Christopher Daniels has shared a personal look back at the beginning of his lengthy professional connection with AJ Styles, saying he recognized the future star’s potential from the very first time they wrestled. Their paths would go on to cross repeatedly in matches and tag teams around the world, but Daniels identified an early NWA encounter as the moment he realized Styles was headed toward something special.
Daniels and Styles are two performers whose careers became closely intertwined over many years in the ring. They worked opposite one another and alongside one another, building a history that extended beyond a single promotion or a brief program. For Daniels, that history began before TNA existed, at the NWA’s 53rd anniversary show and tournament.
Speaking in a new interview with Going Ringside, Daniels was asked to share stories about Styles. His response made clear that his memories of working with Styles are overwhelmingly positive, rooted in the consistency of their chemistry and the number of opportunities they had to share a ring.
“All good AJ Styles stories, man. Every time I got to wrestle him was a pleasure. I wrestled him all around the world. I tagged with him all around the world.”
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That statement captures the unusual breadth of their association. Some wrestling rivalries are remembered for one defining series of matches, while some partnerships are built around a particular tag-team run. Daniels and Styles had both dynamics available to them. They could meet as opponents with an established understanding of each other’s styles, or they could bring that familiarity to the same side of a match as partners.
The fact that Daniels points to both roles is important. A wrestler can have a strong rivalry with an opponent without necessarily being an equally natural fit as a teammate. Daniels’ comments suggest that the relationship he and Styles developed in the ring was adaptable. Their shared experience could serve matches in more than one way, whether the focus was competition between the two men or cooperation in a tag-team setting.
Before TNA, Daniels Saw A Standout Talent
While their later work made their connection familiar to many fans, Daniels said his first impression of Styles came at the NWA tournament connected to the promotion’s 53rd anniversary show. That match took place before the formation of TNA, making it a key point in Daniels’ recollection of Styles’ rise.
“I saw greatness in him early on. Before TNA was a thing, I got to wrestle him at the NWA tournament, 53rd anniversary show. That was the first time I ever wrestled him. You could tell that day that he was going to be something special.”
Daniels did not frame that observation as a conclusion reached only after Styles had built an acclaimed career. Instead, he described it as something apparent during their initial meeting. In an industry where potential is often discussed after a performer has already achieved success, Daniels’ memory places Styles’ standout qualities at the very beginning of their professional relationship.
The wording also reflects the perspective of someone who was in the ring with Styles rather than simply watching from a distance. Daniels’ assessment came from directly working with him in a match, an experience that gave him a close view of the instincts and ability that he believed separated Styles from others.
That early recognition became more significant once both men were part of TNA from its formative period. Styles was present from the beginning of the company, while Daniels would become one of the notable names associated with its in-ring identity. Their respective places in TNA meant that the promise Daniels saw before the promotion’s launch was followed by many further opportunities to work together.
A Rapid Rise To The Top In TNA
Daniels specifically highlighted how quickly Styles rose after TNA began. In his view, Styles becoming world champion almost within the company’s first year marked the opening stage of a career worthy of Hall of Fame recognition.
“Once TNA started, he was there from the very beginning, and he became world champion almost within the first year, and I feel like that was the beginning of a career that’s Hall of Fame worthy.”
The comments connect Styles’ early championship success to the larger legacy Daniels believes he established over time. Daniels did not present the title win as an isolated accomplishment. Rather, he viewed it as an early indicator of where Styles’ career was going and as the first major chapter in a body of work that he considers Hall of Fame caliber.
Styles’ presence at the beginning of TNA is central to that assessment. Launch-era performers carry a distinct responsibility in any new promotion, particularly when its identity is still being formed. Daniels’ recollection emphasizes that Styles was not merely a later addition who arrived after the foundation was in place. He was there from the start, then quickly reached the world-title level.
For Daniels, that sequence appears to reinforce what he saw in their first meeting at the NWA event. The talent was evident before TNA. The platform arrived with TNA’s creation. Styles then capitalized on that opportunity at a rapid pace, beginning the journey Daniels now places in Hall of Fame terms.
A Career Defined By Repeated Crossings
Daniels’ recollections are also a reminder that career-defining wrestling relationships can develop over long periods without being limited to one label. He said he wrestled Styles and teamed with Styles around the world. That international scope gives their history a dimension beyond the early NWA tournament and their time connected to TNA.
Those repeated encounters can create a rare degree of trust between performers. Daniels did not elaborate on specific matches or tag-team bouts in this interview, but his description of every chance to wrestle Styles as “a pleasure” speaks to the value he placed on their work together. It is a concise endorsement from a veteran reflecting on a peer with whom he shared many rings and many different circumstances.
There is also a notable sense of continuity in Daniels’ account. He remembers Styles before TNA, then remembers him as a foundational figure once TNA started, and finally looks across the full arc of a career that took them around the world. The story is not simply that two wrestlers had a memorable rivalry. It is that Daniels witnessed Styles’ development from an early encounter through the major accomplishments that followed.
That perspective carries additional weight following Styles’ retirement from professional wrestling earlier this year. With both Daniels and Styles retired from full-time in-ring competition, Daniels’ remarks serve as a reflection on a connection that was built through direct competition, partnership, and years of shared professional experience.
Daniels’ Hall Of Fame View
Daniels has already publicly paid tribute to Styles’ in-ring career following Styles’ retirement earlier in 2026. His newest comments add more detail to that admiration by identifying the exact period when he first became convinced Styles had uncommon potential.
Calling a career Hall of Fame worthy is a substantial statement, especially when it comes from someone who encountered that talent before the larger achievements were secured. Daniels is not only celebrating the finished résumé in retrospect. He is saying that the signs were present on the day they first wrestled, before TNA had even become part of the wrestling landscape.
The lasting theme in Daniels’ reflection is simple: AJ Styles made an immediate impression, then repeatedly lived up to it. From their first NWA tournament match to their extensive work as opponents and teammates around the world, Daniels saw a performer whose ability made every shared-ring opportunity worthwhile. In his eyes, Styles’ quick ascent as an early TNA world champion was only the beginning of the Hall of Fame-level career he would ultimately build.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.