AJ Styles Says Fans Haven’t Earned Access WWE Unreal Gives Them

AJ Styles isn’t a fan of WWE Unreal, and he made that clear on the latest episode of The AJ Styles Show podcast, explaining that he doesn’t believe the audience has earned the kind of backstage access the Netflix docuseries provides.

The former WWE Champion said his stance comes from an old-school mentality rooted in what performers put their bodies through to get into the ring in the first place. “Because the outside hasn’t earned the right to know what I know and be where I’ve been,” Styles said. “They don’t get the opportunity to get into the ring and hit the ropes as much as they would like to. They shouldn’t get that opportunity.”

Styles pointed directly to the physical toll of a wrestling career as the basis for his opinion, noting the injuries he’s accumulated and the abuse he’s put his body through over the years. “I paid a price, right? And it’s something that I’m gonna have to deal with for the rest of my life with these injuries that I’ve accumulated, the abuse that I put on my body. And a lot of other guys have done the same,” he said. “So, in my old school opinion, they don’t deserve, they haven’t earned the right to know what goes on, what is said, and all these things. And it’s just my opinion. That’s all it is.”

Despite his personal feelings, Styles didn’t frame WWE Unreal as some kind of betrayal of wrestling’s traditions. He was matter-of-fact about why the show exists at all, chalking it up to the business realities of WWE’s current ownership. “If there’s a way that they can make money off this, they’re going to,” Styles said. “And that’s kind of where we’re at in this business. When it comes to WWE and who is owning WWE, it’s all about making money and finding ways to do that. That’s what this is.”

Styles’ comments tap into a tension that’s existed in pro wrestling since long before streaming docuseries became the norm. For decades, the business operated on kayfabe and the idea that what happened backstage stayed backstage, protecting both the illusion for fans and the mystique that veterans like Styles spent years building. WWE Unreal, much like Vice’s Dark Side of the Ring or WWE’s own past behind-the-scenes projects, pulls back that curtain in a way that can feel at odds with the values guys who came up in the territory era or the indies were taught to protect.

At the same time, Styles’ acknowledgment that this is simply where the business is now reflects the broader shift under WWE’s current corporate structure and its Netflix partnership, where content that drives subscriptions and engagement is increasingly prioritized. Whether or not longtime performers are fully on board, transparency and access have become selling points rather than something to be guarded.

Styles isn’t threatening to boycott the show or campaigning against it — he’s simply voicing a personal philosophy shaped by nearly three decades in the ring. But his remarks add another data point to the ongoing conversation about how much of wrestling’s inner workings should be visible to the audience, and how that balance is shifting as WWE leans further into unscripted, docuseries-style storytelling.