When it comes to competing in a scaffold match, A.J. Styles said he won't be taking any tips from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling figurehead Commissioner Jim Cornette.

In 1986, the Cornette-managed Midnight Express battled the Road Warriors in that type of gimmick bout on Jim Crockett Promotions' "Starcade" extravaganza. With the late Ray "Big Bubba/Big Bossman" Traylor out of position to cushion his fall, Cornette suffered a serious knee injury after dropping straight down from roughly 15 feet.

Styles and Rhyno may be taking an even bigger physical risk when battling in TNA's updated version of a scaffold match dubbed "Elimination X" on Sunday's Destination X pay-per-view show emanating from Orlando, Fla.

Shaped in the form of an "X," the scaffolding is roughly 18 feet above the ring mat while only 20 inches in width extending from the center platform.

Those dimensions have left Styles - one of the industry's top high-flying performers - and the burly Rhyno (real name Terry Gerin) a bit uneasy entering a match where the loser has to take a tumble off the structure.

"It's not as stable as I would like," Styles said of the scaffolding this week in a telephone interview. "It's scary. I'm not going to lie. It's a challenge. I've just got to make sure I keep my footing."

Styles has his career on solid ground, having successfully transformed himself into a heel in November after more than four years as one of TNA's top baby-faces. Styles said he lobbied for the change because he thought his "goody-two-shoes" persona had run its course.

"They always say a part of you really wants to be like that of your character," said Styles, whose real name is Allen Jones. "It comes pretty natural for me. It's like I picture someone driving slow in the fast lane when you want them to move over. If you can imagine how angry you are then, I have the opportunity to show that. It's a lot of fun."

The heel turn also has allowed Styles to incorporate more theatrics into his performances and execute fewer high-risk maneuvers, which should help extend the career of a 28-year-old father of two young boys.

"It's definitely safer for me," Styles said. "It also gets the fans angry because they know I can do these moves but I won't."

Despite his new villainous ways, Styles is still regarded as one of the industry's most sincerely nice performers. That side of his personality shines through in the second Best of A.J. Styles DVD, scheduled for release in April.

Besides featuring a collection of outstanding matches, Styles visits the trailer home where he was raised and his former high school (Johnson High) in Gainesville, Ga.

"They still had my photo in the trophy case, and I met up with one of my teachers who's still there," said Styles, a standout high school wrestler.

"It was really cool. I could see things hadn't changed enough to the point where I wouldn't recognize them."

• Duff Doyle vs. Jack Mecidol headlines a Fusion Pro Wrestling show at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Red Lion Hotel, 4040 Quebec St. 303-564-8307, fusionprowrestling.com

• Former wrestling star Bill Goldberg will serve as host of Bullrun, which premieres at 8 p.m. Tuesday on Spike TV. Twelve two-man teams will compete in a cross-country automobile race on the reality show. Goldberg, a car enthusiast, also will serve as an honorary member of NASCAR driver Greg Biffle's pit crew for Sunday's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 in Las Vegas.

More of the A.J. Styles interview can be found at www.wrestlingobserver.com. Questions can be sent to Alex Marvez c/o the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301, or e-mailed to amarvez@sun-sentinel.com. Please include your full name and city of residence. Because of volume, no phone calls will be accepted and letters will not receive written replies.