Reigning TNA World Champion Wants to Have a Dream Match with AJ Styles with Gold on the Line

Because of his legendary rivalries with names like Samoa Joe , Christopher Daniels , Sting, and Kurt Angle, reigning TNA World Champion Mike Santana now wants to test himself against Styles in a dream match. Speaking with The Stunner, Santana revealed his ultimate goal. 

I have one dream match left. I’ve been thankful and blessed enough in my career to have worked with some amazing people. A lot of guys that I grew up watching and idolizing, but the one guy that’s left is AJ Styles. I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. I want to wrestle AJ Styles one-on-one in a TNA ring for the world title.

Mike Santana via The Stunner

Santana has established himself as a true singles star after capturing the TNA World Championship from NXT’s Trick Williams in the main event of TNA Bound for Glory 2025. Before that, he made his name alongside Ortiz as part of LAX/Proud & Powerful before going solo in early 2024.

Interestingly, Santana isn’t the only current TNA titleholder dreaming of a match with Styles. X-Division Champion Leon Slater told WhatCulture Wrestling earlier this month that he also wants to face Styles before the WWE legend hangs up his boots.

For context, Styles has already announced that he plans to retire in 2026, officially ending his legendary career. He has already wrestled his final matches in Australia and had an emotional send-off in Japan.

Notably, Styles made a surprise return to TNA Wrestling at Slammiversary 2025, where the first-ever X-Division Champion endorsed current champion Slater. Whether a TNA World Title match with Santana or Slater actually materializes remains to be seen, but one thing’s for sure: Santana is ready to face ‘The Phenomenal One’ if the opportunity comes his way.

AJ Styles weighs in on John Cena’s heartfelt tribute at Crown Jewel

While AJ Styles is set to hang up his boots sometime in 2026, it’s clear that ‘The Phenomenal One’ isn’t slowing down when it comes to cementing his legacy in professional wrestling history. Continuing to add to his storied career, Styles recently delivered an all-time classic against John Cena at the Crown Jewel PLE in Perth.

The two longtime rivals squared off one final time, with Cena picking up the win in an action-packed bout filled with callbacks to their previous encounters and legendary opponents like Sting, Chris Jericho , Bray Wyatt , and The Undertaker . 

Since it marked Styles’ last opportunity to face Cena, it was no surprise that both men went all out, even including a special touch during the pre-match introductions. Styles paid homage to his past by wearing his iconic blue and white TNA shorts, while Cena crafted a touching tribute of his own. 

The 17-time World Champion personally wrote a unique introduction for ring announcer Alicia Taylor, referencing Styles’ time in TNA, his run as Bullet Club leader in NJPW, and the famous face that runs the place tagline. In a recent interview with Justin Barrasso of the Boston Herald, Styles reflected on the emotional moment and expressed genuine gratitude for Cena’s gesture. 

It definitely caught me off guard. When I heard ‘The definition of Total Nonstop Action,’ I thought to myself, ‘Wait a minute.’ He took this from just being about John to making it about John and AJ Styles. It’s something he didn’t have to do, but that’s John. That’s just who he is.

AJ Styles via Boston Herald

Styles and Cena have shared the ring five times in singles competition since Styles’ WWE debut in 2016, delivering some of the most memorable matches of the modern era, including their trilogy at Money in the Bank 2016 & SummerSlam in 2016, and Royal Rumble in 2017.

While Cena will officially retire from in-ring competition in December, Styles continues to thrive. On this week’s edition of Raw, he captured the World Tag Team Championships alongside Dragon Lee , proving that even in the twilight of his career, Styles remains every bit as phenomenal as ever.