WWE Signs Former WWE Champion to Multi-Year Contract
AJ Styles has signed a new multi-year contract for over $3 million per year, according to a new report that dropped from Fightful Select on Tuesday. Reports of Styles signing a new deal first popped up last month, but the details of the contract weren't clear at the time. Styles first joined WWE in 2016 and has since gone on to be a pillar of the company, becoming a Grand Slam Champion and holding the WWE Championship for over 500 days across two reigns. He recently teased the idea of joining WWE's developmental system as a coach once he decides to retire.
"I gotta admit, I love being down here," Styles said following his brief NXT run last month while feuding with Grayson Waller. "I could see myself, when my career is finally over, coming down here and working with some of these young athletes. The men and women here are ready and eager to learn, and I think that's a positive thing for the WWE going forward."
As for what he'll do next, Styles has been heavily pushing for a WrestleMania 38 match with Edge. "The Rated-R Superstar" hinted at facing Styles during a promo on this week's Raw and both have been pushing for it in interviews.
"He's so knowledgeable, he's such a superstar. I would love to get the opportunity to get in the ring with him. There was that time when I thought there would never be an opportunity to wrestle him, and now, it's here. The time is limited in which we can pull it off. Whether he or I retire first, who knows, but I want to get that match. I desperately want to get that match. I think it's the one that most fans would enjoy," Styles told Ariel Helwani earlier this month.
Styles spent most of the past year aligned with Omos as his "own personal colossus." Together the two won the Raw Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 37 and held them up until SummerSlam. Omos eventually turned on Styles in December, prompting the "Phenomenal One" to turn back into a babyface. The past week has seen him come up short against Damian Priest in a United States Championship match, then lose the WWE Championship Elimination Chamber match to Brock Lesnar alongside Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, Riddle and Austin Theory.