AJ Styles reveals Vince McMahon was 'unimpressed' with his WWE debut

WWE Superstar, AJ Styles, regularly streams on Twitch, where he chats with his fans and discusses various topics including pro wrestling. On his recent stream, he discussed Vince McMahon's reaction to his WWE debut.

AJ Styles made his WWE debut as a surprise entrant in the 2016 Royal Rumble Match. As soon as the words "I am phenomenal" appeared on the screen, the fans in the arena popped with excitement. However, AJ Styles revealed that the WWE Chairman initially considered the reaction to be a fluke.

"You've got to find a way to make a name for yourself and everybody has to do it. It's when you get an opportunity to get into the ring, you hope that Vince is watching or someone else. You hope that there is a reaction, right? That was the great thing that I had... the reaction that I got at the Royal Rumble 2016 was awesome. It was amazing, but Vince didn't really believe that - [he thought] that it was a fluke, basically. That's what he thought it was."

AJ Styles further revealed that Vince McMahon was unimpressed with his in-ring work and thought his other Superstars could work as well. Later, "The Phenomenal One" showed Vince that he could follow directions well and won the WWE Chairman over.

"I wasn't even going to be on RAW the next day, but they convinced him otherwise. I had a match and I think he was [unimpressed], like, 'Whatever, I've got guys that can do this'. And he literally told me that. But once Vince sat me down and said, 'This is what I need from you'. After he told me what he needed, I had one chance to show him exactly who he wanted. And that's what happened."

I still get goosebumps from watching this.AJ Styles' WWE debut at the 2016 Royal Rumble still remains as one of my favorite debuts. pic.twitter.com/9BTHaWLYbE

— P̷u̷n̷k̷.̷™̷ (@TheEnduringIcon) July 26, 2019

AJ Styles in WWE recently

AJ Styles faced The Undertaker at WrestleMania 36 in a Boneyard Match. The two headlined night one of WrestleMania 36, which could very well be "The Phenom's" last WWE match since he seemingly announced his retirement earlier this year.

After he failed to win the 2020 Money in the Bank Ladder Match, AJ Styles moved to SmackDown and won the vacant Intercontinental Championship. Recently, he defended his title in some amazing matches against the likes of Drew Gulak, Matt Riddle, and Gran Metalik. WWE hasn't announced who he will defend his title against at the upcoming pay-per-view event, SummerSlam.

Phenomenal. #SmackDown #ICTitle @AJStylesOrg pic.twitter.com/e8QYC3Yryg

— WWE (@WWE) June 13, 2020

As for Vince McMahon, he was surely impressed with AJ Styles. That's evident as he has enjoyed a strong run with the company. Styles became a two-time WWE Champion and win several other titles with WWE during his four-year tenure with the promotion.