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Tag: AJ Styles

  • AJ Styles Says He Hasn’t Been Contacted By WWE, But Would Like A WrestleMania Moment

    AJ Styles appeared on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast to clear the air about the rumors of his injuries keeping him from competing at ROH’s Final Battle and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom 10. Other topics discussed include whether or not he’s been contacted by WWE, the infamous Claire Lynch angle in TNA, if he would work for Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling and much more. You can listen to the full episode at Podomatic.com. Here are some highlights:

    Has there been a pursued interest by WWE to get you into NXT and join both Samoa Joe and James Storm:

    “I haven’t had a call from someone who wants to hire me so nothing really and I’m okay with that and that’s not a big deal to me. I think it’s more of the fans wanting something like this to happen than what I am wanting to happen. I want to be able to retire in a couple of years so I am going to go wherever that takes me. But I have no problem doing the Independents, I love it. I have a great time on the Indies. I’ve had a lot of great opportunities to wrestle a lot of great wrestlers.  Also doing Ring of Honor and Japan that’s a good combination. ”

    Before you retire do you even want a full time spot in NXT since that seems to be the gateway to superstardom in the WWE: 

    “Like I said before, I want to support my family and I am going to go wherever that takes me. Would I like to have a “WrestleMania moment”? Sure. But I am very content with having a “Wrestle Kingdom moment” in front of 60,000 fans. I think that is pretty awesome walking down that long ramp of the Tokyo Dome in probably one of the bigger matches on the show. There is probably a couple other people out there that want to do the same thing.”

    On the botched and now infamous Claire Lynch Saga in TNA:

    “You’ve got to understand that it was going to be a great storyline and the little things that needed to be in the story to make it work weren’t. “Claire” had to be the niece of Dixie Carter, that was very important. Because why would AJ care? I would never stick my neck out for someone who was a family friend because what’s that got to do with me? Why would you just help them. Where if it was her (Dixie’s) niece that the key would be to keep her from bad publicity and I’ll make sure that no one knows about it. That was a big deal and also Claire had to be smoking hot. I mean unbelievably hot, to the point where you go “wow, if AJ did have sex with her I don’t blame him”. That’s what we needed to have but it was quite the opposite. So it was the little things that destroyed that momentum that we had and people thought I may be with Dixie and it was a great thing and we had all that momentum and “this Claire” comes out and screws it all up.”

    How he approached the Hogan/Bischoff ERA in TNA and his reaction to Hulk Hogan’s lack of enthusiasm to promote TNA on outside media appearances: 

    “First of all, I just tried to stay positive. Pretty much anything Hulk Hogan touched at least at the beginning turned to gold. But it didn’t obviously because I don’t think he knew the roster that was in front of him and that was the problem. The names, the people who were the “brand names” of TNA that they had no idea who they were. If they didn’t know who they were they just did whatever they wanted with it. They wanted me to dye my hair blonde and be “Little Ric” and just because they didn’t know me. Instead of being Ric Flair I needed to be AJ Styles with Ric Flair. Being with Ric I’ll hopefully get the rub from Ric there is no doubt about that and Fortune could have been great but they broke up Fortune a little bit too early and we were really getting some steam and they broke us up and noting came about it. It was things like that that got weird and Hogan seemed like he didn’t have much to do with TNA and seemed like he was embarrassed of the show because he never said anything about TNA at all. Even when he was on shows he just never mentioned it. I believe that he was ashamed of what was on TV. I believe if TNA were doing a lot better he would have been a lot more gung-ho about saying a lot more about it but he didn’t say a word and it bothered me but thinking back I understand it now.”

    Has Jeff Jarrett approached AJ about joining Global Force Wrestling and his relationship with Jeff:

    “It’s a good relationship. I think a lot of Jeff. He put me on top in TNA, we’ve had our weird moments with Jeff being the boss but for the most part it’s very positive and I’ll never forget what Jeff has done for me and gave me an opportunity and gave me a stage to make AJ Styles a name. We had talked about it (competing in GFW) when it was first getting started but with Ring of Honor and New Japan I had no time for pretty much anything else. Just schedule wise it never really came about that I could be on it. ”

    AJ Styles full career is chronicled in a FULL ONE HOUR interview with TMPToW. He covers all his feuds in TNA, NJPW, ROH and so much more. 

  • Update On The Severity Of AJ Styles’ Injury, Styles Misses Another Booking

    Former IWGP Champion AJ Styles missed yet another New Japan World Tag League tournament match today in Fukuoka, Japan. His team with Yujiro Takahashi forfeited their second match, this time to the team of Michael Bennett and Matt Taven.

    Styles has been on the sidelines since last working on November 24th due to a bulging disc in his lower back. According to those in Japan, his injury appears to be very serious, with the description being that he seems to be in great pain with any movement.

    AJ Styles went into the current tour injured after missing ROH bookings to rest up for the tour. The 38-year-old star has yet to return home, as he has major matches scheduled over the next several weeks. After the current NJPW tournament wraps up on December 9th, he has an ROH Title match against Jay Lethal booked for ROH Final Battle in Philadelphia, as well as an Intercontinental Title match against Shinsuke Nakamura at the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom event at the Tokyo Dome on January 4th.

    According to F4WOnline.com, Styles is resting and rehabbing as best as he can right now, and New Japan is being patient and not pressuring him to come back early.

  • AJ Styles’ Injury Revealed, Styles Says He’s Suffering From “Overworking Himself”

    It appears that the injury that has sidelined former IWGP and TNA Champion AJ Styles from the recent New Japan Pro Wrestling shows is the same one that kept him off of the recent set of Ring Of Honor television tapings.

    Styles is reportedly dealing with a lower back issue, one that limited him to a non-wrestling appearance at last month’s ROH TV tapings. He took some time off to heal up for the NJPW Tag League, but has been held out of several days worth of shows. Styles continues to travel to the shows, however, as he has been spotted arriving at the venues by fans.

    Styles told New Japan’s bi-monthly magazine that the injury he is dealing with was caused by overworking himself on the independent scene in 2015.

  • AJ Styles Injured, Pulled From NJPW Show

    Former IWGP Champion AJ Styles was pulled from his scheduled booking at the New Japan Pro Wrestling World Tag League event on Saturday due to an undisclosed injury. The severity of the injury is also unknown at this time.

    For what it’s worth, Styles also missed some time last month, including a set of Ring Of Honor television tapings, due to a back injury.

    Styles did, however, inform fans that he would be ready to go for the ROH Final Battle pay-per-view in December, where he is scheduled to go one-on-one with Jay Lethal.

  • Speculation On AJ Styles & WWE: No Contact Made, Styles’ NJPW Status

    Although there has been speculation regarding AJ Styles and WWE after WWE.com linked to Styles in a web feature recently, as of this past Monday, the company had not made any contact with Styles.

    The video feature, which you can check out here, was about recognizable talents that worked in WWE in the past that fans might not know about. In the video, you can see Styles work a match against The Hurricane.

    Styles actually worked three matches for WWE between 2001 and 2002. He won a dark match at a RAW taping in Atlanta, Georgia over Rick Michaels on July 9, 2001, and lost to The Hurricane and Rico in dark matches at RAW and SmackDown tapings in South Carolina on January 21 and January 22 of 2002.

    Styles’ current deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling is scheduled to expire after the Tokyo Dome event in January, and he has made it clear that he plans to go wherever he is offered the most money.

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

  • 10th Anniversary Of Eddie Guerrero’s Last Match, AJ Styles/WWE Note, Paige

    – This past Sunday marked the ten year anniversary of WWE Hall Of Famer Eddie Guerrero’s final pro wrestling match. You can watch the complete Guerrero vs. Mr. Kennedy match above.

    – WWE’s official Twitter account posted a link to a new WWE.com article dealing with surprise Superstar appearances in the past. Oddly enough, the one name WWE used to promote the article on social media was AJ Styles. Check it out below.

    – WWE Diva Paige will be the guest on Emma’s “Taste Of Tenille” cooking show on YouTube this week. Emma posted the following tweet to promote the show.

  • Seth Rollins Says He Would Love To Work With AJ Styles

    WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins appeared on CBS Radio Dallas 105.3 THE FAN last week to promote WWE RAW in the city and during the interview, Rollins commented on possibly having a match with AJ Styles.

    “I don’t talk to AJ on the regular, but I think he’s doing pretty alright in New Japan [Pro-Wrestling’s] Bullet Club and Ring Of Honor, so he [has] made a great career for himself just doing his thing, doing AJ.,” said Rollins.

    “I mean, he’s someone I’d love to work with, especially at this stage of our careers. I think we’re pretty much at the top of our games, so it’d be cool, but you never know.”

    Check out the complete interview at CBSLocal.com.

  • AJ Styles Explains Why He Hasn’t Joined WWE, Talks NXT & CMLL, More

    Former TNA World Champion AJ Styles recently appeared as a guest on The Taz Show: Bodyslams & Beyond podcast at Play.it, and during the discussion, Styles spoke about the possibility of joining NXT.

    “At this point in my career, I’m going to go do what’s best for my family and I want to do what’s best to provide for them,” said Styles. “So, the business that we’re in, [if] the business could be better somewhere else, then that’s where I’m going to go. That’s what I’m going to do. So, like I said, it’s a business plan. Wherever the plan takes me, that’s where I’ll go.”

    Later in the interview, Taz asked Styles about the possibility of going to CMLL in Mexico to wrestle Rey Mysterio.

    “I’d like to wrestle Rey, Rey Mysterio, before he retires,” said Styles. “I think we could have a pretty cool match and it would be a pretty big match, the two of us, so I’d probably get that done.”

    Styles continued, “I would imagine you would have to come off the hip with some money for Rey, but it would be fun! It depends where we do it. The problem is he works for AAA and I work for New Japan and New Japan works for CMLL, or works with CMLL, so that’s the big dilemma. It would have to be an independent [show] for us to meet.”

  • Kazarian On Working Samoa Joe’s Final ROH Match, Daniels, AJ Styles & More

    Former TNA and current Ring Of Honor performer Frankie Kazarian recently appeared as a guest on The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

    On The Addiction as a team and working with Christopher Daniels: “It is hard to put in one short answer. The guy is my best friend, I’ve known him for pretty much the better part of the 17 years of my career. It’s great having somebody that you can rely on not just in the context of a wrestling match but also on the road, traveling here and there. We are best friends, tag team partners, our train of thought is very similar when it comes to wrestling matches and the whole business. It’s a real confidence booster knowing he’s there and takes a lot of stress off knowing how professional he is and knowing where we both are going to need to be. It’s almost like we are on cruise-control at this point, we know each other so well. When it comes to tag team wrestling all those thing make an awesome package.”

    On being revealed as the KRD, what makes this story different: “If I can say that one thing Ring of Honor is not lacking, but is not necessarily focused on is angles like the KRD one and Ring of Honor is top notch in every aspect, especially match quality and there is nothing to compare it to. But, angles being played out like that is something you necessarily saw a lot on Ring of Honor previously and being a fan of cool well put together angles I was psyched to be a part of it. I was thrilled to become tag team champions that way and I hope that now on Destination America we can continue to do some outside-of-the-box kind of things in terms of Ring of Honor’s previous business model.”

    On if he prefers to work babyface or heel: “Without question we are in our wheel-house when are bad guys. The act really got some steam when we were doing dastardly things over in TNA in 2012. It really fits our personalities so much better portraying the bad guys, it’s just right and it’s us. We got a lot of real positive reactions when we came to Ring of Honor and I think because people were happy to see us but after a while it’s going to wear off and if any team is going to be the working heels and the bad guys of the company I can’t think of anyone better then Chris Daniels and myself.”

    On working Samoa Joe’s final Ring of Honor match in NYC with AJ Styles and Daniels: “Those three gentleman stood up with me at my wedding. That says it all right there. Those are three guys that I’ve traveled with and known longer than anyone else in the business and are my three best friends in the business. We all have come up together, all of our families know each other so it was a very special moment. The match we knew match quality wise was going to be there but it was afterwards really taking it in and I got to share the ring one last time with my three best friends in the business for Ring of Honor especially it was really cool and I was very aware because I used to take moments like that in my career for granted. The whole day was a great moment, especially after the match when Ring of Honor gave Joe the sendoff that he so richly deserved.

    Check out the complete interview at Podomatic.com.

  • Ring Of Honor Announces Return To PPV On September 18

    Ring Of Honor issued a press release on Monday to announce the official date of their next pay-per-view event.

    Below is details on the show, including a list of talent scheduled to work the event:

    ROH returns to Pay Per View with ALL STAR EXTRAVAGANZA

    The Best Wrestling on the Planet, Ring of Honor, returns to live Pay Per View on Friday Night September 18 with All Star Extravaganza VII. This even will emanate from historic San Antonio at the Shrine Auditorium.

    With the fall-out from our recent Death Before Dishonor XIII iPPV now in the rear-view mirror, all roads will lead to San Antonio and All Star Extravaganza VII. Will Jay Lethal make it to this event as dual ROH World & ROH World Champion? Will Roderick Strong be knocking on the door for another chance? Will Jay Briscoe be looking for his rematch? Kyle O’Reilly is telling anyone who listens that he has Jay Lethal’s number! And do not forget Bobby Fish’s recent win now declares him the #1 contender to the ROH World Television Championship! This is just a sample of the excitement heading towards All Star Extravaganza XIII. If you are in San Antonio, you will not want to miss out on the chance to witness the best wrestlers on the planet collide!

    Ring of Honor is bringing a jam-packed lineup to San Antonio, Texas to celebrate a truly unique event. The stars in Texas sky will shine bright, but they will pale in compassion to the stars signed for this live Pay Per View event. This is an event you cannot afford to miss!

    RING OF HONOR STARS SIGNED TO APPEAR

    ROH World & World TV Champion Jay Lethal w/ Truth Martini
    ROH World Tag Team Champions The Addiction
    “Phenomenal” AJ Styles
    Jay & Mark Briscoe
    #Reborn Matt Sydal
    Roderick Strong
    The Young Bucks
    reDRagon
    Adam Cole
    The Kingdom (Bennett & Taven) w/ Maria
    Moose
    “Unbreakable” Michael Elgin

  • Ring Of Honor TV Results – June 25, 2015

    Ring Of Honor TV Results
    Taped at Ted Reeve arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Aired on June 25, 2015 on Destination America
    Report by ProWrestling.net

    [Q1] The opening montage aired… A graphic touted the replay of the Best in the World 2015 pay-per-view… The broadcast team of Kevin Kelly, Steve Corino, and Nigel McGuinness spoke at ringside about BITW being in the rearview mirror without getting into any specifics since this show was taped long before the June 19 pay-per-view…

    1. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Roderick Strong. Nakamura was over huge and he shook hands with Strong before the match. The “ROH On Tour” graphic listed upcoming dates as the match got underway. Nakamura controlled the bulk of the early offense. He took Strong to ringside and threw him over the barricade, then pulled him back over heading into the break. [C]

    Coming out of the break, Strong and Nakamura traded blows in mid-ring. Nakamura got the better of it by knocking Strong down with a shot, but Strong got up and tagged Nakamura with a shot of his own. String performed a couple of running knees and then performed a double knee to the back of Nakamura for a two count. Strong set up for the Strong Hold, but Nakamura countered into a sleeper. Strong got back to his feet, but Nakamura put him down with a backstabber. Strong came back and targeted the lower back of Nakamura and got a two count.

    [Q2] Nakamura came back with a leap off the second rope and a knee to the head of Strong. Roddy came back with another double knee gut buster. He applied the Strong Hold a short time later, but Nakamura reached the ropes to break the hold. Strong came back with a clothesline and a brainbuster for a very good near fall. Strong continued his offensive flurry with a big knee, but Nakamura caught a charging Strong with a kick and then pinned him clean…

    Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Roderick Strong.

    2. Michael Elgin vs Gedo. Elgin and Gedo shook hands before the bell. Elgin ducked a charging Gedo and then powered out of his go behind waist lock. Strong held up Gedo for a long standing suplex and got a two count. Strong missed a flip off the second rope when Gedo moved. Gedo used striking to get a two count. Elgin came back with a buckle bomb and then performed a powerbomb to get the clean win…

    Michael Elgin defeated Gedo.

    Kelly hyped the main event heading into the break…

    [Q3] [C] Mandy Leon hosted the Inside ROH segment and focussed on the ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling relationship… Ring entrances for the main event took place… [C]

    3. A.J. Styles and The Young Bucks (w/Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson) vs. Kazuchika Okada, Rocky Romero, and Trent Berretta. Kelly said the goal of The Bullet Club members was to soften up Okada heading into his match with Styles in Japan. Styles and The Bucks isolated Berretta in their corner throughout the opening minutes of the match.

    [Q4] [C] Berretta made a tag to Romero, who eventually tagged in Okada at the same time Styles was in the ring. Okada got the better of Styles while they were in the ring together. The Vice members worked over Matt Jackson and performed a knee to the head into a Doomsday Device on the floor. Crazy.

    Styles and Okada ended up going at it in the ring again. Styles went for the Styles Clash, but Okada countered into a tombstone, which was really cool. Later, Styles and The Bucks ended up working over Romero. Berretta made a blind tag and broke up More Bang For Your Buck. Okada and the Vice members performed rapid fire moves on Matt Jackson, but Styles hit Okada with a springboard forearm. Styles had Berretta up for a Styles Clash, but Okada broke it up.

    The fans chanted “this is awesome” as all six men recovered form the previous sequence. They all traded shots, and Styles and The Bucks hit simultaneous superkicks. Okada fought all three men until they hit him with a combined double superkick and Pele Kick. Styles and The Bucks teamed up for the Meltzer Driver. Styles held him up in Styles Clash position, the Bucks performed a double superkick on Berretta, and then Styles performed the Styles Clash and pinned him…

    BRAND NEW PHOTO GALLERY: Ronda Rousey In Skimpy Bikinis & Tight Outfits

  • *Spoilers* ROH TV Taping Results From New York City (Ep. 4-5)

    The following are results of the first three sets of ROH television tapings held at Terminal 5 in New York City on Saturday evening. Results come courtesy of ProWrestling.com.

    For episodes one through three of the ROH TV tapings from NYC on Saturday night, click here.

    Episode Four

    1. Michael Bennett and Matt Taven beat Corey Hollis and Jonathan Gresham.

    2. Moose defeated Dalton Castle, Cheeseburger, Caprice Coleman, Brutal Bob Evans, and Silas Young.

    BJ Whitmer was joined by Adam Page Colby Corino and tried to cut a promo. He drew major heat from the crowd. He hyped that he had a gift for Colby –
    four wrestlers from the ROH tryout camp to wrestle against. Steve Corino jumped in the ring to confront Whitmer. Nigel McGuinness prevented them from going at it.

    3. Bobby Fish beat ACH.

    Episode Five

    1. The Briscoes, Roderick Strong, and ODB beat Jay Lethal, Donovan Dijak, J Diesel, and Truth Martini.

    -Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles defeated The Addiction in a non-title match in a match that was not taped for television.

  • Yoshi Tatsu Returns to The Ring After Major Neck Surgery

    Former WWE superstar Yoshi Tatsu returned to the ring on Monday night for the first time since undergoing major neck surgery last year as the result of a botched Styles Clash from AJ Styles (Video).

    Tatsu attended a training session at I Believe in Wrestling’sTeam Vision Dojo school in Florida. According to Al Haft of Florida Wrestling, Tatsu started taking his first rolls and doing some basic wrestling with Chasyn Rance after months of grueling physical rehabilitation.

    Also training at the Team Vision Dojo on Monday were NWA Women’s champion Santana Garrett, TNA Knockout Mia Yim (Jade of the Dollhouse), and Tough Enough hopeful Amber Flora.

  • WWE To Change Samoa Joe’s Name?, Update On His NXT Status

    Although he has signed a new full-time deal with WWE, Samoa Joe is still scheduled to team with AJ Styles to take on Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels at the Ring Of Honor television taping in New York City.

    According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, however, WWE has been pushing very hard for that match to not be taped for television, which was the original plan before Joe signed his new WWE deal. As of right now, the belief is that the match will not be taped for the ROH television show.

    It’s said that ROH wanted Joe for more dates, but their new national cable television deal with Destination America is one of the factors that led to WWE offering Joe a full-time deal, which will likely prevent Joe from doing so.

    Joe is no longer accepting independent dates past August 31st, as he is scheduled to begin working in NXT full-time in September. Until then, Joe will be working the big NXT live events and any other WWE Network specials.

    The Wrestling Observer Newsletter is also reporting that a name change for Samoa Joe and a main roster spot are reportedly still up in the air.

    Another key factor in WWE bringing Samoa Joe in full-time to work in NXT is because of the perceived lack of depth of high-profile stars in the promotion. With Kevin Owens moving up to the main roster, and other top stars such as Sami Zayn and Hideo Itami on the sidelines, WWE felt the need to bring in another high-profile name to the NXT brand.

  • AJ Styles On If He Would Sign With GFW Or NXT, ROH On Destination America

    Ring Of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling performer AJ Styles recently appeared as a guest on the Inside The Ropes podcast. Below are some highlights from the interview.

    On if he would go to Global Force Wrestling: “I think that there’s definitely an opening, it’s just finding an opening in the schedule. That’s the biggest problem we’ve come across is my schedule is so full that it’s hard to fit me in. That’s the problem we’re having right now. I always stay busy but I’d say it’s only a matter of time before I show up in Global Force.”

    On his reaction when he found out ROH was going to be on Destination America: “A huge shock to me. Did not expect something like that. It’s one of those things where I was told and I just started laughing. It was just one of those things, I was so surprised I just started laughing hysterically. I even called a couple of my buddies in Ring of Honor and we just chuckled together. It’s gonna be fun man. We always did a great job with wrestling but now there’s something to prove and I think you’re gonna see a different Ring of Honor, in a good way.”

    On if he would go to NXT: “The first thing I’m gonna do is what’s best for me and my family, that’s what I’m gonna do. People know I was in TNA but I don’t think people think of me now as ‘The TNA Guy.’ Now they see me as a New Japan guy or a Ring of Honor guy. I had to work to make sure I wasn’t known as a TNA guy to get my product, being AJ Styles, out there again but at the end of the day like I say, whatever’s best for me and my family I’ll do. This is a business. Despite what people may think “AJ left TNA” this is a job. I thought I deserved a little bit more for all the effort and stuff into, you know any business, and to not get paid what I think I deserve would be dumb. You don’t work hard to take a step down, you work hard to take steps up. I went out and found a step up in the wrestling business and if there’s another opportunity to step up, then I’ll do that.”

    Check out the complete interview at Podomatic.com.

  • WWE Interested In Signing Top TNA Stars, Update On WWE’s Interest In AJ Styles

    As we reported earlier this week, WWE officials have changed their interest level regarding bringing AJ Styles into the company. Originally, the company wasn’t that interested in bringing him in, however following the success of many of his peers in NXT, and eventually on the main roster, WWE is apparently more interested in Styles than they were in the past. It is worth noting, however, that nothing is expected to happen at any point in the near future, as Styles is locked into a contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling until the end of 2015.

    Speaking of WWE’s interest in acquiring established talent, the company is reportedly in the process of trying to find out when the contracts of a few of TNA’s top talents expire. According to the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is interested in signing a few of TNA’s bigger stars, but only for the NXT brand for now.

  • Backstage Update On AJ Styles Turning Down Offer To Return To TNA

    As reported recently, TNA offered a deal for AJ Styles to return to the promotion, a deal that Styles turned down.

    TNA offered the former TNA World Heavyweight Champion and current IWGP Heavyweight Champion what is being described as a “significant” deal to enter the TNA Hall Of Fame and wrestle a match at the TNA Slammiversary pay-per-view later this month.

    According to one source, the reason Styles turned down the offer was because his priorities right now are with both Ring Of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling.

    It’s also worth mentioning that in addition to the TNA Hall Of Fame induction and Slammiversary bookings, TNA was also looking at having Styles work a match at this year’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view.

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

  • Report: AJ Styles Turned Down Offer To Return To TNA

    IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles recently turned down an offer to return to TNA Wrestling, according to a report at PWInsider.com.

    TNA reached out to Styles a month or two ago about the possibility of him returning for one last match at Slammiversary later this year, as well as a TNA Hall of Fame Induction ceremony. It was said to be a strong offer, but he was not interested.

    NJPW and ROH are currently AJ Styles top priorities. He’s scheduled to team up with Samoa Joe against Daniels and Kazarian at the upcoming ROH TV tapings on June 20th from New York City.

  • News On WWE Having Renewed Interest In AJ Styles

    WWE currently has a higher level of interest in AJ Styles than they have in quite some time, according to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

    Styles, 38, is the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion and has been doing ‘phenomenally’ for himself working independently since leaving TNA.  It’s not to say that there’s even a high level of interest in Styles, but the recent evolution of NXT in particular has led to WWE officials giving him another look.

    Triple H has been vocal about his plans to take NXT on the road more aggressively in 2016 and turn it into a full-fledged 3rd touring brand. With the talent that has been rising to the top of NXT over the last year, Styles would fit in very well with the promotion, which features an athletic in-ring style while still allowing the performers to work more-protected matches than they have elsewhere.

    The main hurdle with Styles is that he’s making a lot of money working for NJPW, ROH and other promotions and would command much more money than the typical NXT star. Styles has a lot of control over his schedule and going back on the road on a more consistent basis might require more financial incentive than WWE is willing to offer.

  • Will Samoa Joe Still Be Allowed To Work ROH TV?, More On ROH’s Airings

    – Ring Of Honor TV will not only air as the lead-in to TNA Impact Wrestling each Wednesday night on Destination America, but a replay will also air immediately following Impact.

    The episodes will premiere on Saturdays on Sinclair affiliates prior to the Wednesday broadcast/replay on Destination America.

    – With ROH now airing on cable television, there’s already speculation that WWE will nix his appearances in the promotion. The same rule would likely apply to Rhyno and other talents if they handle the Joe situation that way. Joe is currently booked to appear on the 6/20 edition of ROH TV, teaming with AJ Styles to take on Kazarian and Daniels, however that could change due to ROH’s new deal with Destination America.

    (Credit: F4WOnline.com)

  • Samoa Joe Returns To ROH On 6/20 For NYC TV Taping

    Ring of Honor has announced that Samoa Joe will be working their June 20th television tapings from New York City at Terminal 5.

    Joe will be teaming with IWGP Heavyweight Champion AJ Styles against ROH Tag Team Champions The Addiction, Daniels and Kazarian.

    As noted earlier, Joe is currently working with WWE on a one-off basis, which gives him the ability to continue working for independent promotions.

    Joe worked last week’s NXT TV tapings from Full Sail University, which air through June 17th.

  • Main Event Announced For ROH’s “War Of The Worlds” Event, Update AJ Styles Opponent

    Ring Of Honor has announced that The Briscoes will take on the team of Kazuchika Okada and Shinsuke Nakamura in the main event of the “War of the Worlds Night One” event, which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, May 12th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

    Additionally, ROH also announced for the event on 5/12 a match featuring AJ Styles against a mystery opponent. ROH is promoting the fact that Styles’ opponent for the show will be announced during the show itself.

  • The Bullet Club Added To ROH/NJPW “War Of The Worlds” & “Global Wars” Events In May

    Ring Of Honor announced on Thursday that The Bullet Club will be taking part in the upcoming “War of the Worlds” and “Global Wars” events in May.

    ROH issued the following press release to announce the news:

    THE BULLET CLUB ARE COMING TO WOTW & GLOBAL WARS
    5/12 & 5/13 in Philadelphia and 5/15 & 5/16 in Toronto

    Wrestling fans around the world have been buzzing since the announcement that New Japan Pro Wrestling talent will be appearing on four Ring of Honor shows in May of this year. The first two nights will be “War of The Worlds” and take place Tuesday, May 12 and Wednesday, May 13 at the legendary 2300 Arena deep in the heart of South Philadelphia, PA. The May 13 show is SOLD OUT but there are still tickets available for the May 12th event.

    The 3rd and 4th nights will be “Global Wars” on Friday, May 15 and Saturday, May 16 at the historic Ted Reeve Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Tickets are still available for both nights in Toronto but they are going fast! New Japan Pro Wrestling will be represented by their very finest at these massive events.

    The always controversial Bullet Club is returning to Ring of Honor!

    You see the t-shirts across the world, you see people with the Two-Sweet hand gesture up and now you get to see the braggadocios band of good brothers live at War of the Worlds and Global Wars!

    The leader of the Bullet Club, current IWGP Heavyweight Champion “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles and former ROH World & 2x IWGP Jr Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks will in action at War of The Worlds and Global Wars!

    The Young Bucks have ushered in a new era of arrogance and are revolutionizing tag team wrestling. While they may not hold back their opinions and may be in your face, they have backed up every word with their in-ring abilities. The list of opponents looking to shut their mouths is vast. Who will step up and actually close them?

    Karl “Machine Gun” Anderson and “The Big LG” Doc Gallows will also represent The Bullet Club at Global Wars, live in Toronto on May 15 and May 16. The devastating duo was last seen in Ring of Honor at War of The Worlds 2014, where defeated the legendary Briscoes. They are coming to Ring of Honor fresh from losing their IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships to The Kingdom’s Matt Taven & Michael Bennett. Could they be preparing to destroy anything that stands between them and regaining the championships? The 2x former IWGP Tag Team Champions will without a doubt bring the Bullet Club brand of destruction at Global Wars and you will want to be there!!!

    Previously announced New Japan Pro Wrestling Superstars:
    Hiroshi Tanahashi
    Kazuchika “Rainmaker” Okada
    Jushin “Thunder” Liger
    Tetsuya Naito
    WATANABE
    Kushida
    Gedo
    “King of Strong Style” Shinsuke Nakamura

    RING OF HONOR WRESTLING & NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING PRESENTS:
    WAR OF THE WORLDS ’15 NIGHT 1
    2300 Arena – Philadelphia, PA
    Tuesday, May 12th, 2015
    7:30pm Bell time

    WAR OF THE WORLDS ’15 NIGHT 2
    2300 Arena – Philadelphia, PA
    Wednesday, May 13th, 2015
    7:30pm Bell time

    GLOBAL WARS ’15 – Night #1
    Ted Reeve Arena – Toronto, Ontario
    Friday, May 15th, 2015
    7:30pm Bell time

    GLOBAL WARS ’15 – Night #2
    Ted Reeve Arena – Toronto, Ontario
    Saturday, May 16th, 2015
    7:30pm Bell time

  • NJPW Invasion Attack Results: AJ Styles Defends IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Multiple Title Changes

    New Japan Pro Wrestling held their Invasion Attack event this morning. After winning the New Japan Cup last month, Kota Ibushi decided to challenge AJ Styles for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in the main event. In addition, there were three other titles on the line, two of which changed hands. The full results are below:

    Alex Shelley, Captain New Japan, Kushida, Yohei Komatsu, and Yuji Nagata def. Jushin Thunder Liger, Manabu Nakanishi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Sho Tanaka, and Tiger Mask IV

    Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, and Tomoaki Honma def. Bullet Club (Cody Hall, TamaTonga, Yujiro Takahashi)

    IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

    Roppongi Vice (Rocky Romero & Baretta) def. The Young Bucks (c) to become champions

    IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship

    Kenny Omega (c) def. Mascara Dorada

    IWGP Tag Team Championship

    Kingdom (Matt Taven & Michael Bennett) def. Bullet Club (Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) (c) to become champions

    Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito, and Togi Makabe def. CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, and YOSHI-HASHI)

    Kazuchika Okada def. Bad Luck Fale

    IWGP Heavyweight Championship

    AJ Styles (c) def. Kota Ibushi

    The full event is available to stream with a subscription to njpwworld.com.

  • AJ Styles On Samoa Joe’s ROH Return, “Styles Clash” Controversy & More

    International wrestling star AJ Styles appeared on the “Chad Dukes Wrestling Show” recently to discuss a number of topics, including the return of Samoa Joe to Ring Of Honor, the controversy over his “Styles Clash” finisher and more. Below are highlights from the interview.

    On Samoa Joe returning to ROH: “Joe coming back to Ring of Honor is huge. He and I talked before he released his statement but I was excited about him maybe having the opportunity for him to come back to Ring of Honor because it’s exciting to have a guy who you know works hard and can do unbelievable things and has a history at Ring of Honor. I’m excited to see the welcome he gets when he comes back, not just from the guys in the back, because I know they will welcome him, but from the fans waiting on him.”

    On ROH: “I think they’re trying. You don’t want to move too fast, you start to move fast and you make holes that cost you your company. I think they’re doing the right thing in bringing in these guys, giving these dream matches that people want to see. To me it’s not taking a step back, it’s actually going somewhere having fun and having great matches.”

    On the Styles Clash: “The one thing I can’t control is your head, that’s up to you, and there’s only one thing you can’t do in the move is tuck it. There’s no reason for you to do that.

    At the end of the day if they don’t want to take it I have no problem not doing the Styles Clash, there are other things that I can do. But if the promoter wants it and everybody’s cool with it that’s what we’re gonna do.”

    Check out the complete interview at ChadDukesWrestlingShow.com.