Seth Rollins Recalls An AJ Styles Story That Taught Him About Paying It Forward

Seth Rollins recalls a story about AJ Styles from early on in his career that he says instilled in him the mindset to make sure to pay it forward.

Seth Rollins and AJ Styles are veterans of the Ring. Long before they got to WWE, then-Tyler Black met AJ Styles at an independent wrestling show back when he was not even 20 years old yet. It was a strong match in front of Seth’s family and friends. Something that meant a lot to him.

Speaking to Sportskeeda, Seth Rollins tells a story of AJ Styles picking up the meal tab the next night and being very gracious to him as a veteran of the squared circle.

“The town was about a 5-hour drive, Maybe 6-hour drive away from where I was. And Obviously, AJ was a star, so obviously, the promoter got him a flight. My partner and I, we had driven. We were on the same show, we didn’t interact on the show at all. But we went to eat dinner with a big group later that night and AJ picked up our meal tab. Because he knew that we were young guys just trying to make it in the industry and he still paid for our food when he didn’t have to. I told him thank you. ‘Anything you need, we’ll be there for you’ and stuff and he just told us to pass it on.”

Rollins concluded, “So, that’s something that stuck with me when I was a young man and something that I try to do as I’ve moved into the next phases of my career is pass along the goodwill to the next generation.”

Lately, Rollins has been working with the next generation of WWE superstars, including the son of Rey Mysterio.

Tonight’s WWE Clash of Champions event is a rare pay-per-view night off for “The Monday Night Messiah,” who has consistently been at the top of every WWE card for several years now. AJ Styles, however, looks to regain the WWE Intercontinental Championship in a Ladder Match against Jeff Hardy and Sami Zayn.

Fightful’s live coverage of WWE Clash of Champions will begin tonight at 6 p.m. Eastern.