AJ Styles Says LA Knight Brawl Ahead Of WWE WrestleMania 40 Wasn't Supposed To Happen

In 2024, leading up to their match at WWE WrestleMania 40, AJ Styles and LA Knight came face-to-face at a media event which devolved into a brawl as Knight attacked his future opponent. Styles recently shed some more light on the situation during "Phenomenally Retro," revealing that it was not something that was supposed to happen.

"I've tried to erase it out of my mind," Styles said. "There was no security there to break up a fight. They didn't know what was going on — I didn't know it was going to happen. Yeah, it was not a good thing."

Knight recently commented on the situation during an appearance on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet," stating that his decision to attack Styles came after Styles threw a stool towards him while they were taking part in separate interviews. According to Knight, he made the assumption that security would intervene to break them up. Styles received a bloody nose in the clash, and Knight said that he received a call from WWE about the incident, but he felt he needed to respond based on the story they were telling.

"I don't know how much more I should say about that, other than it wasn't planned," Styles continued. "I didn't want it to happen like that. I just wanted to remain a heel. But then when LA Knight came over and headlocked me, that's not good. That's not a good idea. I was good with walking away and being the heel. Didn't happen."

Styles and Knight later wrestled on the second night of WrestleMania 40, with Knight coming out on top. Looking back, after calling the brawling situation "bizarre and stupid," Styles admitted that he was angry during their WrestleMania match, though it might've worked out for the best.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Phenomenally Retro" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.