"The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles, part 2

In January 2004, Styles was named "Mr. TNA" by the fans of TNA in an online poll. Styles feuded with Jeff Jarrett and Abyss throughout January and on February 4, after Styles demanded a title shot, Jarrett's ally Don Callis forced him to team with Abyss in a match with the NWA World Tag Team Champions, Kevin Northcutt and Legend. Abyss hindered Styles' efforts before abandoning him completely, but Styles managed to defeat both of his opponents nonetheless, thus becoming a two-time NWA World Tag Team Champion with Abyss as his partner. The following week, Styles defeated Abyss in a match for both tag team titles by disqualification after Jarrett interfered. His victory was overturned by Callis, leading to another match the following week which was won by Abyss after Lex Luger interfered, thus granting Abyss control of both titles. Abyss and Styles continued to feud, and on March 17 Abyss defeated Styles to become the number one contender to the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

On April 21, Chris Harris, scheduled to face Jarrett in a title match that night, was attacked by Raven. As a result, Vince Russo, by now the TNA Director of Authority, selected Styles to face Jarrett in his place in a steel cage match. When Jarrett tried to hit Styles with his guitar, Russo tried to stop him through the cage, allowing Styles to get up and shatter the guitar mid-swing with a Pele kick. Styles pinned Jarrett to become a two-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He successfully defended the title in matches with Ron Killings, Raven and Chris Harris, and on May 19 he defended against all three men in a four-way title match. Styles lost his title to Killings after Jarrett interfered in the match, hitting him with a guitar. On June 2, all five men fought for the title in a King of the Mountain match which was won by Jarrett.

Styles returned to the X Division shortly thereafter, winning a four-way match to become the number one contender to the X Division Championship on the June 4 episode of TNA iMPACT!. On June 9, he defeated Frankie Kazarian to become a three-time X Division Champion. In the following weeks, Styles feuded with Kid Kash and Dallas while successfully defending his title in matches with Kazarian and Mr. Aguila. An additional match on June 23 with the debuting Jeff Hardy was interrupted by Kash and Dallas. On July 28, he defended the title against Kazarian and Michael Shane in an Ultimate X match. After Kash struck Styles with a crutch, Shane and Kazarian simultaneously retrieved the belt and became co-X Division Champions.

After several abortive attempts to regain the title, Styles fought Kash in a number of matches, culminating on September 8 in a tables match which was won by Styles. In October he began feuding with Petey Williams, by now the TNA X Division Champion, and on November 7 at Victory Road 2004, the first monthly pay-per-view held by TNA, Styles challenged Williams for the X Division Championship. During the weeks preceding the match, Styles even went as far as to use Williams' own finisher, the Canadian Destroyer, after Williams himself performed the Styles Clash on others. Williams retained his title with the help of his manager, Scott D'Amore. Later that night, Jeff Jarrett retained the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in a ladder match with Jeff Hardy after Scott Hall and Kevin Nash interfered in the match. Following the bout, the trio proclaimed themselves to be the "Kings of Wrestling" and issued an open challenge to the rest of the TNA roster. Several wrestlers charged the ring in response to the challenge, including the 3Live Kru, Randy Savage and Styles.

On the November 12 episode of TNA iMPACT!, Styles and Jeff Hardy teamed together to defeat The Naturals. Following the match, they were attacked by the Kings of Wrestling. After several more confrontations, Hardy, Styles and Savage teamed together to face the Kings of Wrestling at Turning Point 2004 on December 5. Despite Savage not appearing until late in the match, the Kings of Wrestling were defeated when Savage entered the match and rolled-up Jarrett.

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