A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler , mixed martial artist , or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting the wrong image. Since the advent of the Internet , it is relatively easy to discover a fighter's real name.
123-604: Allen Neal Jones (born June 2, 1977), better known by his ring name AJ Styles , is an American professional wrestler . He is signed to WWE , where he performs on the SmackDown brand . Jones debuted in 1998 and competed for various independent promotions before gaining initial mainstream exposure in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 2001. He gained prominence after signing with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) having been described as "the cornerstone of
246-510: A Lethal Lockdown match by EV 2.0 at Bound for Glory . On the following episode of Impact! , Fortune formed an alliance with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff's new stable, Immortal . At Turning Point , Fortune defeated EV 2.0 in a ten-man tag team match and, as a result, EV 2.0's Sabu was released from TNA. The following month at Final Resolution , Styles lost the Television Championship to Douglas Williams, who had turned on Fortune. On
369-450: A PWG Championship number one contender match at the promotion's All-Star Weekend – Day 1. The following night on Day 2 of All-Star Weekend, Styles successfully challenged Super Dragon for the title. Styles defended the title until August 6 at Zombies Shouldn't Run, where he lost it to Kevin Steen . On September 3, Styles entered the 2005 Battle of Los Angeles tournament but was defeated in
492-572: A tag team , which was named Air Raid. The team's gimmick saw both men dress in G-suits , with Air Raid also appearing on Thunder . On the March 5, 2001, episode of Nitro , they were entered into a tournament for the newly created WCW Cruiserweight Tag Team Championship but were eliminated in the first round by eventual winners Elix Skipper and Kid Romeo . On July 9, 2001, Styles had his first WWF tryout match against his trainer, Rick Michaels , before
615-587: A ten-tag team gauntlet match to earn a tag team title match at Bound for Glory against Team Pacman ( Adam Jones and Ron Killings), where they defeated them to win the TNA World Tag Team Championship . They successfully defended against LAX on the November 1 episode of Impact! and at Genesis against The Steiner Brothers ( Rick and Scott Steiner ). Later that night, Styles and Tomko inadvertently cost Cage his match and helped Kurt Angle retain
738-492: A chain. On the May 26 episode of the newly rebranded Impact Wrestling , Styles and Daniels defeated Ray and Dreamer in a no disqualification street fight match, with Styles pinning Dreamer to avenge his loss at Sacrifice. The feud ended at Slammiversary IX , where Ray defeated Styles in a Last Man Standing match. Styles then defeated fellow Fortune member Christopher Daniels in the main event of Destination X . After weeks of asking for
861-430: A championship steel cage match against Jarret on April 21, where he won his second world title. He successfully defended the title in matches with Ron Killings, Raven and Chris Harris, and on May 19 he defended against all three men in a four-way title match. Styles lost the title to Killings after Jarrett interfered in the match, hitting him with a guitar. Styles returned to the X Division shortly thereafter, winning
984-523: A championship. At A Night of Tribute, Styles faced Christopher Daniels and Matt Sydal in a three-way match , which Daniels won. On the first show of 2006, Styles wrestled and defeated Matt Sydal, after which the two agreed to form a tag team and challenge for the ROH Tag Team Championship, which was held by Sydal's Generation Next teammates Austin Aries and Roderick Strong . Before receiving a shot at
1107-604: A developmental deal contract, which would require Styles to relocate to Cincinnati, Ohio, where the Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) developmental territory was located. Styles ultimately declined the deal, as the move would interfere with his wife's college plans. Despite this, Styles wrestled one non-contracted match for HWA, on February 19 against Matt Stryker in a losing effort. On October 26, 2001, Styles participated in All Pro Wrestling 's King of
1230-431: A double elimination match to become the inaugural TNA X Division Champion . He won a second title on the third TNA pay-per-view, teaming with Lynn and defeating Bruce and Lenny Lane in the finals of a tournament for the vacant NWA World Tag Team Championship . Styles successfully defended both titles in the following weeks but began to bicker with the veteran Lynn during their matches together. On August 7, Styles lost
1353-451: A draw after both men scored three pinfalls . On August 28, Low Ki defended the X Division Championship against Lynn and Styles in a ladder match and lost the title to Lynn. Recruiting Mortimer Plumtree and Sonny Siaki as allies, Styles continued to feud with Lynn in successive weeks. On October 23, he defeated Syxx-Pac for the X Division Championship, but lost the title to Lynn on November 6 and tried unsuccessfully to regain it throughout
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#17328977502231476-462: A few others, their real name. One notable exception was made for David Otunga because of his real marriage to singer Jennifer Hudson at the time, which gave WWE some mainstream exposure. Low Ki used the alias "Senshi" during his second TNA stint to reserve his primary ring name for other use. A similar example is the team known as The Dudley Boyz in ECW and WWE and Team 3D elsewhere. WWE trademarked
1599-462: A four-way match to become the number one contender to the X Division Championship on the June 4 episode of Impact! . On June 9, he defeated Frankie Kazarian to become a three-time X Division Champion. In the following weeks, Styles feuded with Kid Kash and Dallas , while successfully defending the title in matches with Kazarian and Mr. Águila . An additional match on June 23 with the debuting Jeff Hardy
1722-407: A household in the city was $ 32,544, and for a family was $ 33,763. Males had a median income of $ 17,121 versus $ 19,931 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 14,237. About 12.5% of families and 14.1% of the population were below the poverty line , including 18.0% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over. According to the city's 2012 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,
1845-454: A losing effort. On July 26, 2008, Styles made his debut for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), taking part in the promotion's last annual 16-man elimination International Gran Prix tournament, representing Team International. Styles would defeat Rey Bucanero of Team Mexico in his first match, but would later be eliminated from the tournament by Último Guerrero . Guerrero went on to lose to Team International member Alex Shelley later in
1968-523: A match to determine the sole owner of the tag team championship by disqualification after Jarrett interfered, but his victory was overturned by Callis, leading to another match the following week which was won by Abyss after Lex Luger interfered, thus granting Abyss sole control of the tag team championship. On March 17, Abyss defeated Styles to become the number one contender to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Russo granted Styles
2091-469: A population explosion in the small town of about 800 inhabitants, as new workers migrated to the area. Growth continued to be fueled by both young Marine families and military retirees. Today, Jacksonville's primary industry is retail sales and services. The primary migration draw continues to be the U.S. Marine Corps . The Bank of Onslow and Jacksonville Masonic Temple , Mill Avenue Historic District , and Pelletier House and Wantland Spring are listed on
2214-416: A post-match beatdown. On May 31, Styles defeated Daniels in the main event of the first live episode of Impact Wrestling , after which Daniels and Kazarian played audio of a phone conversation to prove an affair between Styles and Carter. At Slammiversary , Styles and Angle defeated Daniels and Kazarian to win their TNA World Tag Team Championship. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling , Styles entered
2337-581: A pre-taped promo , Styles said he would be taking several months off from ROH following the match; however, ROH commentators continually referred to the match as his final match and even played a special tribute to him after it. In May 2002, Styles was signed to a non-exclusive contract by NWA: Total Nonstop Action (NWA-TNA). He appeared on the first weekly TNA pay-per-view, teaming with Low Ki and Jerry Lynn and losing to The Flying Elvises ( Jimmy Yang , Jorge Estrada and Sonny Siaki ). The following week, Styles defeated Low Ki, Jerry Lynn and Psicosis in
2460-458: A rematch against El Mesías. Ring name Ring names are much more common in professional wrestling than any other sport; famous examples include Terry Bollea becoming Hulk Hogan , Michael Shawn Hickenbottom becoming Shawn Michaels , Roderick Toombs becoming Roddy Piper , Dwayne Johnson becoming The Rock , Christopher Irvine becoming Chris Jericho , and Phillip Jack Brooks becoming CM Punk . A number of wrestlers adopted their real name or
2583-552: A rematch, Styles finally granted Daniels one on the September 1 episode of Impact Wrestling , where Daniels won and refused to shake hands with Styles. At Bound for Glory , Styles defeated Daniels in an "I Quit" match . After defeating Daniels again on the November 10 episode of Impact Wrestling , Styles entered into a feud with TNA World Heavyweight Champion Bobby Roode, failing to capture the championship at Turning Point , tying him in an Iron-Man Match at Final Resolution , but losing
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#17328977502232706-690: A semi-final tournament match then later defeated The Mexican Powers (Crazy Boy, Joe Líder and Juventud Guerrera ) in the finals. On December 20, 2007, as part of TNA's working relationship with the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), Styles competed in the promotion's third event, defeating fellow TNA star Senshi . During a partnership between TNA and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), Styles made four appearances for NJPW in 2008, starting on January 4 at Wrestle Kingdom II , where Styles teamed with Christian Cage and Petey Williams to defeat RISE ( Milano Collection AT , Minoru and Prince Devitt ) in
2829-455: A six-man tag team match. On February 17, Styles lost to Hiroshi Tanahashi on Day 8 of New Japan's ISM Tour. On August 15, Styles teamed with Shinjiro Otani to face Kurt Angle and Masahiro Chono on Day 5 of New Japan's G1 Climax – Heroes of Supremacy event, in a losing effort. The following day on Day 6 of New Japan's G1 Climax – Heroes of Supremacy show, Styles teamed with Tanahashi to face the team of Kurt Angle and Shinsuke Nakamura , again in
2952-553: A six-way cruiserweight survival elimination match , in a losing effort. On April 10, Styles faced Jerry Lynn and Super Nova in a three-way-dance , in a losing effort. On April 12, Styles defeated Nova in a tournament semi-final match at The Eruption for the International Cruiserweight Championship . Styles progressed to the final later that night in which he defeated Jerry Lynn to win the title, which he vacated soon after. On March 2, Styles debuted in
3075-450: A steel chair, after which Daniels admitted that Styles and Carter had told the truth about Claire, but claimed that they had left out the part about Styles being the father of her unborn baby. Styles defeated Daniels in a Last Man Standing match at Destination X , and again in a Bound for Glory Series match and, per the pre-match stipulations, earned the right to get a paternity test on Claire's baby. The following week on Impact Wrestling it
3198-613: A tables match, where Styles was injured ( kayfabe ). At Against All Odds , Styles returned by attacking Booker T and stealing his TNA Legends Championship . Styles defeated Booker T to become Legends Champion (and the first TNA Grand Slam Champion ) at Destination X , and he retained in a rematch at Sacrifice . At Slammiversary , Styles competed in the King of the Mountain match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, but
3321-408: A three-way match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (becoming the first TNA Triple Crown ) on June 11 with assistance from Russo. Throughout July 2003, Styles successfully defended the title in matches against D'Lo Brown and a myriad selection of opponents before dropping the title back to Jarrett on October 22. Following his loss, Styles reverted to being a fan favorite while Jarrett became
3444-483: A three-way match for the title. On October 4, Styles debuted in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), unsuccessfully challenging PWG Champion Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels for the title. On November 7, Styles returned to IWA: Mid-South to take part in the promotions annual Ted Petty Invitational , which saw Styles defeating Todd Sexton is his first-round match. The following night, he defeated Jerry Lynn in
3567-653: A three-way street fight match on March 10, where Styles was pinned by his former mentor, with assistance from Hardy. At Victory Road , Styles defeated Hardy in a singles match, despite interference from Flair. On the following episode of Impact! , Styles was sidelined with a storyline injury after Flair helped Bully Ray perform a powerbomb on him off the entrance stage through a table. Styles made his return on April 17 at Lockdown , attacking Bully Ray and helping Fortune defeat Immortal. He then feuded with Tommy Dreamer, who joined Immortal to save his job; Ray cost Styles his match against Dreamer at Sacrifice by hitting him with
3690-577: A title shot for the ROH Tag Team Championship . He chose Amazing Red as his partner, and the two defeated The Prophecy (Christopher Daniels and Xavier) to win the championship. Styles then feuded with London, who was upset that he had chosen Red as his partner, wrestling to a draw at Night of the Grudges. Styles and Red then defeated The Briscoe Brothers ( Jay and Mark Briscoe ) on three separate occasions, but lost to The Prophecy. At Wrath of
3813-476: A tournament to crown the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion), with Styles challenging Magnus to a title unification match on next weeks episode of Impact Wrestling , which Magnus accepted. On December 5 taping of Impact Wrestling which aired on tape delay on January 9, Magnus won to unify both titles after interference from eight other wrestlers on Magnus' behalf and Sting interfering on Styles' behalf in what would be Styles' final match with TNA. On December 8, it
AJ Styles - Misplaced Pages Continue
3936-751: A variation of it, sometimes modifying the spelling to better fit their gimmick , such as Dave Bautista becoming Batista (later reverting to his real name for his Hollywood acting career), Patricia Stratigeas becoming Trish Stratus , Jonathan Good becoming Jon Moxley , Bryan Danielson becoming Daniel Bryan (when he wrestled in WWE), Richard Fliehr becoming Ric Flair and Randall Poffo becoming Randy Savage . Others simply use part of their name, such as Bill Goldberg using Goldberg , Nicole Garcia-Colace using Nikki Bella , Mike Mizanin using The Miz , Cody Runnels using Cody Rhodes , and Michael Wardlow using Wardlow . Many female wrestlers go solely by their first name such as. It
4059-674: A villain. On November 12, he teamed with Sting to defeat Lex Luger and Jeff Jarrett, though his bid for the title on December 3 was unsuccessful due to interference from Kid Kash . Styles feuded with Abyss and Jeff Jarrett throughout January, and on February 4, 2004, after Styles demanded a title shot, Jarrett's ally Don Callis forced him to team with Abyss in a match with the NWA World Tag Team Champions, Kevin Northcutt and Legend , which Styles' won, despite being abandoned by Abyss. The following week, Styles defeated Abyss in
4182-450: A winning effort, capturing the title. On April 17, Styles successfully defended the title against Homicide , and on May 8 he did so again against Christopher Daniels. On September 17, Styles returned to IWA: Mid-South, entering the promotions 2004 Ted Petty Invitational . Styles defeated Jimmy Rave in his first-round match. The following night, Styles defeated Matt Sydal in the quarter-finals. Later that night, Styles defeated Arik Cannon in
4305-692: Is a city in Onslow County, North Carolina . As of the 2020 census , the population was 72,723, which makes Jacksonville the 14th-most populous city in North Carolina . Jacksonville is the county seat and most populous community of Onslow County, which is coterminous with the Jacksonville, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Demographically, Jacksonville is the youngest city in the United States, with an average age of 22.8 years old, which can be attributed to
4428-637: Is a highly respected tradition in Mexican lucha libre for performers to hide their true identities, usually wrestling under masks, and revealing a luchador's identity without their permission is considered a serious offence with real-life consequences. Professional wrestlers are often referred to by their contemporaries by their ring name. In interviews, Bret Hart regularly referred to Mark Calaway, Curt Hennig, and Kevin Nash by their ring names ( The Undertaker , Mr. Perfect , and Diesel ). Ring names are often trademarked by
4551-654: Is a two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and the United Kingdom based Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro), where he is a former RPW British Heavyweight Champion . Jones first appeared in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 2002, but declined a developmental contract . He returned to the company in 2016, and won the WWE Championship twice. With his second victory in Manchester, England , Jones
4674-448: Is also common for wrestlers of all genders to use a nickname in addition to their real name for marketability and other reasons. Ricky Steamboat is an atypical instance of a wrestler adopting a ring name to sound less intimidating, as his legal name of Richard Blood was considered unfitting for his babyface persona. Some (mostly independent ) wrestlers still go to great lengths to ensure that their real names are not publicly known. It
4797-681: Is recognized by WWE as the first wrestler to win the title outside North America . At 371 days, he is tied with Randy Savage for the eighth-longest reign in title history. He also won the United States Championship three times, the Intercontinental Championship and the Raw Tag Team Championship once each, becoming the second wrestler (after Kurt Angle ) to become a TNA and WWE Triple Crown winner and first Grand Slam champion in both promotions, as well as
4920-509: The Calf Killer submission hold as his new finisher, which he used to defeat James Storm in his first match back. Styles, who remained silent in the following weeks, began feuding with Kurt Angle after refusing to tell Angle whether or not he was with the Aces & Eights stable. His new gimmick was nicknamed "The Lone Wolf", since he rejected joining Aces & Eights. At Slammiversary XI , Styles
5043-449: The 2000 census , there were 66,715 people, 17,175 households, and 13,533 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,500.0 inhabitants per square mile (579.2/km ). The 18,312 housing units averaged 411.7 per square mile (159.0/km ). The racial composition of the city was 63.94% White, 23.96% African American, 2.07% Asian, 0.75% Native American, 0.19% Pacific Islander, 5.42% some other race, and 3.67% two or more races. Of
AJ Styles - Misplaced Pages Continue
5166-536: The 2012 Bound for Glory Series , where he was eliminated in the opening gauntlet match by Daniels. On the June 21 episode of Impact Wrestling , Styles and Carter revealed their secret—they were not having an affair but were helping an addicted pregnant woman named Claire Lynch overcome her problems. The following week on Impact Wrestling , Styles and Angle lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship back to Daniels and Kazarian when Kazarian hit Styles with
5289-609: The East Coast Wrestling Association (ECWA), entering the promotion's 6th annual Super 8 tournament . He defeated Xavier in the first round, as well as The Amazing Red in his semi-finals match, but was defeated in the final by Donovan Morgan . On June 15, Styles debuted in Game Changer Wrestling, entering the Jersey-J Cup tournament. In the first round, Styles defeated Qenaan Creed, he then progressed to
5412-455: The Georgia -based National Championship Wrestling (NCW) promotion he wrestled as Mr. Olympia, a masked wrestler, losing to Michael Brooks in his first singles match . By August 1999, he had won the promotion's Television Championship. From 1999 to 2001, he generally competed in less notable independent promotions . In December 1999, NCW merged with NWA Georgia to form NWA Wildside , and Jones
5535-561: The National Register of Historic Places . In 2016, Jacksonville became the first jurisdiction to adopt a paid holiday honoring the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which made slavery in the United States and its territories illegal. The resolution of adoption mentions "the prevention of the modern slavery" which it describes as "human trafficking", including child labor and military service. According to
5658-828: The ROH World Championship at Honor Invades Boston). After failing to win the title, he became the first holder of the Number One Contender's Trophy, which was viewed within the promotion as a secondary championship at the time. At the First Anniversary Show in February 2003, Styles competed against Low Ki and Paul London in a three-way match, which was won by London. After this, Styles competed by himself and defeated The Backseat Boyz ( Johnny Kashmere and Trent Acid ), The Carnage Crew ( HC Loc and Tony DeVito ), and The S.A.T. (Joel and Jose Maximo), to receive
5781-573: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers surveyed and mapped the area from Fort Monroe, Virginia to Fort Sumter , South Carolina which included the Onslow County coastline and the New River. The map is believed to have fostered the interest of the War and Navy Departments in establishing an amphibious training base in the area. Congressman Graham Arthur Barden of New Bern lobbied Congress to appropriate funds for
5904-537: The United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 56.42 square miles (146.1 km ), of which 48.80 square miles (126.4 km ) is land and 7.62 square miles (19.7 km ) (13.51%) is water. It is about 60 minutes from Wilmington and 15 minutes from the Intracoastal Waterway. As of the 2020 census , 72,723 people, 21,986 households, and 15,491 families resided in the city. At
6027-482: The promotion that creates a character or gimmick for a performer. It is common to see one performer use a variety of ring names throughout their career, even if their overall persona remains similar. This is especially true in WWE , which has largely forced most wrestlers that have debuted since 2006 to use a WWE-owned ring name instead of a ring name that they used on the independent circuit or, such as with Daniel Bryan and
6150-680: The "Dudley Boyz" name, leading them to have to change their name when they went to TNA. The members' individual names were also trademarked by WWE, forcing them to have to change their names. WWE partially repealed the policy in 2015, allowing wrestlers who were well known in other promotions such as Samoa Joe , A.J. Styles , Shinsuke Nakamura , Austin Aries , Bobby Roode , and Eric Young to use their long-standing ring names (or, in Nakamura's and Roode's cases, their real names) as well as wrestlers who sign "Tier 2" NXT brand contracts such as Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa , who wrestle both on NXT and
6273-399: The 17,175 households, 49.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.8% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.2% were not families. About 16.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size
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#17328977502236396-466: The August 20 episode of Impact! , Styles was talked out of retiring by Sting, who said he had chosen Styles to carry the torch after him. At No Surrender , Styles won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a five-way match against Matt Morgan, Sting, Hernandez and defending champion Kurt Angle. At Bound for Glory , Styles retained the title against Sting, ending his undefeated streak at Bound for Glory in
6519-550: The December 22 episode of Impact! , Styles and Samoa Joe defeated Rhino and Kurt Angle . Rhino then defeated Styles in a Last Man Standing match at Final Resolution and at Destination X in an Elevation X match . Styles aligned with Christian Cage for Lockdown , forming Team Cage (later Christian's Coalition ), who were defeated by Team Angle at Lockdown. Styles teamed with Tomko to face Sting and Abyss at Victory Road , but were defeated. At No Surrender , Styles and Tomko won
6642-473: The February 3 episode of Impact! , Fortune turned face by attacking Immortal, when they interfered in a TNA World Heavyweight Championship match between Mr. Anderson and Jeff Hardy. Flair, who did not take part in Fortune's turn due to an injury, returned on the February 17 episode of Impact! , turning on Fortune during a match between Styles and Matt Hardy and jumping to Immortal. Styles faced Flair and Hardy in
6765-561: The February 9 episode of Impact Wrestling , Kazarian, now seemingly a reluctant associate of Daniels, helped him defeat Styles in a singles match. Three days later at Against All Odds , Styles was defeated by Kazarian in a singles match. On the March 3 episode of Impact Wrestling , Kazarian defeated Styles in a gauntlet match; had Styles been successful, Kazarian would have to explain his alliance with Daniels. Mr. Anderson then returned and aligned with Styles to defeat Daniels and Kazarian in tag team match at Victory Road and at Lockdown , where
6888-626: The Indies tournament, defeating Jardi Frantz in his first-round match but was eliminated by Christopher Daniels in the quarter-finals the following night. On November 13, 2001, Styles debuted in Xcitement Wrestling Federation (XWF), competing in a battle royal against Billy Fives, Christopher Daniels, Juventud Guerrera , Kid Kash , Prince Iaukea , Psicosis and Quick Kick for the XWF Cruiserweight Championship, but
7011-503: The January 4, 2010, episode of Impact! and against Tomko, who had been revealed as his mystery attacker, on the January 14 episode of Impact! . At Genesis , Styles defeated Angle in a Last Chance match to again retain the championship with assistance from Ric Flair , turning heel in the process. On the January 21 episode of Impact! , Flair announced that he had aligned himself with Styles and christened Styles "The New Nature Boy", but on
7134-669: The July 22 episode of Impact! , Styles defeated Terry to win the Global Championship (formerly the Legends Championship) for the second time. The following week on Impact! , Styles renamed the title the TNA Television Championship. Fourtune (soon renamed Fortune) then feuded with EV 2.0 and Styles defeated EV 2.0 leader Tommy Dreamer in a non-title "I Quit" match at No Surrender , although Fortune were defeated in
7257-432: The Mountain qualifying match against Booker T , turning Styles face . At Slammiversary , Styles defeated Angle after a distraction by Karen, but was beat-down by Angle and Tomko after the match. The feud continued through Hard Justice , where he defeated Angle in a Last Man Standing match . They continued trading wins and on the following episode of Impact! he defeated Angle for his Olympic gold medal . Styles also won
7380-539: The New River, at the present site of Jacksonville, was chosen as the site of the new county courthouse. The area was later known as Onslow Courthouse. In 1842, the town was incorporated and renamed Jacksonville in honor of former U.S. President Andrew Jackson . The town was briefly captured and occupied in November 1862 by a raiding party led by U.S. Navy Lt. William B. Cushing . Jacksonville and Onslow County continued to rely on naval stores, lumber, and tobacco crops for industry. In 1939, Colonel George W. Gillette of
7503-661: The October 30 episode of Impact! , Styles and Joe formed a faction of younger wrestlers known as The TNA Front Line to combat The Main Event Mafia, who recruited Scott Steiner. Styles challenged Sting for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Turning Point and again in an eight-man tag team match at Final Resolution , but was unsuccessful each time. On the January 22, 2009, episode of Impact! , Angle vowed to end Styles' career and later that night beat Styles in
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#17328977502237626-616: The Racket, Christopher Daniels and Dan Maff put Red out of action and Styles picked Homicide as his replacement partner. Styles and Homicide beat The Prophecy, but Styles had to vacate the title due to Red being sidelined by a legitimate injury. After his reign as ROH Tag Team Champion, Styles took Jimmy Rave as his protégé and attempted to become the ROH World Champion, defeating Bryan Danielson at Main Event Spectacles to become
7749-428: The X Division title to Low Ki in a three-way dance also involving Lynn. The following week, he and Lynn fought Jeff Jarrett and Ron Killings to a no contest , and the tag team title was held-up as a result. The following week, he and Lynn fought one another in a Falls Count Anywhere match (which was won by Lynn), a no disqualification match (which was won by Styles) and a ten-minute Iron Man match , which ended in
7872-700: The annual Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 in 2010, the first TNA wrestler to do so, was voted PWI Wrestler of the Year three times between 2016 and 2018, and Wrestler of the Decade in 2020. He also won 10 Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards, including Wrestler of the Year in 2015 and 2016, and was inducted in their Hall of Fame in 2017. Allen Neal Jones was born at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina , on June 2, 1977. He grew up in poverty with an abusive, alcoholic father. The family's poverty
7995-473: The community of Kellumtown. Other displaced families established communities in Georgetown, Pickettown, Bell Fork, and Sandy Run. The latter communities have since been absorbed by Jacksonville. Colonel Gillette had planned to retire near the small village of Marine, ironically named after a local family whose surname was Marine, but lost his land to the acquisition, as well. Construction of Camp Lejeune caused
8118-504: The company overall. Styles made his first televised title defense on the following episode of Impact Wrestling , defeating Ray in a rematch after interference from Mr. Anderson, after which he refused Carter's new contract offer and walked out of TNA with the title. On October 29, TNA vacated the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. On the December 2 taping of Impact Wrestling which aired on January 2, 2014, Styles returned to TNA with his championship to confront Carter and Magnus (who had won
8241-672: The company since its inception"; he won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship twice , the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times , and was the inaugural titleholder of the X Division Championship , which he won six times . He is also the first TNA Triple Crown and Grand Slam champion. Jones simultaneously appeared in Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2002 to 2006, where he became the inaugural ROH Pure Champion . Jones has also wrestled extensively internationally, in promotions such as New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he
8364-488: The finals by Chris Bosh . During his stay in TNA, Styles worked in various Japanese and Mexican promotions due to a partnership with TNA. On September 17, 2006, at Verano de Escándalo , Styles made his debut for Mexican promotion AAA , as part of a cross promotion deal between TNA and AAA. Team TNA (Styles, Homicide, Low Ki, and Samoa Joe) defeated Vipers Revolution ( Abismo Negro , Charly Manson, Electroshock and Histeria) in
8487-515: The first time on January 21, 2005, and after failing to defeat him in ten minutes, qualified for a thirty-minute Iron Man match for the championship at Against All Odds , where Styles defeated Daniels to retain the title after initial tying and going into " sudden death " rules. The feud between Styles and Daniels continued and at Destination X on March 13, Styles lost the title to him in an Ultimate X Challenge also featuring Ron Killings and Elix Skipper. After defeating Abyss at Lockdown to become
8610-434: The following episode of Impact Wrestling , Styles said that he was tired of doing the right thing and that he was going to do his own thing from there on. Beginning in February 2013, TNA began airing videos at Styles' home interviewing his wife, a friend, and even attempting to interview Styles himself before he angrily forced them to leave. Styles, now sporting a beard, unkempt hair, and all-black attire, returned to TNA with
8733-475: The following episode of Impact! , Flair, who had aligned himself with Styles, Desmond Wolfe, Kazarian, Robert Roode and James Storm , announced that he would reform the Four Horsemen under the new name Fourtune , stating that each of them would have to earn their spots in the group. Styles and Kazarian earned their spots by defeating Samoa Joe and Rob Terry due to outside interference from Desmond Wolfe. On
8856-421: The forced removal of Native American tribes was followed by permanent settlement of the regions between New Bern and Wilmington . The New River became a major production center for naval stores like turpentine . The downtown waterfront park is built on the site original site of Wantland's Ferry. In 1752, a devastating hurricane destroyed the county seat of Johnston, and Wantlands Ferry, located further up
8979-477: The independent circuit to keep their ring names (or, in Gargano's case, his real name). Gargano and Ciampa have since signed exclusive WWE contracts. "In-house" WWE wrestlers still use WWE-owned ring names. In rare cases, the rights to a wrestler's ring name may be owned by a company with little or no connection to professional wrestling, such as Marvel Comics ' ownership of the name Hulk Hogan until early 2003, which
9102-436: The ladder rematch the following week to end their feud, but he was later asked to give Angle back his gold medal by Jeff Jarrett in an effort to try to mend things with Angle. At Bound for Glory IV , Styles faced Christian Cage and Booker T in a three-way match in which Booker T won. Shortly after that, Booker T, Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash and Sting formed The Main Event Mafia , and Styles teamed up with Samoa Joe to fight them. On
9225-537: The large military presence. The low age may also be in part due to the population drastically increasing over the past 80 years, from 783 in the 1930 census to 72,723 in the 2020 census . It is the home of the United States Marine Corps ' Camp Lejeune and New River Air Station . Jacksonville is located adjacent to North Carolina's Crystal Coast area. After the end of the Tuscarora wars in 1713 and
9348-520: The military areas are served by Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) schools. Alternative school Elementary schools Middle schools High schools MCAS New River is zoned to Delalio Elementary School in MCAS New River and Brewster Middle School and Lejeune High School in Camp Lejeune. In 2009, the Jacksonville metropolitan statistical area ranked as the ninth-highest in
9471-554: The night, with Shelley winning the tournament for Team International. Styles returned to AAA on December 16, 2011, at Guerra de Titanes , as part of the TNA invasion storyline. He faced El Mesías in a match to earn a shot at the AAA World Heavyweight Championship , but was unsuccessful. On November 3, 2013, Styles would once again return to AAA, this time to successfully defend the TNA World Heavyweight Championship (which had been vacated by TNA just days before) in
9594-464: The number one contender to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, Styles won his third world championship from Jeff Jarrett at Hard Justice , which he lost to Raven in a King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary . Styles then entered the TNA 2005 Super X Cup Tournament , which granted the winner a shot at the X Division Championship. Styles defeated Matt Bentley in the quarter-finals and Petey Williams in
9717-602: The number one contender. At War of the Wire, Styles unsuccessfully challenged Samoa Joe for the title. He then defeated CM Punk , Jimmy Rave, and Matt Stryker in a one-night tournament at the Second Anniversary Show to become the first ROH Pure Wrestling Champion . Styles defeated Punk in a rematch with Ricky Steamboat as the guest referee at At Our Best for his final match for ROH in 2004, as TNA withdrew all of its contracted wrestlers from all ROH events and ROH vacated
9840-578: The prefix "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Numerous boxers have used ring names or nicknames as their mode of identification during their professional boxing careers, particularly during the late 19th century and the early 20th century. The ring name "Kid" was particularly popular, indicating the boxer's comparative youth. Since the mid 20th century, ring names for boxers have typically been less common, although nicknames have become more popular in recent years. Famous examples of boxers who used ring names include: Jacksonville, North Carolina Jacksonville
9963-427: The process. Styles was mysteriously attacked by an anonymous assailant backstage leading him to believe it was Samoa Joe or Christopher Daniels, both of whom he faced the following month at Turning Point to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Styles continued to successfully defend the title against Desmond Wolfe on the December 10 episode of Impact! , against Daniels at Final Resolution , against Angle on
10086-536: The purchase of about 100,000 acres (400 km ) along the eastern bank of the New River. The establishment in 1941 of Marine Barracks, New River, later renamed Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base , led to the relocation of 700 families. While the landowners were compensated, many of the families displaced were sharecroppers who did not own the land on which their houses were built, and did not receive compensation for their structures. Some African American families were able to purchase property from Raymond Kellum and established
10209-690: The quarter-final, defeating Colt Cabana . In the semi-final, he was defeated by Reckless Youth and was eliminated from the tournament. In October, Styles traveled to the UK, debuting in the Frontier Wrestling Alliance (FWA) on October 13, suffering a loss to Jonny Storm in his debut match at FWA: British Uprising. On October 15, Styles was defeated in an FWA British Heavyweight Championship number one contender round-robin challenge three-way match by Doug Williams and Jerry Lynn at FWA: Seasons Beatings. Later that night, Styles defeated Jody Fleisch in
10332-407: The quarter-finals, but later that night would be eliminated by Danny Daniels in the semi-finals. On March 20, 2004, Styles returned to IWC, entering the promotions Super Indy Survivor Showdown tournament. Styles' first match in the tournament was in the semi-finals due to unknown reasons, in which he defeated CM Punk . Later that night, Styles faced IWC Super Indy Champion Colt Cabana in the final in
10455-400: The remainder of the year. In 2003, Styles began focusing on the NWA World Heavyweight Championship when, after defeating David Flair on January 15 to become the number one contender, he recruited the help of Larry Zbyszko and associated himself with Vince Russo 's Sports Entertainment Xtreme (S.E.X.) stable . Styles faced NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett on February 19, but
10578-431: The same episode Hulk Hogan announced a Genesis rematch, where if Flair were to interfere, Styles would be stripped of the title and awarded to Angle. During the match, Angle applied his signature move, the ankle lock , on Styles, who reversed it and applied the same move to Angle, when suddenly referee Earl Hebner , paid off by Flair, called for the bell although Angle did not submit. At Against All Odds , Styles retained
10701-464: The same round-robin challenge. On November 1, Styles debuted in IWA: Mid-South , taking part in the promotions annual Ted Petty Invitational tournament, but was defeated by Christopher Daniels in the first round. Styles debuted in Ring of Honor (ROH) at its third show, 2002's A Night of Appreciation, and quickly became a main eventer (e.g., performing in main event matches against Low Ki for
10824-517: The semi-final match on the November 9 Impact! but was pinned in the finals by Abyss. On the November 16 episode of Impact! , Styles lost the X Division Championship to Daniels in a three-way match when Daniels scored the roll-up pinfall on Sabin. At Genesis , Styles lost to Christian Cage , which Styles blamed on Daniels, who had tried to intervene on his behalf. Styles would then turn heel and feuded with Rhino for attempting to reconcile him with Daniels and at Turning Point he beat Rhino, and on
10947-425: The semi-finals, as well as defeating Bryan Danielson and Samoa Joe in the final to win the 2004 Ted Petty Invitational. On October 21, Styles won the vacant IWA: Mid-South Heavyweight Championship, defeating Chris Sabin, Christopher Daniels, and Petey Williams in a four-way dance match. Two days later on October 23, Styles lost the title to CM Punk. On April 1, 2005, Styles returned to PWG, defeating Samoa Joe in
11070-423: The semi-finals, but lost to Samoa Joe at Sacrifice . As Christopher Daniels (the reigning X Division champion) had interfered in the match, TNA Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko added Styles to the resultant title bout. At Unbreakable , Styles defeated Samoa Joe and Daniels in a critically lauded three-way match to become the X Division Champion for a fifth time. At Bound for Glory , Styles successfully defended
11193-606: The stipulation that the loser could no longer use the Rave / Styles Clash in Ring of Honor. At This Means War, he defeated Generation Next leader Austin Aries , who was attacked by The Embassy following the show. At Vendetta, Styles had his final match against The Embassy when he, along with Austin Aries, Jack Evans and Matt Sydal were defeated by Abyss , Alex Shelley , Jimmy Rave, and Prince Nana in an eight-man tag match . Following his feud with The Embassy, Styles set his sights on winning
11316-501: The sudden-death tie-breaker on the following Impact Wrestling . During the following episodes of Impact Wrestling , Styles and Kazarian, the last two members of Fortune, made it to the finals of the Wild Card Tournament . During the final match against Magnus and Samoa Joe on the January 5, 2012, episode of Impact Wrestling , Kazarian abandoned Styles and aligned himself with Christopher Daniels, effectively ending Fortune. On
11439-567: The tag team title, Styles received a shot at the ROH World Championship when he was handpicked by Bryan Danielson, but he was unsuccessful. At the Fourth Anniversary Show, Styles and Sydal received their shot at the ROH Tag Team Championship, but were unable to defeat the champions. After an absence, Styles returned at Death Before Dishonor IV, defeating Davey Richards . Styles returned at Time to Man Up, losing to Samoa Joe. In
11562-513: The taping of Raw. Styles won with a Shooting Star Press but was not offered a contract. Styles made two more appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 2002: on the January 26 episode of Metal (taped on January 21), in a losing effort against The Hurricane , and a dark match before the January 27 episode of SmackDown! (taped on January 22), where he was defeated by Rico Constantino . After these matches, WWF offered Styles
11685-440: The third man (after Brock Lesnar and Angle) to be both IWGP and WWE Champion. Jones has been thought of as a pillar of the wrestling industry for over two decades, being respected by fans and co-workers, and is considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. He has headlined numerous pay-per-view events, including the respective premier events of WWE and TNA, WrestleMania and Bound for Glory . He ranked atop
11808-646: The title against D'Angelo Dinero in a steel cage match. The following day on Impact! , Styles dropped the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to Rob Van Dam , ending his reign at a then-record 211 days. Styles faced Van Dam in a rematch at Sacrifice , but was defeated again. With these shortcomings, Flair adopted Kazarian as his newest protégé, thus causing Styles to become jealous and tried to impress his mentor, but after failing to defeat Jay Lethal , Flair ordered him to "go home". At Slammiversary VIII , Styles attempted to win Flair back by defeating Lethal, but lost again. On
11931-410: The title against Christopher Daniels in the second thirty-minute Iron Man. The following month at Genesis , Styles successfully defended the title against Petey Williams. Styles then started a feud with Joe, claiming that he had broken the unwritten "code of the X Division" by brutally beating Daniels. At Turning Point , Styles lost the X Division Championship to Joe. Styles was unsuccessful in retaining
12054-429: The title against Samoa Joe, with help from Flair, in a match refereed by Eric Bischoff . On the March 8 episode of Impact! , Styles teamed up with Ric Flair in a tag team match , in a losing effort against Abyss and Hulk Hogan. Styles defended the title against Abyss at Destination X in a match that went to no contest after Abyss hit Styles with a chokeslam through the ring. At Lockdown , Styles successfully defended
12177-704: The title in a triple threat match, also featuring Daniels, at Against All Odds , and in an Ultimate X match at Destination X , which Daniels won. After Daniels lost the title back to Joe, Styles joined Daniels to challenge America's Most Wanted for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. After losing to America's Most Wanted in title matches on two occasions, Styles and Daniels won the NWA World Tag Team Championship at Slammiversary . They successfully retained against The Latin American Xchange (Homicide and Hernandez ) (LAX) at Hard Justice , only to lose
12300-586: The title to them in a Border Brawl on the August 24 episode of Impact! . They regained the title at No Surrender , but dropped them back to LAX at Bound for Glory in a Six Sides of Steel match. On the November 2 episode of Impact! , Styles pinned Chris Sabin to begin his sixth reign as the new X Division Champion. The match was also the quarter-finals of the Fight for the Right tournament for number one contendership to Sting's NWA World Heavyweight Championship; Styles won
12423-698: The title, but again was unsuccessful. On April 12, Styles debuted in Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), competing at the promotions 3rd Best of the Best event. Styles teamed with Jason Cross to face Jay Briscoe and Jimmy Rave, in a losing effort. On July 20, at CZW: Deja Vu II, Styles successfully defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Rave. On September 12, Styles debuted in Maximum Pro Wrestling (MXPW), successfully challenging MXPW Television Champion Chris Sabin and Christopher Daniels in
12546-660: The title. Styles returned to Ring of Honor at the Third Anniversary Celebration: Part Two to wrestle Jimmy Rave, who accused him of stealing the Styles Clash (which he called the Rave Clash ) from him, though he was unsuccessful in defeating Rave. During his feud with Rave and The Embassy , Styles formed an alliance with Generation Next , who were also feuding with The Embassy. At Glory by Honor IV, Styles defeated Rave with Mick Foley in his corner, with
12669-451: The title. On April 13, Styles defended the title in a rematch against Hentai, but the match ended in a no contest, meaning Styles retained the title. On May 10, Styles vacated the title. On August 23, Styles unsuccessfully challenged the new Super Indy Champion Colt Cabana after the match ended at a twenty-minute time limit draw, meaning Cabana retained the title. On December 12 at IWC: Call to Arms, Styles would once again challenge Cabana for
12792-422: The top employers in the city are: The mayor of Jacksonville is Sammy Phillips. The city manager is Joshua W Ray, and the deputy city manager is Ron Massey. The postmaster of Jacksonville is Jamie Thompson. The Jacksonville City Council members (as of 2024) are: Onslow County Schools serves the city, except for areas on U.S. military bases, including Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River ;
12915-530: The two duos were on opposing teams in the annual Lethal Lockdown match. On the May 10 episode of Impact Wrestling , Kazarian revealed that he originally aligned himself with Daniels to keep him from revealing Styles' secret, but changed his mind after learning what the secret was, at which point Daniels revealed a series of photographs insinuating a relationship between Styles and TNA president Dixie Carter . At Sacrifice , Daniels and Kazarian cost Styles his match against Kurt Angle, who nonetheless saved Styles from
13038-562: The world championship. Over the next few weeks, Styles struggled to choose between aligning Cage and Angle, until he joined The Angle Alliance at Final Resolution . In February 2008, Styles was involved in a storyline in which he became accidentally married to Karen Angle . Meanwhile, Styles and Tomko lost the TNA World Tag Team Championship to Kaz and Super Eric . With Kurt constantly accusing Styles and Karen of an affair and both denying anything beyond friendship, Styles quit The Angle Alliance. In retaliation, Tomko cost Styles his King of
13161-455: The wrestler's gimmick changes, either subtly or dramatically. After debuting in WWE as the " Connecticut Blueblood " Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Paul Levesque's character later morphed into Triple H . A more drastic change sometimes occurs when a wrestler turns heroic or villainous , such as when Hulk Hogan joined the villainous nWo (New World Order) and became "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. His new attitude
13284-423: Was 3.8 In the city, the population was distributed as 24.3% under 18, 36.3% from 18 to 24, 25.9% from 25 to 44, 8.8% from 45 to 64, and 4.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 22 years. Jacksonville has been named the youngest city in the nation (lowest median age) on various lists. For every 100 females, there were 156.2 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 178.6 males. The median income for
13407-474: Was defeated by Angle in a singles match, but he defeated him in a rematch to earn the final spot in the 2013 Bound for Glory Series . Throughout the following weeks, Styles participated in the Bound For Glory Series, winning the tournament and becoming the number one contender for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Bound for Glory . The following week on Impact Wrestling , Styles claimed that he
13530-400: Was defeated. In the course of the match, Styles became a fan favorite , attacking S.E.X. as they tried to interfere on his behalf because he did not want to win in that manner. Styles briefly teamed with D'Lo Brown , but disbanded for their world title aspirations, challenging each other on June 4 in a number one contenders match which was won by Styles. Styles defeated Jarrett and Raven in
13653-596: Was due to Hogan being advertised as " The Incredible Hulk Hogan" early in his career, while Marvel owned the trademark for their comic book character. Sometimes, a wrestler will buy the rights to their own ring name; for example, Steve Borden owns the rights to the name Sting and licenses it to the musician of the same name . The wrestler formerly known as Test took this one step further and legally changed his name to "Andrew Test Martin". Jim Hellwig, known as The Ultimate Warrior , had his name legally changed to simply "Warrior". In many cases, ring names evolve over time as
13776-595: Was enhanced by changing his costume color scheme from his famous red and yellow to nWo's black and white. Steve Williams adopted the ring name Steve Austin to avoid confusion with the then-more established performer "Dr. Death" Steve Williams . Austin would wrestle under that name for several years before signing with the WWF and being given the name "the Ringmaster". This gimmick failed to catch on, and Austin reverted to his established name, reaching his greatest level of success with
13899-420: Was interrupted by Kash and Dallas. On July 28, he defended the title against Kazarian and Michael Shane in an Ultimate X match . After Kash struck Styles with a crutch , Shane and Kazarian simultaneously retrieved the title belt and became co-X Division Champions. After several abortive attempts to regain the title, Styles fought Kash in a number of matches, culminating on September 8 in a tables match which
14022-452: Was no longer under contract with TNA and insulted Dixie Carter, who responded by saying that Styles was not a great wrestler. In the weeks leading up to Bound for Glory, Styles continued to appear on Impact Wrestling , despite not having a contract with the company, but he would defeat Bully Ray at Bound for Glory, despite interference from Aces & Eights and Carter, to win his second TNA World Heavyweight Championship and fifth world title in
14145-416: Was on a wrestling scholarship , and studying physical education. He was then invited by some of his friends to try professional wrestling. He entered a professional wrestling school because his friends were doing it and to find out whether he had a natural aptitude for it. To supplement his income, he worked by mowing lawns and driving an ambulance. Jones was trained by Rick Michaels and debuted in 1998. In
14268-403: Was pinned by James Storm in a three-way number one contender's match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Turning Point , also involving Bobby Roode, preventing him from receiving another title opportunity until Bound for Glory 2013 as per the pre-match stipulation. On December 9 at Final Resolution , Styles was defeated by Christopher Daniels in what was billed as their "final match". On
14391-492: Was renamed A.J. Styles. He appeared sporadically even after signing with NWA-TNA, and is a former NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion , having defeated Rick Michaels for the title on December 22, 2001, at Christmas Chaos. Atlanta -based World Championship Wrestling (WCW) had observed Styles' and Air Paris ' program in NWA Wildside and offered each a contract in early 2001. Styles (renamed Air Styles) and Paris were placed in
14514-479: Was reported that contract negotiations between Styles and TNA had broken down and that Styles would be leaving the promotion, becoming a free agent effective December 17 and ending his near twelve-year association with the company. According to Styles he left the promotion since they made him an offer which reduced his salary about 60%. On March 14, Styles returned to International Wrestling Cartel (IWC) and successfully challenged IWC Super Indy Champion Super Hentai for
14637-412: Was revealed that Claire was not pregnant after all and her attorney revealed Daniels' and Kazarian's plot to blackmail Styles. On the August 30 episode of Impact Wrestling , Styles was eliminated in the 2012 Bound for Glory Series after losing to Samoa Joe. At No Surrender and Bound for Glory , Styles and Angle unsuccessfully challenged Daniels and Kazarian for the TNA World Tag Team Championship. Styles
14760-570: Was such that they could not afford cable television, which resulted in Jones being unable to watch professional wrestling, his childhood passion. He attended Johnson High School in Gainesville, Georgia , graduating in the class of 1996. Jones took up amateur wrestling in high school and became a two-time state wrestling champion. Jones then attended Anderson University in Anderson, South Carolina , where he
14883-489: Was unsuccessful after Samoa Joe turned on The Front Line and helped Angle win. Nash won Styles' Legends Championship at Victory Road . Following the loss, Styles began a "Best of Three Series" against Matt Morgan for entry into the TNA World Heavyweight Championship match with Sting and Angle at Hard Justice , which saw Styles winning the first match, but losing the following two, resulting in Morgan advancing to Hard Justice. On
15006-518: Was unsuccessful in winning the title. Later that night, Styles defeated Josh Mathews in a match taped for XWF television. The following night, Styles was defeated by Daniels, again in a match taped for the XWF television program. Styles debuted for Australian promotion World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) on February 24, 2002, making his pay-per-view debut at The Revolution against Christopher Daniels, Low Ki , Shark Boy , Super Nova and Tony Mamaluke in
15129-464: Was won by Styles. In October, Styles began feuding with Petey Williams (who by then was the TNA X Division Champion) and on November 7 at Victory Road , the first monthly pay-per-view event held by TNA, Styles failed to regain the title from Williams. At Final Resolution , Styles won the X Division Championship for a fourth time in an Ultimate X match, defeating Chris Sabin and the reigning champion Petey Williams. Styles faced Christopher Daniels for
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