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Gabe Sapolsky, who booked AJ Styles in Ring of Honor, paid tribute to him on Twitter following Raw last night, writing:
"Amazing moment with AJ Styles retiring and going into the Hall Of Fame. So incredible and man do I feel old but younger than ever at the same time. A little stream of consciousness here so bear with me. This being more meaningful to me on the anniversary of the 1st ROH show….
AJ wasn’t on the 1st ROH show, but it was a given he would come to ROH after seeing him on NWA Wildside on Channel 48 late night in Philly. AJ, an unknown in the Northeast, drove Atlanta to Philly to join the ROH roster in 2002….
He even turned down a plane ticket to drive so other NWA Wildside talent could jump in the car and get an opportunity in ROH. His matches in early ROH were so important to giving ROH its identity and making ROH special….
Immediately coming to mind are his matches against Low Ki, teaming with Amazing Red vs. Briscoes in truly futuristic tag matches that still hold up, my personal favorite vs. Paul London in Boston, Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, Homicide and so many others. He was a MVP….
Still, even with all of that, it was doubtful he’d ever make it to WWE. Crazy to say that now, but it looked like an impossible dream in the early/mid 2000s. Then came that Royal Rumble…
It was the same weekend that Triple H showed up at Evolve and we took my profile pic. He invited Sal and I to the Rumble, so we went. I’ll always remember the pop for AJ’s surprise debut as one of the loudest I’ve heard….
Such a special time that led to everything that is happening today. Congrats on a hall of fame career, AJ. Thank you for giving us countless outstanding matches for decades, an unmatched body of work….
My most heartfelt and deepest “thank you” for being a pleasure to work with, a true professional in the locker room and a credit to our industry. You helped my career immeasurably and I will always be grateful….
It took 14 years after his ROH debut for AJ to make it to WWE. Now here we are with a generational performer about to go into the hall of fame. A reminder we are all running our own marathon and dreams can come true. I feel very lucky to have been able to witness AJ’s career."
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