On the latest episode of the What Happened When podcast, Ring of Honor legend Jay Lethal shared a detailed and personal story regarding WWE Superstar AJ Styles. While speaking with hosts Tony Schiavone and Conrad Thompson, Lethal described a series of interactions during their shared tenure in TNA Wrestling that culminated in Styles helping Lethal purchase his first home.
Lethal explained that the situation began with a casual conversation backstage. “AJ Styles always looked out for me. He was, man. He’s one of the best human beings in the world. Well, anyway, he said to me, ‘Hey, where do you live in now?’ And I said, ‘Oh, I’m in in an apartment in Tampa.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, you’re in an apartment or how long are you gonna, how long you plan on being there?’ I said, ‘Oh, I don’t know, till I can to have money to buy a house or something,'” Lethal recalled.
According to Lethal, Styles revisited the conversation months later, expressing concern that Lethal was still renting. “About five to six months later, he asked me again, ‘So where were you living? You still in that apartment?’ Then he started getting a little upset, ‘You still in that apartment?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ He goes. ‘Don’t you understand that whatever you’re paying rent wise for that apartment, you’ll have to pay that forever. You’ll never own it. You always be giving money to somebody else,'” Lethal stated.
Lethal admitted that at the time, he felt buying a home was out of reach due to his position on the card compared to Styles. “I said, ‘Okay,’ well, in the back of my head, I’m thinking, that’s easy for you to say. You’re, you know, Impact Wrestling world champion. I’m, you know, barely getting on the show.”
However, Styles did not let the matter drop. Lethal revealed that Styles and his wife took an active role in finding him a property. “When he found that out him and his wife, they started looking on the internet, looking for places for me. They’re like, ‘Well, you needed to go check this. Go check that.’ So. And he got my friend Jolene, who lived in Tampa, to help me look for places,” Lethal said.
When Lethal finally found a modest home he liked, he still faced financial hurdles regarding his credit and the upfront costs. It was at this point that Styles made a significant financial gesture.
“He actually helped me with the down payment. He goes, ‘Don’t tell anybody. Don’t ever mention this again. And you know what, I don’t even want this money back, and if you try to pay me back, I ain’t gonna take it.’ So, yeah, he helped, like he didn’t have to do that,” Lethal shared.
Lethal confirmed that he still resides in the same house to this day. “I haven’t to this day, met any person more kind and thoughtful and just an overall good human being than AJ Styles, and I’m not just saying that because he helped me payment on the house,” Lethal concluded.
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