Jacob Fatu credits AJ Styles for his new look on WWE television
While speaking to Busted Open Radio, WWE star Jacob Fatu commented on making a physical transformation during his hiatus at the end of 2025…
“I really needed to regroup in my personal life — mentally and physically. Let’s keep it real. Somebody like me, coming in with seven kids, getting this type of dough — I’m not saying I’m rich, but it’s a little different. I’m at Waffle House every day, like I’m going crazy.
But I believe — and I know — it was God’s timing, what happened. I missed out on a lot of opportunities, but then again, I had to double back when I came back.
When I was off, my kids were off too — around the holidays. I got out in October, November, December, New Year’s. It was being home with them — something I had lost touch with. I’m getting goosebumps.
But it was being home. The first two months, it was being home on the couch. I had 11 teeth pulled out in the back — I was supposed to get 12 pulled, but I got 11. So it was being home.
And I remember my uncle Rikishi saying this: ‘When you’re home and you’ve been out of sight, out of mind, that phone’s going to stop ringing.’ And that phone stopped ringing. Not anything with my family — but I’ve seen it in my family.
But just sitting there, looking at my kids — watching them walk by, go to school, come back, still seeing me on the couch — I had to regroup. Then I looked at my weight. I looked at where I was at.”
Fatu credited AJ Styles for his new look on WWE television…
“I want to shout out AJ Styles. He saw me at Saturday Night Main Event, and he saw the transformation. He was just like, ‘Dude, are you freaking going to wear a shirt out there?’ And I was just like — ‘yeah.’
He was like, ‘Yo, you freaking got abs. I’d go out there with no shirt. What are you doing?’
So shout out to AJ, baby. You know what I mean? Congratulations on retirement. But it was because of him. That’s why I took it off. I was ashamed to take it off. I was going to wrestle with those shirts.
And man, when the Phenomenal One says, ‘Hey man, I would do this,’ then okay — I’m going to listen.”