By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

TNA wrestler A.J. Styles resumed a back-and-forth exchange with Hulk Hogan in an interview on the Busted Open radio show Wednesday where he criticized Hogan's ideas for the A.J. Styles character when he arrived in TNA in 2010.

"If you want to see my take my hair and dye it all blonde, slick it back, and hang out with girls all the time, and you know, do that whole thing, and just totally just not be A.J. at all, then you would’ve went with Hogan’s idea," Styles said before discussing TNA's attempt at a Styles heel turn and "Ric Flair, Jr." character.

"I was like, I’m not that guy, and I am A.J. Styles. I’m not Ric Flair. I am who I am. I mean, just because he (Hogan) hasn’t been watching, doesn’t mean that a lot of people haven’t. They know who A.J. Styles. I got to be honest man; I don’t think that I need to ride Ric Flair’s coat-tails to be the next great thing in wrestling."

Styles also raised concerns about the lack of wrestling time given to matches on TV, as well as a mindset that the wrestling ring and titles are merely props.

"I think that our guys are more than capable of telling great stories in that right; more than capable if given the opportunity, and the time in the ring," Styles said. "That’s what some guys think, that championship titles are props; that the ring is just a prop. I know that I enjoy personally the wrestling part, I really do. I love the physical atmosphere of what’s going on in a wrestling ring."

Styles said he remains loyal to the company, though, even if he has disagreements or feels like he isn't given enough media opportunities to promote the brand or his wrestling persona.

"I don’t know why that is," Styles said about doing minimal interviews. "I busted my butt for how many years now, but I’m not going to be a guy that’s gonna complain about every little thing. Yeah, sure, you know, there’s some stuff that I could say and mention, but that’s not who I am. That’s not what I do. I support my company, and whatever they think is best is...well, what we’ll do. I’m behind em’.”

Styles said he feels one of the best ways for the company to grow is being on the road more often to give the audience "something more interesting to watch" compared to the product when it's filmed in the Impact Zone. He said he's hopeful being on the road more often will also grow the company's brand recognition.

"I want us to have household names. I want us to be a household company that people say, 'Oh, yeah, Impact Wrestling! I know exactly what that is.' You know, not when we go through security at the airport or immigration or whatnot where you hear, 'Oh, oh like WWE?' I don’t want to hear that. I want them to know exactly who we are," Styles said.

"We got (a lot of) tourists that come to The Impact Zone where they really haven’t followed the story; they really don’t know what’s going on. They just know that there’s wrestling, but when you get out of that Impact Zone, you really get to see these fans who’ve watched weekly, they will tell you what they wanna see."

FYI: Busted Open airs Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 2:00-4:00 EST on Sirius 94, XM 208.

[Torch art credit Cory Gould (c) PWTorch.com]

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