AJ Styles confirms there was interest from AEW when his WWE contract was expiring
AJ Styles confirmed he held preliminary discussions with AEW regarding a move to the promotion. He instead signed an extension with WWE.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
Former WWE Champion AJ Styles has been in and out of wrestling news for quite some time now. The Phenomenal One signed a long-term term extension with WWE earlier this year, which he revealed will be his last deal before he hangs up his boots. Styles says he plans to extend his career with WWE, working as a scout to identify the right talent for the company.
AJ Styles contract news: Matt Jackson tried luring Styles to AEW
However, it all could have been very different had AJ Styles been lured by WWE's biggest rival, All Elite Wrestling (AEW). During his recent Twitch stream, Styles revealed AEW were seriously interested in bringing him to the promotion to pair him with his good friends, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, both of whom were released by WWE in April 2020. Styles said he was in contact with AEW's Matt Jackson, but they never got to a point where money was discussed.
"Yeah, there were talks. Look, it’s a business. My contract in WWE was going to expire and there were talks happening. The Bucks are my buddies. We never discussed money or anything, but there were talks about coming in. Again, it’s all business," Styles said.
Earlier this month, Matt Jackson, who is also the Executive VP of AEW, said the promotion hoped Styles would become a part of their promotion after his WWE contract expires. AEW, since its inception last year, has been the go-to for WWE superstars released from their contracts. The likes of Dean Ambrose (now Jon Moxley), Jack Swagger (now Jake Hager), Matt Hardy, Luke Harper (Mr Brodie Lee) and several others have enjoyed success in AEW, after growing tired with the lack of direction in WWE. Most recently, Rusev (now Miro) joined the budding promotion, which appears to have the talent as well as the financial muscle to rival WWE in all aspects.
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Coming back to AJ Styles, the 43-year-old has not been involved in a major feud since losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 36. The Boneyard Match between Taker and Styles was lauded for pushing the envelope with an edgier and more cinematic content. Although Styles eventually lost to The Phenom, the former WWE champion earned a lot of plaudits for the match.
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Currently, he is embroiled in a three-way feud with Jeff Hardy and Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship. Styles defeated Daniel Bryan in June to win the title, which he lost to Hardy last month. Meanwhile, Zayn returned to the company, having never lost the IC title in the first place. The feud will likely culminate with a triple-threat match at a future pay-per-view.