AJ Styles made history last night, winning the WWE World title and becoming the first person to hold the WWE, TNA, NWA, and IWGP Heavyweight titles during his wrestling career.
Styles won the WWE title 9 months after arriving from New Japan Pro Wrestling. He debuted at the Royal Rumble just a few months after he and fellow Bullet Club members Gallows and Anderson reportedly agreed to go to TNA. That deal fell through and all three eventually made their way to WWE.
AJ had a phenomenal year in the WWE, first feuding with Chris Jericho which led to a match at WrestleMania 32. He lost the match however the next night he became the number one contender for the WWE title on Raw. His quest for the title, at Payback and Extreme Rules, proved unsuccessful and then he moved to a program with John Cena.
Styles turned heel after attacking Cena, who was just making his return to WWE. The two went on to have two amazing matches, one at Money In The Bank and one at SummerSlam, both of which Styles won.
After Dolph Ziggler finished his program with Ambrose at SummerSlam, Styles emerged as the number one contender for the title and won it last night.
When Styles made his way to WWE, many wondered if the powers that be would be giving Styles, a former champion of rival TNA, a run with the title since he was never a product of WWE. The doubters were proven wrong yesterday as the former TNA champion now holds the industry’s biggest prize.