10 WWE Wrestlers Who Must Also Join AEW

8. AJ Styles

Kofi Kingston AEW
WWE

The fact that AJ Styles is currently involved in a series of matches around the Intercontinental Title speaks to both his versatility and the strange state of modern era WWE.

There was a time where that particular belt represented a specific period in a wrestler's career and one they'd ultimately look past and never revisit. Now, it's a different badge of honour - an acknowledgement that the company would rather use you than not but don't expect to be factored in to the big plans any time soon.

Hardly 'Phenomenal', is it?

On the surface, Styles seems relatively content to retire with WWE having used his incredible talent and experience to rise quickly through the ranks upon arriving in 2016. But might there be one big gamble left? He was unhappy with the treatment of his friends Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, initially unhappy at the prospect of working with Paul Heyman again, and can't be thrilled that his growing Twitch empire might be clobbered by impending new guidelines.

It's unlikely, but not impossible. And wasn't that the phrasing applied to Styles' trajectory for most of his TNA career?

 
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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett