10 WWE Stars Who Are RIPPED AS HELL Right Now

8. AJ Styles

AJ Styles Dexter Lumis
WWE

This transformation went exceptionally well. 

AJ Styles - who, prior to 2024, Paul Levesque really didn’t seem to see a great deal in - returned to WWE after a two month absence in December 2023. He did so sporting what was, by his standards, a hulking physique. AJ had never “looked” so good in a purely cosmetic sense, but he built his legacy on dynamic, state-of-the-art action. 

Would a heavier body weigh him down further, after he had struggled to recover his prime form throughout the 2020s? 

No; if anything, the opposite was true. 

Styles bulked up and sped up at the same time - in his mid-to-late 40s, incredibly. His inflated physique, with his enormous biceps and towering traps, was reflective of a renewed level of motivation. 

Perhaps he was very aware that he was no longer anywhere near the conversation for Best In The World and wished to recover his legacy; his Backlash France main event against Cody Rhodes and nostalgic dream match against Naomichi Marufuji were evidence of that. 

AJ was bizarrely anonymous across the last four years; this year, looking more like a star than ever, he took part in one of the loudest wrestling matches ever promoted. 

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!