AJ Styles Reveals The HUGE Pay Cut That Caused His TNA Departure
TNA wanted to slash AJ Styles' salary by an INSANE amount.
Current WWE Champion AJ Styles left TNA for pastures new in late 2013, having scored five World Heavyweight Title reigns, six with the X Division belt, and countless other accolades in over a decade with the promotion.
'The Phenomenal One' became a star in Impact, but has since taken his career to the next level. A highly profitable New Japan Pro Wrestling run yielded two IWGP Heavyweight Championships, and he's now among WWE's most important performers, with over 320 days notched on his latest title reign.
His TNA departure was always reported as a product of failed contract negotiations. Styles has now revealed the extent of them, telling Title Fight Wrestling that the company asked him to take a pay cut of over 60%:-
"I think saying 60 percent is being generous. It's kind of crazy when that's the first offer, you're like 'wait, what?' That doesn't make any sense. I've worked here for 11 years, hard for 11 years. I've gotten more popular over the last year, so I don't know what's going on. This doesn't make much sense to me. Because TNA mismanaged their money, I have to pay the price? That's not how it works and I will not take a backhanded slap like that."
The promotion were experiencing deep financial problems at the time, and likely couldn't afford to keep Styles around on his existing terms. Still, one need only look at their contrasting fortunes since then to recognise the extent of their mistake.
AJ's ambition would've likely prompted him to eventually leave the promotion anyway, but lowballing their biggest homegrown star left Impact without a franchise player, and their business is in the pits in 2018.