at an abandoned compound. The cinematic match headlined Night 1 of WrestleMania and saw The Undertaker emerge victorious in what proved to be the final match of his storied career.

Following the loss, Styles was moved back to SmackDown where he won a tournament to capture the Intercontinental Championship for the first time. He held onto the title for 70 days before losing it to Jeff Hardy on the August 21st edition of SmackDown. Soon after, his tenure on the blue brand came to an end as he moved back to Raw.

There, he introduced a new bodyguard, his ‘Personal Colossus’ Omos. Omos assisted Styles during multiple matches and the pair began working as a tag team as well. At WrestleMania 37, the pair defeated The New Day to win the Raw Tag Team Championships. They held the titles for 133 days before Randy Orton and Riddle – going by RK-Bro – defeated them at the SummerSlam.

After being unable to recapture the titles, Omos turned on AJ Styles that December. The two faced off in a match on the first Raw of 2022, with Omos defeating his former ally. He then moved on to attempting to win the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber but was eliminated by the eventual winner of the titular bout, Brock Lesnar.

Styles then began a feud with Edge which began with him accepting the Rated-R Superstar’s open challenge for WrestleMania 38. Styles lost the match due to interference from Damian Priest, who was the first member of Edge’s new faction, The Judgment Day.

The following month, the pair had a rematch at WrestleMania Backlash, but Edge was once again victorious thanks to help from the third member of Judgment Day, Rhea Ripley. Styles then teamed up with Finn Balor and Liv Morgan to take on the trio, but were unsuccessful in a 6-Man Tag Team Match.

Heading into SummerSlam, AJ Styles clashed with The Miz and cost him his match against Logan Paul at the event. After weeks of back and forth, the two faced off in a No DQ Match on Raw, which Styles won.

Towards the end of the year, AJ Styles began feuding with The Judgment Day with the group now under the leadership of Balor. Styles brought back Gallows & Anderson to assist him against the faction, however, they were unsuccessful in their first effort at Crown Jewel in November.

Although Styles was able to defeat Finn Balor in singles action at Survivor Series, ultimately he, Gallows, and Anderson came out on the losing end of the rivalry as The Judgment Day defeated them in a Multi-man Tag Match the following night.

Net Worth

As of November 2022, AJ Styles has an estimated net worth of $6 million.

Family

AJ Styles married his wife, Wendy Jones in 2000. The couple have three sons, Ajay Covell Jones, who was born in May 2005, Avery Jones, born in February 2007, and Albey Jones, born September 15th, 2009. They also have one daughter, Anney Jones, who was born in October 2014.

Income

In February 2022, Fightful reported that AJ Styles had re-signed with WWE and his contract was worth an incredible $3 million a year.

Record

According to Cagematch.net, since beginning his career in 1999, AJ Styles has competed in 2183 matches, with a record of 1315 wins, 814 defeats and 54 draws. That puts his career win percentage at 60.2%.

Figures are correct as of December 2022.

Wrestling Career

TNA

• NWA World Heavyweight Champion – 3 times
• NWA World Tag Team Champion – 4 times
• TNA World Heavyweight Champion – 2 times
• TNA X Division Champion – 6 times
• TNA Legends/Global/Television Champion – 2 times
• TNA World Tag Team Champion – 2 times
• Bound For Glory Series winner – 2013
• Gauntlet For The Gold winner – 2007

NJPW

• IWGP Heavyweight Champion – 2 times

WWE

• WWE Champion – 2 times
• WWE Intercontinental Champion – 1 time
• WWE United States Champion – 3 times
• WWE Raw Tag Team Champion – 1 time

Charity

Over the course of his career, AJ Styles has worked with multiple charities including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Save The Children. He also joined other WWE stars in volunteering at the Houston Food Bank in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey.