WWE News: AJ Styles Explains Why He Replaced Joseph Park As His Enforcer
For a few weeks earlier this year, AJ Styles was accompanied to the ring by Joseph Park, who currently works as a backstage producer for WWE and was primarily known on Impact Wrestling as Abyss. In a recent interview, “The Phenomenal One” explained why he quietly chose to replace the TNA/Impact legend with Omos — a 7-foot-3-inch former college basketball player who was previously known by his real name of Jordan Omogbehin.
Speaking to talkSPORT’s Alex McCarthy in an interview that was published on Sunday, Styles was mostly in character as he hyped up his upcoming title match against WWE Champion Drew McIntyre at the TLC pay-per-view. After talking about how he believes he has an edge over the Scotsman, he mentioned the fact that Omos is now working as his enforcer and could get involved in the bout if he “wanted him to.” This led to a question about why Styles replaced Park after their brief on-air partnership.
“Yeah, I think that was [cool to watch] for everyone that used to watch TNA,” Styles explained, acknowledging their past history with their former employer.
“You understood what was going on there. But, Joseph Park is a bit of a powder puff. If I need someone to handle my business side, I’ll get Joseph Park,” the Monday Night Raw superstar continued.
“Right now, I need Omos to be by my side. Listen, there’s a lot of guys that will not only stab you in the back, but knock you down and step on you. Omos is there to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
After referring to his partnership with Omos as “great,” Styles explained that he is taking advantage of the opportunity to mentor an up-and-coming young talent like him, much like Ric Flair did during his younger days in the company then known as TNA. He added that the basketball-player-turned-wrestler is like a “sponge” and is “ready, willing, and able” to do whatever it takes to become a bigger name in the wrestling business.
As noted by 411 Mania, Styles’ last appearance with Park was on the September 26 edition of Talking Smack, where both men parodied the infamous “Steiner math” promo cut by Scott Steiner ahead of TNA’s Sacrifice pay-per-view in 2008.
Despite Styles’ positive endorsement of Omos as someone to watch for on the red brand, rumors have suggested that the on-air bodyguard was one of the big man wrestlers who were singled out by WWE chairman Vince McMahon as being in need of further seasoning. As reported by The Inquisitr, Omos, along with Keith Lee, Mace, Dabba-Kato, and Otis were allegedly asked to train at the Performance Center after McMahon was unhappy with their in-ring work.
