Friday's statement from TNA Impact Wrestling, in which they claim to have had an agreement with AJ Styles, is clearly designed to put his WWE Royal Rumble debut in jeopardy. However, Styles in the Royal Rumble is still likely, with the insider word being that he never actually signed a deal with TNA. "Was told they didn't sign s***. And in the case of Anderson, TNA opened itself up to a tampering lawsuit with New Japan," Dave Meltzer states on the f4wonline Board, "One of the three for sure, if not all three, were not looking at TNA for leverage for WWE, and it was WWE going to them after hearing they may go to TNA and making a better offer." With no deal actually signed, there's not much TNA can do, other than the public whining option they've already opted for. And if anything, this has only created more buzz for Styles' WWE debut. TNA really shouldn't have bothered: if they were going to take legal action, wouldn't they already be doing that? PWInsider states a legal move could still happen, but if Meltzer's source is correct, there probably isn't going to be much of a case. As for WWE being put off booking Styles in the Rumble, PWInsider comments "they timed it for the Royal Rumble weekend on the off chance the ripple effects of it might see WWE blink and change their plan." However, WWE's legal team is one of the best, and Vince McMahon isn't the type of booker to be intimidated by a smaller promotion. So Styles will most likely still be in the Royal Rumble.
