AJ Styles believes Roman Reigns is one of the main reasons his career took off so quickly after arriving in WWE.

It has been four and a half years since AJ Styles debuted for WWE. There had been rumors that The Phenomenal One was WWE-bound, and during the 2016 Royal Rumble match, he made his debut. Styles came through the curtain to a thunderous reaction, and a bemused Roman Reigns, who was the only Superstar in the ring at the time, stared at Styles as he made his way to the ring.

Styles has gone on to become a two-time WWE Champion, three-time US Champion, and is currently the Intercontinental Champion. As well as being one of the best wrestlers on the planet right now, certain established stars helped Styles take like WWE to a duck to water. Most notably, John Cena via their terrific trio of matches, but also thanks to that first man he clashed with on the night he debuted.

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Styles and Reigns wrestled each other on multiple occasions and had better matches than fans expected or care to remember. That appears to be the pattern with Reigns. The Big Dog will have a terrific match which fans will briefly recognize before going back to booing him again. During an interview with The Sun, Styles even credited Reigns with getting him to where he is today in WWE.

"Roman Reigns is a big part of the reason why my career's where it's at," Styles explained. "When I've got a title opportunity, it was against Roman Reigns. Unbelievable match. I've watched it back," he added when speaking if his first chance to become WWE Champion. The IC Champ also believes that WWE's ever-decreasing ratings would be greatly helped by the return of The Big Dog.

"He's WWE. I mean, he's the guy. So to get him back could be a big help," Styles admitted. Reigns has been absent from WWE since just before WrestleMania. Due to his own health issues and the risk of passing the virus on to his young children, Reigns reportedly wasn't okay with continuing to travel and work during the pandemic. With no end to the outbreak in sight, there's no way of knowing when fans will see Reigns in the ring again.

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