A sold out Amway Center crowd in Orlando, Florida erupted on Sunday night as former world heavyweight champion professional wrestler AJ Styles, who once said he had an “addiction” to Christian hip-hop, entered the arena for his WWE debut.
Entrant No. 3 in the #RoyalRumble Match is simply #PHENOMENAL! @AJStylesOrg has arrived in @WWE! https://t.co/fjpnn7f6kd
— WWE (@WWE) January 25, 2016
The WWE confirmed that the eruption was one of its loudest crowd reactions ever.
AJ Styles was one of several names who had previously starred for other wrestling promotion companies and were long rumored to transition to WWE.
“Along with the other three signings, Styles can be the superstar that spearheads WWE into a new era,” Independent writer Ayub Nouinou said. “I’m just hoping that WWE composer Jim Johnston has prepared him some cool entrance music that will do him justice and not some generic malarkey.”
Speaking of cool entrance music, Styles enlisted pioneer Christian rap group GRITS to perform his theme song at a 2009 TNA Impact Wrestling event.
AJ Styles has been vocal about his appreciation of Christian hip-hop. In 2012, he presented Lecrae with the trophy for Rap/Hip-Hop Song of the Year at the Dove Awards.
“I have always been a big fan of Christian music, and I have to say that Lecrae is my all time favorite,” Styles said afterward, according to PWInsider. “It was such a pleasure to meet him and watch him perform, he is amazing. The whole show was top notch and I am proud that I was able to be apart of it.”
Later that year, Styles talked to Sports Spectrum further about his fandom.
“Ridiculously love Christian rap,” he said. “It’s ridiculous, it really is; it’s bad. I have an addiction. That whole 116 Clique, with Trip Lee, Lecrae, all those guys, Tedashii, I can’t get enough of it.”
@AJStylesOrg so does this mean I’m in the bullet club?
— Lecrae (@lecrae) July 13, 2014
h/t @ChozynBoy