WWE may be moving AJ Styles to a different brand following his surprise return at the Royal Rumble.
Styles, who had been off television for months due to injury, made his comeback during the Men’s Royal Rumble match. According to PWInsider, there was backstage talk over the weekend about Styles potentially moving to the Raw brand in the coming weeks. However, WWE’s exact plans for him remain unclear.
Styles had been sidelined for months after suffering an injury during a match with Carmelo Hayes on an episode of SmackDown. WWE later announced that he had sustained a mid-foot ligament sprain. Styles later revealed that he had a Lisfranc injury, describing the recovery as challenging.
Despite his time away, Styles showed no signs of ring rust in his return. He immediately targeted some of the match’s top competitors, including Roman Reigns, John Cena, CM Punk, and Seth Rollins. However, his Royal Rumble run was cut short when he was eliminated by Logan Paul, who had entered at number 30.
Following the match, Styles expressed his frustration over the elimination in a post-match interview, joking that he might never live it down. However, he also acknowledged that it’s part of the business and took pride in his performance.