On Monday night, WWE pulled out all of the stops to pay tribute to the extraordinary two-decade-long professional wrestling career of AJ Styles. To do so, they brought in former and current wrestlers with whom Styles shared important moments. While these wrestlers were only seen in backstage segments and without audio, their presence was still felt, including at the end of the night on the stage. Below is the full list of wrestlers who appeared during AJ Styles’ WWE Raw tribute show and what their connections to Styles were.
List of Wrestlers, Promotions, and Connections to AJ Styles
Bullet Club is 4 Lyfe – Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, and Michin
On Monday, former Bullet Club members Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa (now the MFT), Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson were on hand to share a moment in the back along with Michin, who spent time with the Good Brothers and Styles during their run as the OC. Also seen in a pre-recorded video dedicated to Styles was Finn Balor. Cody Rhodes didn’t get a chance to say much before he was interrupted at the beginning of the show, but he was also present. That’s three former Bullet Club leaders and all seven former members who were in the house in Atlanta on Monday.
The Bullet Club has left an incredible legacy in wrestling, and its members are spread throughout the industry. The club still maintains a strong presence in NJPW, with additional arms or subsets having existed in Ring of Honor, AEW, WWE, and even briefly in TNA. Styles oversaw many of those variations following his run as Bullet Club leader from 2015 – 2016, ROH leader from 2014 to 2016, and, of course, leader of WWE’s The Club between 2016 and 2019 and the OC between 2019 – 2020 and again between 2022 and 2025.
Styles shared numerous battles both with and against Tonga, Loa, Gallows, and Anderson over the years, and as the Good Brothers said recently, Styles’ retirement wouldn’t have been complete without their return. Styles himself acknowledged them at the end of the night, noting they taught him that wrestling didn’t have to be serious all the time. Together, they traveled up and down the world, establishing a bond far beyond the ring.
Total Nonstop AJ Styles – Abyss, Petey Williams, Jeremy Borash, Frankie Kazarian, and Bobby Roode
AJ Styles spent 12 incredible years with TNA Wrestling. There, he shared a ring with some amazing talents, all the while revolutionizing what it meant to be a cruiserweight wrestler. Styles participated in the company’s X-Division, where the motto was, “It’s not about weight limits, it’s about no limits.” No one embodied that more than Styles.
Abyss
In TNA, Styles battled Abyss, now WWE producer Joseph Parks, in a series of matches between 2003 and 2011. They even teamed up in their early careers, successfully winning the NWA World Tag Team Championship in 2004. Less than a month later, however, the team was broken as Abyss defeated Styles in a match to claim both tag titles. This led to a feud that featured a falls count anywhere match, tables match, and various world heavyweight #1 contender’s bouts. The two wrestled each other in various indies before bringing their feud back to TNA in 2010 for the world heavyweight championship. The two wrestled their final one-on-one that same year in Abyss’ specialty, Monster’s Ball. Styles’ Fourtune and Abyss’ Immortal battled a few times in 2011, with their final match ever taking place in December of that year.
Petey Williams
Another former TNA wrestler turned WWE road agent/producer is Petey Williams, with whom AJ Styles shared a ring 26 times between 2004 and 2009. Their first meeting took place in the Midwest indies in 2004, with their first singles contest taking place later that year at Victory Road with Williams’ X-Division title on the line. Styles lost but would win the title in Ultimate X to kick off 2005 in a match that also included Chris Sabin. Styles and Williams would battle for various titles over the years, including the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in a best two out of three falls match, BCW Can-Am Television Championship, CWE Heavyweight Title, NWA World Tag Team Championship, and again for the X-Division Championship. Their final match came in 2009 at PTW Wrath. Earlier that year, Williams had teamed with Styles and Christian Cage at NJPW WrestleKingdom II against the team of RISE, which featured Balor, aka Prince Devitt.
Bobby Roode
The only wrestler to hold the distinction of wrestling alongside AJ Styles in both TNA and WWE is the one and only Glorious One, Bobby Roode. From 2004 to 2021, Styles and Roode shared a ring 70 times, with most of those taking place in TNA but a handful in WWE as well. Their final meeting took place in the 2022 Royal Rumble. Their first match took place 13 years earlier, as Styles and D-Lo Brown battled Roode’s Team Canada in a dark match as well. Their first singles match and also first televised match occurred two months later for an Xplosion taping. Roode and Styles fought over the TNA World Heavyweight Championship multiple times, perhaps most notably in an iron man match at Final Resolution in 2011. Their first WWE match took place in 2017 on 205 Live. While the two wrestled against each other in multi-man and tag team action, they never had a singles match in WWE.
Frankie Kazarian
Frankie Kazarian and AJ Styles only shared a ring 86 times, as there is perhaps no wrestler whose history goes back with Styles as far as Kazarian. The two have known each other since 2003, when they met in TNA. In fact, their first-ever match came in the summer of that year when Styles defeated Kazarian to retain his NWA World Heavyweight Championship. The two would have their rematch a few weeks later for PWG’s first-ever show. At the indie giant’s second anniversary show, Styles and Kazarian battled to a double countout for Styles’ PWG Championship. Kazarian got a modicum of revenge when he defeated Styles and Teddy Hart in a match for Hart’s JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship. The two wrestled head-to-head at Against All Odds in 2012 and again at Slammiversary X when Styles teamed with Kurt Angle to defeat Kazarian and Christopher Daniels for the TNA World Tag Team Championship, though the duo would regain them a few months later.
The final match for the two came in 2015 at Ring of Honor’s 200th episode when Styles teamed with Samoa Joe against Kazarian and Daniels. It’s fitting because Joe was one of Styles’ all-time rivals in TNA, whereas Kazarian and Daniels were his faction mates in Fortune. With Fortune, Styles and Kazarian were frequent tag team partners before their association ended in 2012, as Styles was kicked out of the group. Their battles afterwards were numerous.
Rivalries Worth Repeating – CM Punk and Shinsuke Nakamura
CM Punk
CM Punk may not have been one of AJ Styles’ great rivals, but he’s certainly one of his oldest. These two have known each other since they first met on the Midwest indies in 2002 in an IWC World Heavyweight Championship triple threat #1 contendership that also featured Christopher Daniels. For the next two years, Styles and Punk enjoyed a series of battles, mostly in ROH but also in the Midwest indies. Their first singles match took place at ROH Tradition Continues. A year later, they wrestled with Punk’s Pure Wrestling Championship on the line. Styles won the match and successfully defended the title against Punk a month later. The two also vied for the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship, with Punk defeating Styles this time to claim the belt. They wrestled a few more times that year, including what had long stood as their last singles match in December at IWC A Call to Arms 2.
In WWE, Punk and Styles met three times total, the first of which was during last year’s Royal Rumble. The second was a qualifying triple threat for Money in the Bank that summer, and their third was Styles’ last televised match. They battled for Punk’s WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a match that was cut short by Finn Balor’s interference.
Shinsuke Nakamura
And then there is Shinsuke Nakamura. Of the wrestlers present in support of Styles tonight, no one has shared the ring with him more than Nakamura. The two have taken part in 86 matches between 2008 and 2026. The journey began in NJPW when Kurt Angle and Nakamura faced off against Styles and Hiroshi Tanahashi at the G1 Climax. Their first singles match, however, wouldn’t take place until eight years later at Wrestle Kingdom 10, when Nakamura defended his IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Styles. The match stole the show, finishing second in star rating to only the world title match of Kazuchika Okada against Tanahashi.
Despite just having the one singles match in Japan, WWE decided to renew their rivalry in 2018 after a brief tag team run. Styles and Nakamura got their rematch on WWE’s biggest stage, WrestleMania 34, and while the bout failed to live up to their Wrestle Kingdom showdown, it led to a multi-PLE feud. Styles and Nakamura competed for Styles’ WWE title again at the Greatest Royal Rumble in April, Backlash in May, Money in the Bank in June (in a last man standing bout), and various episodes of SmackDown in between. The two battled again in 2019 as part of a SmackDown vs Raw vs NXT match at Survivor Series that was won by NXT’s Roderick Strong. Their final showdown took place at Saturday Night’s Main Event in January, which was one of Styles’ last matches. Nakamura has expressed multiple times his unique kinship with Styles, dating back from their time in Japan to their time in the States. In a pre-recorded clip aired on Monday, Nakamura said he misses his friend already.
Tag Team Mentorship – AJ Styles and Omos
Also returning to WWE after taking part in a tour of Japan through Pro Wrestling NOAH was Omos, Styles’ former tag team partner. Styles and Omos wrestled their first-ever match together when they decided to pair up and take on the New Day for the titles at WrestleMania 37. Omos was presented as Styles’ bodyguard/protege, and together, they defeated New Day to claim the belts. The two successfully defended the titles through August, losing them to RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Matt Riddle) at SummerSlam. They received a rematch at Crown Jewel but were unsuccessful. That said, Omos and Styles remained a team through the end of the year.
