AJ Styles Dropping WWE Championship Reportedly Linked to Contract Negotiations

AJ Styles' WWE contract is up in January. However, the 41-year-old is said to be negotiating a new deal, and those talks are part of the reason he lost his WWE Championship to Daniel Bryan.

According to Fightful, multiple sources within WWE have confirmed Styles is aiming for a lighter schedule in his new contract. Styles reportedly wants a load similar to Randy Orton's where he'd still regularly work television, but do less live events.

Per the report, Styles wants to be with his family more — something being WWE Champion made increasingly difficult — and advocated to drop the title last week on SmackDown in order to do so.

There have been other stories on why Vince McMahon switched the WWE Championship, but this news on Styles does make sense. Since joining the company in 2015, more than half of his time on the main roster has been as WWE Champion — a demanding task for any Superstar, let alone one that's already hinted at retiring in two years.

We'll have to wait and see how this plays out, but it seems like Styles and WWE will indeed figure out a new contract. There was probably little risk of Styles leaving the company, but it's nice to know talks are well underway.

Styles has been nothing short of a home run in WWE. While his diehards would have sworn they saw this company, few would have anticipated WWE handing Styles the keys to SmackDown. Along with The Miz, Styles has been WWE's most consistently exceptional employee since 2015.

However, in an interview with Dirtfork, Styles revealed that Vince McMahon was skeptical of his abilities.

"From my understanding, I was looked at as a mid-card at best in the WWE. That was the plan and I was okay with that because it was still a great job, a great payday and a great way to take care of my family," he said.

"I didn't necessarily think that's where I was going to be but there was that time when I made my debut and fans knew who I was in Orlando. They made some noise and it was pretty great. Vince [McMahon] assumed it was a fluke. He didn't think too much of A.J. Styles," said Styles.

After McMahon asked him for more aggression, Styles delivered exactly that and then the opportunities began to flow. Ever since Styles has massed multiple runs as WWE and United States Champion. His last reign at WWE Champion lasted 3711 days - the eight longest of its kind.