Rumor Killer Regarding AJ Styles' Future With WWE

By Connor Casey

AJ Styles was on the losing end of a quick match with Omos on last week's Monday Night Raw and now finds himself pulling double-duty between the Red Brand and NXT while in a program with Grayson Waller. There was some speculation that Styles might be on his way out of the company, which was recently shot down by Dave Meltzer via Wrestling Observer Radio. He said, "He just signed, I don't know if it's a 3 or a 5 [year deal]. It wasn't that long ago when he signed it. He's not going anywhere. He had the chance to go if he wanted to but he was not interested. There were certainly overtures made for him and they were good money overtures but he's in his mind, I think he's a lifer there. Whether that's the right or wrong call, I couldn't tell you."

It's unclear if Meltzer was referring to the multi-year deal Styles signed back in 2019, which he claimed at the time would be his final WWE contract, or a new deal.

"... I can tell you that the contract that I signed, here in the WWE, is my last," Styles told Lilian Garcia back in 2019. "This is it for me. This is where I'm going to end my career no matter what happens. I got to, you know? I want to be there for my kids."

Since inking that deal, Styles faced The Undertaker in what wound up being his final match at WrestleMania 36 and became a Grand Slam Champion by winning the Raw Tag Team Championships with Omos at WrestleMania 37. In his five-year run with the company Styles is already a two-time world champion, holding the WWE Championship for a combined 511 days. 

"Well, as far as the match and him thinking that was going to be his last, I don't think he knew, nor did I, that that was the one that he needed to end on. It just kind of happened and, you know, I literally called him a month after WrestleMania and said, 'Listen, I need to know if you're done.' And, well, he never called me back because I think he was afraid that I'd try to talk him into one more," Styles said in a late 2020 interview with TalkSport, reflecting on his match with Undertaker.  "He did it on his own terms. He didn't have to do it because of an injury or something else. He's the one who said, 'You know what? I'm OK with ending it right here,'" Styles said. "And there's something to be said about something like that, because injuries plague this business, you know, and you never know how long you're going to be able to hold out and good for him that he was able to call his own shot."

h/t WrestlingNews.co

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