The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. It was certainly not the first time he had done a live interview, but he was nervous. This was something that he knew came with the territory of being a big time superstar in the EBWF. Jimmy Fallon was a comedian and Styles was sometime the casual on screen funny man himself, but tonight he felt more serious than usual. Styles stood backstage wearing one of the cheapest outfits he had ever purchased, awaiting his cue. His hair was messy. His mouth was dry. After a few moments Styles could hear his name being called by the host, Jimmy Fallon. Now being giving directions from the stage hands. AJ Styles stepped from behind the curtain and was welcomed in a very warm way by the studio audience. After a quick handshake they took their seats and Jimmy began to speak in a conversational tone.

Jimmy Fallon: The one and only AJ Styles! How’s it going man? Where is that lovely girlfriend of yours? You and Ronda Rousey still a thing? Right?

AJ Styles: I’m doing pretty good, Fallon. You jump straight to the hard hitting question, don't you?

Jimmy Fallon: Inquiring minds wish to know.

AJ Styles: Let me ask you a question. Who do you think can hit you harder? Me or my girlfriend?

Styles let out a slight giggle while giving Fallon a gentle punch in the arm which seemed to be too much for the comedian to take.

Jimmy Fallon: Ouch! Wait! I think you answered that question for everyone. I definitely don't wanna have anything to do with getting hit.

Fallon let out a slight smile as he scooted a few inches away from The Phenomenal One. The studio audience could be heard laughing at the expression on the host’s face.

Jimmy Fallon: Now let’s talk about EBWF for a minute. This weekend you all will be in Houston, Texas for a pay per view event.

AJ Styles: That's right, Destiny.

Jimmy Fallon: It might just be!

AJ Styles: No, Jimmy. That's the name of it. Destiny.

Jimmy Fallon: Oh. Excuse me; Destiny. We're talking video games. I play a little bit myself. What level are you?

More laughs came from the studio audience.

AJ Styles: The pay per view is called EBWF Destiny, dude.

Fallon played it off like it was no big deal looking at the paper in front of him.

Jimmy Fallon: With that being said, I see that you are scheduled to face off against current reigning World Champion, Chris Jericho. Your thoughts?

AJ Styles: Well, in case anyone is new to the product. Let me explain. Over the past few years I’ve been involved in a pretty heated back and forth rivalry with Chris Jericho. There were times I got the upper hand and there were times things didn't go exactly my way, but guarantee that each time the two of us entered a ring together we tore the roof of the building. In recent weeks this has escalated to the point where it can only be settled with a one on one match for the World Championship.

Jimmy Fallon: I miss Lance Storm.

AJ Styles: Trust me, even though I don’t see eye to eye with Chris Jericho, I’m sure that’s one thing we can agree on. They were amazing together. Everyone misses Lance Storm.

Jimmy Fallon: Okay, we are getting off subject. Back to your big match with Chris Jericho. This will be the first time you challenge for the championship this in 2016. The last time you competed for the championship was almost one year ago and you seemed to come up short. What do you have to do different this time around?

AJ Styles: Yeah, I thought that I had the championship won one year ago. I felt like I was the better wrestler and so did the fans. I went out the and gave everything I had within me and even a little bit more and as soon as I was closing in for the win, boom. I was screwed. Straight up. A wicked chair shot decided that outcome. This time around I don’t plan on getting hit in the head with a steel chair. This time around I plan on proving to the fans that I am without a doubt, the absolute best wrestler in the world.

Jimmy Fallon: I'm pretty sure you didn't plan on getting hit with a chair the first time.

AJ Styles: Not funny.

The studio audience seemed to think so as they were laughing at the last remarks.

AJ Styles: I’ve never been one for whining like a little *****.

A loud bleep was heard over the speakers. The audio team was already prepared for AJ Styles.

Jimmy Fallon: Language.

AJ Styles: Oops, I almost forgot.

Jimmy Fallon: It’s okay. You were saying?

AJ Styles: I’ve never been one for complaining, but this time will be different. This time around, I'm expecting the unexpected, that's for sure

Jimmy Fallon: AJ Styles ladies and gentlemen! Be sure to order Destiny on pay per view this Sunday night to see who will walk out World Champion, I know I will! Thanks for joining me tonight; it was a pleasure. Best of luck in your big match.

AJ Styles: Thanks for having me, Fallon.

The studio audience gave a pretty large round of applause for The Phenomenal One as he shook hands with Fallon once again as the show went into a commercial break.

____________________


Standing at the gorilla position AJ Styles restlessly waited for his music to hit. Moments later "Phenomenal" by CFO$ played throughout the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. AJ Styles made his way out to a great reaction from the fans. Dressed for competition and wielding a microphone Styles entered the ring with a smile on his face. The crowd was just settling into the arena but we're already excited to see one of their favorites.

AJ Styles: Chris Jericho... You have my attention now!

The fans cheered the statement!

AJ Styles: Tonight is EBWF Destiny, and yours truly is returning to his rightful place... the main event. By now... I'm sure everyone knows who I am. AJ Styles. The Phenomenal One. Three time EBWF World Champion. The absolute best in the world. But you see, this wasn't always the case. There was a time when my world renowned talents weren't as respected as they are now.. Now, I'll admit, I didn't actually earn the right to face the EBWF World Champion.

The reaction to that statement was mostly mixed. Styles shrugged his shoulders and continued.

AJ Styles: But you can bet your ass I deserve it! And after what happened this past Monday on Warfare, you better believe Chris Jericho is going to deserve everything he has coming to him. We sure as hell have a lot of history, don't we Chris? It all started in 2010 when I joined the EBWF and you went on record to say I would never be anything more than a curtain jerker. Six years later I stand here a former three time World Champion and you just so happen to be the current World Champion. It must be destiny after all. Back then, I would have gotten fired for some of the things I do! But now? I'm untouchable. I can't be fired because I'm the hottest name in wrestling, the biggest draw and dare I say it, buzz worthy. Something I just said is probably trending on twitter right this second. Suddenly everyone wants AJ Styles. A year ago I was an after thought and now I'm a headliner. Everyone might be sweating over their jobs right now but not me. Because if they let me go they know for a fact that there's a million offers I could entertain. Vince wants me. Billy and Dixie would fire half of their roster to have me. I could go to ROH and single handily turn it into a threat. Or I could go back to Japan, where they practically treat me like a king. But like I said... it wasn't always this way...

The audience was paying attention to every word coming from Styles. He brushed his fingers through his messy black hair before continuing.

AJ Styles: Yes, way back when, AJ Styles would have never headlined a pay per view in this company, against it's favorite son Chris Jericho, without jumping through a million hoops to earn a chance. There was a time I was voiceless. I was in the same position as guys like Matt Sydal, Jimmy Havoc, and Seth Rollins. Guys are one day going to bitched and moaned about not getting their opportunities and griped about how I don't work each and every solitary show. And, in their vast display of complete ignorance, don't realize that I had to claw and fight my way to get where I am today. Oh, sure, I could have been like say... John Cena. Yeah, I said his fucking name. Someone who had everything given to him on a silver platter and as soon as things didn't go his way, he went running straight out of the door. But that's the difference between me and just about everyone else in this company. I'm patient and I don't quit. I rise above.

A sly smirk emerged on his face. The audience enjoyed the dig on the former fan favorite and were now showing their appreciation with a light "thank you AJ" chant.

AJ Styles: So let's go back about a year ago. That's when I began my slow, patient trek to being one of the top names in this business. I had just came off a suspension because I had pissed a ton of people off. Solomon Crowe. The guy with the stupid gimmick. Well, the company didn't like him too much so they put him in a match with me and I won the World Championship for the third time in this company. Suddenly, the clouds parted and heaven itself opened up wide. Someone with half a brain decided a changing in the guard was in order. And yours truly was granted the opportunity to take part in this. But do you want to know who the company was pulling for? Do you want to know exactly who they were hoping would carry this federation into a new era? Dolph Ziggler...

Loud boos filled the Toyota Center.

AJ Styles: That wasn't a joke. The brainiac's running the show were pulling for Dolph Ziggler. Needless to say, he completely murdered me and took the title. But those weren't really the plans. No. They didn't want Solomon Crowe as champion. They didn't want me as champion. They wanted an Ikeda kiss ass as Champion. Of course, the powers that be doubted my determination, the evil corrupt corporation had to have their way so they threw me into tournament with a dozen men that culminated in a six pack challenge or some other nonsense and I beat the very best this company had to offer to get the rematch I never rightfully deserved. My memory isn't fuzzy on this. I've been champion three times and the three times I lost the title I was NEVER granted a one on one rematch for it without earning it. When I finally got my chance at the current champion, The Miz, it took a steel chair to beat me, I don't care what the history books tell you. I was the better man that night. So, off I went. Where most people would have lost heart and crawled away I wanted to prove to everyone that I was the absolute best wrestler in the world so I decided to enter the Royal Rumble as the very first entrant. It didn't turn out the way I wanted but I did last over and hour and outlast twenty-seven other men. So even though I didn't get the victory. I proved something that night. I proved that I was that damn good. But you wanna know what happened when I asked to be apart of the championship match before WrestleMania? I was told that there were no fucking plans for me at the moment. I was told me that I would not receive another shot at the championship in the near future. So, I wrestled my obligated dates and took my ass home until they decided to give me my championship opportunity. But you better believe, I got that call. I got the call I had been waiting for from the man himself, Wes Ikeda. Now I won't go into too many details of the call but let's just say that the two of us agreed on what's best for business. And I don't think he was wrong one bit, because you guys damn sure seemed to have missed me? Am I right?

The capacity crowd showed their approval for returning veteran.

AJ Styles: And the rest as they say, is history. AJ Styles, the guy with the three world title reigns that didn't even amount to a year, the guy they called all kind of horrible disgusting things behind his back, became so viable that he forced his way into the main event picture. One match, one soul shattering Styles Clash and I have my spot at the top back. By returning to face Chris Jericho, I made his title reign relevant again. Because, let's be honest with ourselves, what has Jericho done in the past year? I just gave you all my history lesson, so now let me educate you on someone who at one time really could have been known as 'the best in the world at what he does'.

Styles gave a rather disgusted snarl.

AJ Styles: Chris Jericho won the World Championship at the Royal Rumble and main evented Wrestle Mania this year. He lost. A month later he won the championship back. And then...

In an overly sarcastic manner, Styles began to scratch at the side of his head before lightly shrugging his shoulders.

AJ Styles: ...he did a whole lot of nothing. Of course he shows up for his occasional title match, but who has he really defended it against? Kevin Owens? That's a pretty low point to hit. If you'd lost to Sami Zayn last month you would've been a bigger paper champion than Dolph Ziggler was. This time I can't blame Wes, Wes is gone. Your security blanket isn't here anymore, Chris. You're going to have to get by on your abilities alone and before I beat you again, you should thank me. Because if it wasn't for me you never would have became World Champion. It was because I attempted to prove myself you got a my opportunity. The Chris Jericho that WAS the best in the world at what he did was starting to return when you won that championship. But now.. The transformation from to sniveling pitiful little entertainer is complete. I mean look at this...

Styles leaned closer to the camera and pointed to the corner of his mouth, which had a few fresh stitches across it.

AJ Styles: You did that to me during the contract singing. I pissed you off didn't I? GOOD. It's about time someone snapped you back to reality. But do you know what? It's too little too late. Chris Jericho in his prime couldn't beat me right now and Chris Jericho hanging onto his relevancy sure as hell can't get the job done. And I know why you're so upset. Well, other than the inevitable ass beating you're going to get. You're mad because I'm what you used to be. But better. Absolutely better.

A cocky smile emerged on his face.

AJ Styles: Honestly, I was hoping Zayn was going to take that title from you, Chris. I wanted to beat a world class athlete. But I guess I'll have to settle for you. You've reinvented yourself. You're an angry old man. You took care of Zayn who almost everyone thought was untouchable in big matches. I used to think you were done. I bet a lot of people thought that. But you proved all of your doubters wrong. You are a worthy World Champion. No one can deny it. But your retirement tour? It ends tonight. And it's going to end at my hands. I want to beat you so there isn't a single question in anyone's head that I don't deserve to be on top. You can ride straight back off into the sunset, giving gifts to the needy, knowing that you helped crown the greatest champion this company has ever seen. There hasn't been and there never will be a more deserving champion than AJ Styles. And when I beat you tonight, I'll raise my title high above my head. I'll soak it all in. And there won't be single solitary doubt that Chris Jericho's Christmas Story has just been canceled.

Styles dropped the microphone as his music began to echo throughout the arena. The fans were on their feet applauding the #1 Contender as he posed on the top turnbuckle. Styles knew very well that this would be his first match back and he was ready. This was the moment he had been patiently waiting for and even if things didn't go the way he planned, he was back, and he wasn't going to stop until they did.