WWE legend AJ Styles hasn’t wrestled on screens for three months, but concerned fans needn’t worry about the veteran’s status with the company.
Styles is widely regarded as one of the finest performers of his generation and is a multi-time former world champion.
WWEAJ Styles has previously held the WWE Championship, US title and others during his tenure with the company[/caption]
He’s been notably absent from on-screen WWE programming, however, and hasn’t performed under the company banner since challenging for the Undisputed title against Cody Rhodes at June’s Clash at the Castle in Scotland.
That was the second in a brace of meetings for Styles against Rhodes, a follow-up to their stunning Paris battle in France at Backlash back in May.
He did battle Naomichi Marufuji at Pro Wrestling Noah’s Destination several weeks later, but WWE fans have been starved of seeing the 47-year-old on weekly episodes of SmackDown.
It left some less than happy at what they perceived as the underutilisation of Styles, one saying on X: “He deserves to have meaningful feuds considering his career is slowly winding down.”
Another blasted: “How about [WWE Head of Creative] Triple H stops being a coward and book him on [Smackdown], while a third chimed in: “He’s sorely missed.”
What some many not appreciate, however, is that Styles has stayed busy since his last TV outing for WWE, and has certainly been putting in the miles.
He has been a regular on the company’s live event circuit, appearing on on-televised shows throughout the rest of the summer, including dates in Europe and Japan up to and including a match with Rhodes two-and-a-half weeks ago.
The packed schedule suggests Styles is still valued hugely by WWE, a new report from US outlet Fightful moving to assure fans as such, explaining: “AJ Styles is healthy and just isn’t being used on WWE TV.
“He was on the WWE overseas tour, but wasn’t featured on television. He worked five straight nights in world title matches against Cody Rhodes. He also worked last month’s Japan tour in world title matches.”
Styles himself has previously said he’s happy performing in the WWE product now overseen by Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, explaining back in the Spring that Vince McMahon’s successor has been doing a ‘great job of making everyone feel important.’
WWEAn established star, AJ Styles arrived in WWE to much fanfare in 2016[/caption]
He commented: “A lot of those guys and girls, when they get released from WWE, it crushes them. I never understood why we want to do something like that rather than just send them back to NXT for a little more work or something like that.
“Being released, it’ll crush you. I don’t want to see people’s lives being ruined because of a job.
“At the end of the day, it’s just a job, but it’s still something they’ve worked for their whole life and when you’re told you’re not good enough, it sucks.
“That’s not the way it is these days.”
Styles joined WWE in 2016 having already firmly established himself as one of the industry’s top performers thanks to his efforts in the likes of New Japan and TNA.
Debuting at the Royal Rumble that year, he quickly became involved in top storylines- including a rivalry WWE legend John Cena – and won the WWE title for the first time just ten months into his tenure with the company.
Though he was unseated in early 2017, he was holding the top gold again before the end of the year, an historic victory over Jinder Mahal seeing him crowned champion in Manchester – the first time the WWE title had ever changed hands outside of North America.
WWEStyles is known as The Phenomenal One thanks to his incredible in-ring abilities[/caption]
Three years later Styles was again making history, falling to defeat to The Undertaker at WrestleMania in the memorable Boneyard Match that served as the final match of the Phenom’s iconic career after three decades in the ring.
He was unsuccessful in a fatal four-way match for the Undisputed title, then held by Roman Reigns, at Royal Rumble at the start of this year, before his two cracks against subsequent champ Rhodes.
