WWE Hall of Famer AJ Styles has looked back on his career and why SmackDown was his preferred brand to be a part of.
Throughout his decade-long stint in WWE, Styles was an integral part of both main roster brands. Although Styles was predominantly on Raw towards the end of his time in the ring, it was SmackDown where he first made a lasting impression. Additionally, Styles won both of his WWE Championships while a part of the blue brand.
Speaking on his Phenomenally Retro podcast, Styles noted that the shortened runtime was a better experience for him and the fans:
“Well, you know, for the longest time, SmackDown was two hours while Raw was three. So I would rather be on SmackDown because 3 hours is a lot to sit through, I think. So they’re pretty tired after 3 hours. Two was perfect. Two hours was a perfect amount. You weren’t like… I felt like at Raw you were [in a] hurry up and waiting kind of thing. It was like, I’m ready but we still got an hour before you’re going on. Because it was so long, SmackDown was like, ‘Oh gosh, we’re already about to go out.’ You kind of want that. You don’t want to be waiting all night to do your job. So I’d prefer SmackDown at the time because of the hours. But then we get to Netflix and you’re not going as long as you used to.”
In recent times, SmackDown has been extended to 3 hours, while Raw has been condensed following the move to Netflix. Although there is no set runtime for Raw now that it is on the streaming service, the average show length is around 2 and a half hours.
AJ Styles Became The Face Of SmackDown
Shortly after Styles made his shock WWE debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble, WWE held a draft to split the rosters. Selected 4th overall, Styles was in the middle of a feud with John Cena at this point, which led to a match between the 2 at SummerSlam. Continuing his rise to the top of the card, Styles defeated Cena clean. Later in the year, Styles defeated Dean Ambrose to win the WWE Championship for the first time in his career.
Playing off John Cena’s “face that runs the place” catchphrase, Styles proclaimed himself to be “the champ that runs the camp.” Also competing at multiple WrestleManias throughout his WWE tenure, Styles recently named his favourite match on The Grandest Stage.
H/t to Fightful for the use of transcription.
Featured image: WWE
