AJ Styles has commented on the name change of former NJPW star EVIL, now often known as Naraku in “WWE NXT,” in addition to his start within the developmental brand.
EVIL debuted in “NXT” as Naraku, which caught many by surprise as he was widely known together with his previous ring name. It appears that evidently Styles will still call him by his old name, while he also discussed why he doesn’t mind him starting his WWE profession in “NXT.”
“He will be EVIL so long as I do know him,” said Styles on “The Phenomenally Retro Podcast.” “You recognize, Shinsuke Nakamura was also in NXT. I’m just throwing that on the market. Listen, I feel there’s certain things that all of us must learn in NXT that may prepare us for the fundamental roster. I can say this — I needed to learn quick. [I was thinking] Holy crap, they do not do that, they do that … like, it was a learning process and I needed to learn quick. I could not afford to screw up or mess up or whatever it’s you must call it. I desired to stay on the fundamental roster and I needed to impress the guy in charge. We don’t need anybody to go as much as the fundamental roster and need to learn like that.”
He specifically identified one issue he faced as a brand new star in WWE, which involved learning camera angles and knowing which camera to face. He recalled being told by veteran WWE cameraman Stu about remembering to face the hard camera and never to show his back on it.
“You recognize where all of the cameras are. You recognize, not to show your back to a camera. Like, loads of people do not know that. That was an enormous thing with me. And Stu, our cameraman, he was like, ‘Hey, AJ, be sure that you switch this fashion as a substitute of putting your back to the hard camera.'”
Styles said the Japanese way of manufacturing pro wrestling shows is different to WWE, which is why stars like Naraku, despite their vast experience, need to still learn the WWE way.