A rising TNA Wrestling star is certain he will get a ‘dream match’ with AJ Styles before his retirement.
The Phenomenal One was a pioneer of the X-Division in TNA before joining WWE in 2016, and now 20-year-old British wrestler Leon Slater, 20, has set his sights on the bout.
Bradford-born Slater, who can make history by becoming the youngest ever X-Division Champion at Slammiversary this month, exclusively told Metro how a clash with Styles would be ‘huge’.
The pair met late last year when the former world champion was visiting TNA backstage in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.
‘The fact that he took time out of his day to watch my match and be gracious enough to give me some feedback afterwards was huge for me,’ Slater said.
‘So I’m gonna say when, not if, when it happens. I’m gonna be ready for it, man, and it’s gonna be fun. It’s gonna be legendary.’
Styles has been open about winding down his career, and yesterday Fightful reported he has signed a one-year extension with WWE, which is expected to be his final contract.
While Slater was ‘a bit too caught up in the moment’ to float the idea of a match directly back in December, fellow Brit Trent Seven stepped up.
‘I had Trent Seven by the side of me at the time. He was cheeky enough to mention it,’ he laughed, before revealing Styles’ reaction in the moment.
He coyly teased: ‘I don’t really think he heard him. He was like, “Yeah, that would be cool. That would be cool.” But I don’t think he’s too familiar with me – but he will be.’
If Slater – who is billed from The 0121, Birmingham’s area code – beats current X-Division Champion Moose on July 20, he will become the youngest person to ever hold the title.
He acknowledged a ‘huge dream match’ with Styles is top of his list after the summer, given his history with the championship.
‘To be a part of that lineage, and to be to have my name holding a conversation with people like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, Austin Aries – Frankie Kazarian is another one – is something very, very special,’ he said.
‘I’m trying to live forever in wrestling, I want to be remembered. And I think a match against AJ Styles, especially at the point that I’m in right now, would be another step towards that.’
Despite Slater being so young, he’s already a veteran of sorts, having started training aged nine, and growing up obsessed with wrestling.
‘Everybody would either be like, “Oh yeah, I’ll go into bricklaying, I’ll be a plumber, I’ll go into electricity”. Or like, “maybe I want to be a footballer,”‘ he recalled.
‘But I was always like, “he wants to be around to be a wrestler”. Everybody knows this, from like preschool to secondary school, “he wants to be a wrestler.”‘
It wasn’t easy, and Slater can still remember a moment in training during his very early teens when he was struggling with a ‘running drill’ complete with ‘drop downs and leapfrogs and clotheslines and flow overs and all the rest of it’.
One day, he just ‘burst into tears’ – immediately comforted by his pals – and it’s amazing to see where he is seven years later, working with WWE ‘idols’ the Hardy Boyz and emulating their daredevil stunts.
In April, Slater made waves on social media when he leaped off a giant 15-foot structure in an Ultimate X match, crashing to the floor at ringside when his opponents failed to catch him.
‘I knew that’s what I wanted to do. And then when we got there on the day, I realised it was a lot higher than I thought it would be,’ he laughed.
Despite online fury in the aftermath of the fall, which could have ended in disaster after his fellow wrestlers didn’t soften the landing, Slater immediately showed Jeff Hardy the footage.
‘I was like a kid in a candy shop, man. I get to run up to one of my idols and show him the clip of me trying to, like, emulate what he was doing 20 years ago,’ he beamed.
‘He was the first person I ran up to, and he was doing his paint at the time. “What do you think?” He went, “That’s badass, man”.
‘For me, that’s for me, that means more than all of the online storm that was around it, whether people caught me or not, that moment right there was, was it made it for me.’
Slater also leaned on viral wrestling star Joe Hendry for advice on how to navigate the social media maelstrom, describing the TNA – and occasional WWE – star as a ‘big brother figure’.
Thankfully, amidst his rise to the top, the young star a ‘great team’ supporting him from fellow wrestlers to family including his mum, sister and girlfriend.
‘It’s pretty daunting,’ he admitted. ‘[But] everyone is keeping my head straight… I’m sure there’s going to be ups and downs, but I’m taking the punches as they come.’
Watch TNA Wrestling via TNA+. UK and Ireland fans can get a free month using the special LEONYIC code. Slammiversary airs on July 20, 2025.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
