AJ Styles Wants To Wrestle In TNA, Explains Why WWE Won't Let Him

Styles admitted during an appearance on No-Contest Wrestling that he would love to wrestle again in TNA before he heads off into the sunset. Although his decade-long run in WWE has made him a household name, TNA is where he spent the bulk of his career, and it's his work there that a lot of fans will remember him for.

Despite a desire to wrestle in TNA one more time, and even though WWE has a working relationship with the promotion, Styles doesn't think it's going to happen. "I was hoping that this would happen, I really was. But then I realized it probably never could, as far as WWE letting me do that," Styles explained.

"It’s because as soon as I open those gates for the main roster talent, now everybody’s going to want to do it... What a moment it was when I was able to go back. But yeah, I just don’t see that match. I don’t see a match happening as of right now." The moment Styles is referencing is the Slammiversary appearance when he surprised the crowd and came to the ring to congratulate Leon Slater for winning the X-Division Championship.

If Styles Wrestles In TNA, Others Will Want The Same Treatment

That moment felt like the prelude to something more. That we might see Styles in TNA again, a few weeks, maybe even months later, returning to challenge someone he clearly admires for the X-Division Title. It seems that, for the time being at least, Styles' Slammiversary appearance was merely a brief hit of nostalgia for those who still strongly associate the former WWE Champion with TNA.

Styles' reason for thinking WWE won't let him go back to TNA, even for one night only, is pretty interesting. WWE and TNA talent have been hopping back and forth between the brands, but, for the most part, the WWE Superstars headed TNA's way are contracted to NXT. Styles is suggesting that those committed to the main roster aren't eligible to wrestle in TNA.

And he may have a point. There are a lot of wrestlers on the main roster who regularly go unused, often for weeks at a time. If they see someone wrestle a match in TNA, they might start to ask why they can't do the same, especially if they're not getting time in the ring on Raw and SmackDown. There's a delicate balance that needs to be struck in the WWE/TNA relationship, and if main roster stars begin to cross the divide, it might upset that balance.