Original Plans For AJ Styles' TNA Return Revealed (WWE News)
WWE reportedly changed TNA plans hours before Slammiversary 2025 went live.
Jon Alba from Sports Illustrated is reporting that backstage reaction towards a memorable AJ Styles return at TNA's Slammiversary 2025 pay-per-view was positive. However, follow up news is coming in that WWE made steps to change what AJ would be doing on the show, which may have led to Leon Slater being totally blindsided by AJ's arrival after he defeated Moose to become the brand new TNA X Division Champion.
Slater wouldn't have been complaining though. Ultimately, Styles appeared in-ring (accompanied by his classic TNA entrance music) to endorse the new champ as the future. Of course, AJ has a rich history with the X Division prize himself - he's a 6-time X Division champ, and was the first wrestle to hold that strap once it was introduced in 2002.
Sports Illustrated's sources behind the scenes told them that Styles was originally supposed to work a segment with old pal Frankie Kazarian at Slammiversary, but that WWE themselves put a stop to that for unknown reasons. Further to this, PWInsider's Mike Johnson conducted an interview with Frankie last week, and AJ's old mate teased a confrontation between them.
It didn't happen, and it looks like WWE had their say to get things switched mere hours before the show beamed live.
Interestingly, TNA President Carlos Silva told SI that AJ's creative "changed a few times" in the lead up to the event, but that he was always pencilled in to celebrate his history with the X Division belt. So, presumably, Kazarian would've been involved in something along those lines too.
Nobody Knows If AJ Will Work A TNA Match Or Not
At time of writing, nobody's really sure whether or not Styles will work another match for TNA. WWE does have a strong working relationship with the Impact crew these days, but no WWE main roster stars have worked an official match on the TNA side just yet. Being fair, it'd make a hell of a lot of sense if AJ turned out to be the first.
Watch this space.
TNA sources backstage reckon that WWE bosses didn't want to tease a match for Styles during his appearance at Slammiversary, but that won't stop fans talking about the possibilities. The veteran recently signed a contract extension with the market leader, and it certainly wouldn't bash his credibility if he worked a bout or two on TNA's side. If anything, a lot of wrestling fans would surely love to see that happen.
Initially, it seemed likely that AJ would endorse then challenge Slater. There's still time for that plan to develop, but it'll hinge on what WWE/TKO chiefs want to do.