AJ Styles recently moved rosters from WWE Raw on Monday nights to WWE SmackDown on FOX on Fridays. There had been some reports that the move was made due to Styles not getting along with Paul Heyman while the former ECW boss was still in charge of Raw creative, as well as frustration over how Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were being used while they were still with WWE. Styles addressed these rumors and made some sharp comments about Heyman during a stream on his Mixer video game channel recently.
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“There were some rumors going around that AJ Styles left RAW to go to SmackDown because he was being bullied. That may be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” Styles said. “I mean, I’m a grown man. If there were some bullying going on that upset me enough to leave RAW and go to SmackDown, I would handle it. And whether I got my tail beat or not, I’d still handle it. I’m a grown man. So, I’ll just throw that out there.
“When it came to the rumor about Paul Heyman and being upset with him because he didn’t take up for Gallows and Anderson before they got released, that’s not what it was at all,” Styes continued. “It’s not even close. I’ll give you a snippet of what me, Gallows, and Anderson already know – [Paul Heyman] is a liar. Now you know; I’m sure you’ve heard that before if you go back to his ECW days, you’ll hear that. He’s a boldface liar. So, that’s my take on that. I will let Gallows and Anderson [add to it].”
Heyman was relieved of his position as director of creative on Raw back in May. There were reportedly numerous issues with his performance in that role, leading to Vince McMahon making the decision. The Top Rope Nation podcast reported at the time that Heyman “had to go” and that the merchandising department was even frustrated with Heyman due to them having no idea who Heyman was planning to push to chaos in creative, and thus, the department never knew who they should get merchandise ready for.
The most recent reports indicate that Gallows and Anderson have agreed to a deal with Impact Wrestling. The deal will reportedly also allow them to work overseas for New Japan Pro Wrestling, the duo’s former stomping grounds where they once teamed with Styles in the Bullet Club and became big stars in the process.
Styles is currently the WWE Intercontinental Champion on SmackDown. He’s had some really great matches in recent weeks with Daniel Bryan and Drew Gulak as part of the blue brand.
H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcript.
