AEW's canceled plans for AJ Styles revealed; he chose to stay with WWE

Speculation has picked up regarding AJ Styles potentially joining AEW later this year, but a recent report has shed some light on Tony Khan's old plans for him. It seems that All Elite Wrestling wanted The Phenomenal One all the way back in 2019.

AJ Styles has a lot of history with AEW's founders. He was the leader of Bullet Club at the start of its most successful era, and he spent much of his time in Japan with The Young Bucks. Styles was ultimately betrayed and kicked out of the faction by Kenny Omega and The Bucks shortly before he joined WWE in 2016.

According to The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, Tony Khan & Co. wanted to pick that storyline back up for the earliest episodes of AEW Dynamite. On X/Twitter today, he noted that AEW wanted to bring in Styles, Luke Gallows, and Karl Anderson to feud with Omega and The Young Bucks on Dynamite's first episode, but The Phenomenal One ultimately chose to stay with WWE.

"AEW wanted him for the debut. The plan for the first TV show was AJ & Gallows & Anderson to show up as a surprise and lay out Young Bucks & Omega to kick off as the top feud. But Styles, Gallows & Anderson all stayed with WWE. Gallows & Anderson got a great deal to do so and I'm sure Styles got an even better one. My sense was Styles wasn't that interested but only he could say for sure. I can only say he was wanted for a top spot," wrote Meltzer.

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AJ Styles recently addressed his retirement

While many still consider AJ Styles one of the best wrestlers in the world, the veteran is almost certainly in the twilight of his career. At 47 years old and with nearly three decades in the business, many are expecting the former WWE Champion to call it quits soon.

Styles discussed plans for his retirement in a recent appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. While he doesn't know who his opponent will be, he has some ideas involving The Undertaker:

"No opponent in mind. An idea that I will not share with you, that I thought if I could get The Undertaker in the ring with me, that I wanted to do, but there's an idea that I think kind of sums up who AJ Styles is," he said.

Despite his age, AJ Styles would be a hot commodity on the open market. Whether he departs WWE this year remains to be seen.

About the author

Jacob is an AEW contributor and editor at Sportskeeda Wrestling. He has edited and published over 8,000 articles for Sportskeeda Wrestling in just over two years, and subsequently donned the hat of a contributor, demonstrating his commitment to continuous learning. His experience goes beyond wrestling, with five years as an editor for several independent publishing houses and three years as a captioning specialist.

Jacob's first memory of pro wrestling dates back to Sting vs. Ric Flair for the World Heavyweight Championship at Great American Bash 1990. He later began writing for a newsletter and blog at the University of North Texas, and his love of wrestling naturally led him to seek opportunities in the media.

His favorite wrestler is The Icon, as he feels Sting has evolved throughout his career on a parallel path with his own growth as a person. He was Jacob's childhood hero and teenage idol, and now he makes him less afraid of getting older.

Jacob ensures relevance and accuracy in his articles by working hard to maintain his ideals and objectivity without sacrificing his unique voice, inspiring other writers in the section to follow suit.

Jacob’s non-wrestling interests include Anime, video games, and fantasy novels.

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Edited by Harish Raj S

AEW's canceled plans for AJ Styles revealed; he chose to stay with WWE - Reports

AJ Styles recently addressed his retirement