WWE Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles Picks His Pro Wrestling Mount Rushmore

Current WWE Intercontinental Champion AJ Styles is the latest WWE star to weigh in with his choices for the Mount Rushmore of professional wrestling.

When asked by SunSport who he thought deserved the recognition, Styles threw in two names that make almost every list.

"Ric Flair is gonna be up there. He has to be," Styles said. "Do we throw Hogan in there because everybody remembers? I didn't watch WWF at the time when I was a kid, but I watched the cartoon on Saturday mornings. So that's how I knew who Hulk Hogan was. But then again, in Rocky III as well, Thunderlips, so I knew him from that but I didn't watch the wrestling.

"So he surpassed that, bigger than wrestling, he was a movie star as well."

Styles' list veered away from the norm as he continued. Styles named Lou Thesz as someone he would place on his Mt. Rushmore. While Thesz is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, he is not often named on the list of the four greatest.

"I mean, but Lou Thesz is also another guy that you know," Styles stated. "The reason why I saw Lou Thesz and not some other guys who have definitely shaped this business is because I didn't watch it."

As for the fourth, Styles admitted that there were several possibilities. Ultimately he gave the nod to the very first WWE Hall of Famer, Andre the Giant.

"Because there's Ricky the Dragon Steamboat, The Macho Man, Andre the Giant, like he also broke that barrier of larger than life," Styles said. ""In fact, he was probably the first one to do it. So if I had to, and I know I'll go back and I'll change this a million times [but] Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Lou Thesz.

"I'm trying to reach not just WWE, you know, but outside of that as well."

Styles most recently defended his WWE Intercontinental Championship on SmackDown this past Friday night, where he defeated Matt Riddle.