Negotiations With AJ Styles "Fall Apart"; Styles Returning to ROH

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I know AJ wants to work for Ring of Honor. I just don't think he NEEDS to work there. He's got so many indie dates all paying him $3-5,000 per appearance. He stands to make somewhere around $100K this year just in the dates he's booked so far, although I think that's a high estimate. And if he wasn't working ROH, he could probably book every weekend for the rest of 2014 and make close to what he did for TNA. I'm totally ballparking all of these guestimates in my head, but you get the idea.

I still think the leverage is in AJ's court.

 

[JJYanks121]

So, the guy who was never NOT mentioned on TNA TV was back IN PERSON on TNA TV.

And there were seriously pages of people talking about this like the guy was actually without a contract in TNA?

Are you satisfied NOW?

 

[The Dragon Saga]

I know AJ wants to work for Ring of Honor. I just don't think he NEEDS to work there. He's got so many indie dates all paying him $3-5,000 per appearance. He stands to make somewhere around $100K this year just in the dates he's booked so far, although I think that's a high estimate. And if he wasn't working ROH, he could probably book every weekend for the rest of 2014 and make close to what he did for TNA. I'm totally ballparking all of these guestimates in my head, but you get the idea.

I still think the leverage is in AJ's court.

Schedule is going to be harder though. This'll be the hardest schedule AJ runs in years. And while some places won't be as physically demanding, ROH will be, a guy like Roderick Strong will be. And as AJ said during his interview with Meltzer and Alvarez, he knows there's pressure to deliver with Roddy on Saturday cause of their past matches being so highly praised.

So, the guy who was never NOT mentioned on TNA TV was back IN PERSON on TNA TV.

And there were seriously pages of people talking about this like the guy was actually without a contract in TNA?

Are you satisfied NOW?

https://twitter.com/ringofhonor/status/418959742330212352

ROH's status this evening says it all. Tape delay. A one month tape delay.

 

[JJYanks121]

Schedule is going to be harder though. This'll be the hardest schedule AJ runs in years. And while some places won't be as physically demanding, ROH will be, a guy like Roderick Strong will be. And as AJ said during his interview with Meltzer and Alvarez, he knows there's pressure to deliver with Roddy on Saturday cause of their past matches being so highly praised.



https://twitter.com/ringofhonor/status/418959742330212352

ROH's status this evening says it all. Tape delay. A one month tape delay.

So, you're STILL buying this? They brought did all this stuff with AJ and he's STILL going to leave? I mean if that's so, at least TNA were smart enough to get him back for that match to give some legitimacy to Magnus if he wins, but still. Not sure I buy that AJ is gone from TNA until I start not seeing him on TV at all.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

So, you're STILL buying this? They brought did all this stuff with AJ and he's STILL going to leave? I mean if that's so, at least TNA were smart enough to get him back for that match to give some legitimacy to Magnus if he wins, but still. Not sure I buy that AJ is gone from TNA until I start not seeing him on TV at all.

Well if you'd like to hear the view from the horses mouth, take an hour of your time to listen to what's in the spoiler tags and then get back to me about that. The line, "not everything in wrestling is a work" applies.

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]8YEmQqqLrLo[/YOUTUBE]

 

[JJYanks121]

Well if you'd like to hear the view from the horses mouth, take an hour of your time to listen to what's in the spoiler tags and then get back to me about that. The line, "not everything in wrestling is a work" applies.

Spoiler

[YOUTUBE]8YEmQqqLrLo[/YOUTUBE]

I agree that not everything is a work and if you've noticed my posts about Jeff Jarrett, I'm pretty sure I called out people for being stupid to suggest that a guy resigning quietly and privately, not on TV, would somehow be a work.

In this case though, TNA made the guy their champion at their biggest PPV of the year. I'm trying to give the company the benefit of the doubt in that they couldn't be stupid enough to not have the guy locked up long term to do that. Maybe they are that stupid and they actually can't get something done which will lead to Magnus defeating AJ and then.......I have no idea since right now all the babyfaces are getting their asses handed to them by heels.

If AJ is going to be gone, it's not very good long term planning is all. I was merely trying to give TNA the benefit of the doubt on this one since they made the guy their champion.

 

[Rayne]

It's not an AJ Styles thing, it's a TNA thing. It's like losing your queen in a game of chess because you made a spectacularly stupid blunder. You aren't really concerned about the queen, but it lets you know that the game is not going well for your side.

And that's what it is. People insisted that the AJ Styles thing must be a work, because there was no way a company would be so stupid as to make a guy their champion, then tell him to go around the world to other promotions with their belt, if he wasn't under contract. Not "oh, sure, we'll deal in the future", but locked-the-fuck-down. (Sidenote: If anyone ever tells you that they'll work under a casual arrangement now for important work and sign a deal at a less important time later, and you believe them, you are an idiot. #pillman) I've been sitting here for the past three years, trying to take the sugarcoating off of what comes out of TNA, and I underestimated- badly- just how awful things have gotten for the business side of TNA. (Magnus is now in the company's starring role. Let that sink in. Magnus could show up at some local promotion's event held in a restaurant, and the house still wouldn't fill.)

AJ Styles is symbolic of TNA as a whole. He was the very last person people expected to jump ship, and now he's jumped ship- and as he has gone, so will Sting and Kurt Angle. (Please, someone come in and say that Jeff Hardy is pulling part of a work.)

The choices are this; either TNA is truly committed to creating the deepest internet swerve in the history of professional wrestling, or they have been mismanaged worse than anyone on this board (who can speak in full sentences) could possibly imagine. If people are having trouble choosing between the two, early last year there was a wedding between a D-list reality show performer (cannot bring myself to use the word 'star') and a guy named Bubba, which was interrupted by a gang of bikers without bikes.

 

[johnbragg]

I think it's not a work--it's a gamble.

Everyone knows how this story is supposed to end--AJ Styles, the Heart and Soul of TNA, returns from exile to take on Dixieland, backed by a crew of longtime TNA stalwarts.

AJ Styles expects that to happen. Dixie Carter expects that to happen. Maybe in March, maybe in June, maybe a few weeks before Bound for Glory.

But they don't agree on how much DC will pay AJ to make that happen.

 

[Vance Ryan]

Nooo he was one of the reasons id watch tna other than kurt angle . dont leave aj.'o well if
if wwf died in 1994 people would only remember hogan
NWA/wcw flair
Tna today aj
o well im a aj fan so i guesss ill follow him whererever he goes but o well ill miss him in tna

 

[delboy]

Think the E should just sign him and get it over with, he would make great matches with bryan, punk, even cena, wouldnt mind seeing him face taker either

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Even the trailer sounds awesome, the fucking trailer!

I got a 25% discount on my account too, so gonna download this and watch it if I can before Raw. I'll post some notes during or after my viewing, spoiler free. Annnnd it's not available for download just yet. I'll wait, impatiently.

 

[ABMorales787]

I agree that not everything is a work and if you've noticed my posts about Jeff Jarrett, I'm pretty sure I called out people for being stupid to suggest that a guy resigning quietly and privately, not on TV, would somehow be a work.

In this case though, TNA made the guy their champion at their biggest PPV of the year. I'm trying to give the company the benefit of the doubt in that they couldn't be stupid enough to not have the guy locked up long term to do that. Maybe they are that stupid and they actually can't get something done which will lead to Magnus defeating AJ and then.......I have no idea since right now all the babyfaces are getting their asses handed to them by heels.

If AJ is going to be gone, it's not very good long term planning is all. I was merely trying to give TNA the benefit of the doubt on this one since they made the guy their champion.

I don't think you're grasping why this happened and how. Keep in mind the storyline to make AJ Styles World Champion was set in motion all the way back in November of 2012. They decided to stick with it until the end in case AJ did stay. The company has changed drastically since then though and as the time approached for AJ's renegotiation, TNA was not in the same position they expected to be when they first started AJ's storyline.

They went down the well again in trying to appease to AJ with these high paying outside TNA dates while they kept negotiating but as you can see, that may have worked on Jeff Hardy (he's written out due to the UK tour, I do believe he still has a full year on contract) but it didn't work on AJ. Is it bad? Indeed it is. TNA either did not have the resources to secure their most prolific talent or they simply didn't think he was worth as much as he asked. It's not a work. This isn't exactly new. It's just been a while since something this has happened.

 

[ad556]

I think honestly if AJ is not gonna stay for long, please do not go to WWE. If anyone does remember AJ did do a debut on Velocity, i have the video and he was great in the E, but i think it was around 2003 or 2002 or so, and its a shame that AJ could not impress them, and now can't impress Dixie.

TNA seems like a sinking ship, and it is reminding me of WCW every time i watch a new episode, bring back 6 sides now Hogan is out of there, hire some decent creative writers, hell even gets fans inputs TNA, maybe that will help....

TNA will never succeed if Dixie Carter owns the Company, hell yes i am TNA fan i even have the original DVD of TNA's ever first PPV, up from 2004-2010 i even have 2005 2006 and so on original DVDs, thats how much i support TNA buying through Ebay and our store in Australia Go Figure Collectables or through TNA Shop Online.

I wish TNA would go back to there old format of 2008-2009, TNA was still very decent back then, and it was a great alternative to WWE. It's shocking to say but i am enjoying WWE alot more then TNA, and TNA keep stealing WWE idea's.

This is when AJ left they were stealing the CM Punk storyline, but could not even execute a proper ending to the Story, it was just bloody horrible. For some of you who have not viewed TNA yet, i won't spoil it. Although now TNA is copying WWE its getting to much for me.

 

[Stormlor]

I just saw that video of AJ versus the Hurricane on YouTube. That was a terrible match to show off anything with AJ. He did almost nothing in that entire match.

TNA is in trouble, but from what they are doing they are doing something different now. Bringing in the American Wolves, and bringing in some other talent might make TNA better. On the other hand it might make them worse. The video that was shown above with AJ justifies my feelings with TNA.

As for AJ, I think he should of stayed with TNA even if he was getting a pay cut. ROH can't pay him even remotely what he is worth.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

ROH can't pay him even remotely what he is worth.

According to Styles himself, they can and they are.

 

[Randy Orton's Head Blood]

Honestly, I am not surprised. I bet they'll get Steen/Styles or M.Hardy/Styles immediately too. Either way, this could be a good move for Styles, who may be able to get some TNA fans over to watching a different company. However, I'm sure that the WWE may eventually try to snatch him up. Deny the thoughts all you wish, it could be a possibility! I think AJ might finally have a bit more time to explore and I think he may be overall a bit happier.

 

[ad556]

I think honestly if AJ is not gonna stay for long, please do not go to WWE. If anyone does remember AJ did do a debut on Velocity, i have the video and he was great in the E, but i think it was around 2003 or 2002 or so, and its a shame that AJ could not impress them, and now can't impress Dixie.

TNA seems like a sinking ship, and it is reminding me of WCW every time i watch a new episode, bring back 6 sides now Hogan is out of there, hire some decent creative writers, hell even gets fans inputs TNA, maybe that will help....

TNA will never succeed if Dixie Carter owns the Company, hell yes i am TNA fan i even have the original DVD of TNA's ever first PPV, up from 2004-2010 i even have 2005 2006 and so on original DVDs, thats how much i support TNA buying through Ebay and our store in Australia Go Figure Collectables or through TNA Shop Online.

I wish TNA would go back to there old format of 2008-2009, TNA was still very decent back then, and it was a great alternative to WWE. It's shocking to say but i am enjoying WWE alot more then TNA, and TNA keep stealing WWE idea's.

This is when AJ left they were stealing the CM Punk storyline, but could not even execute a proper ending to the Story, it was just bloody horrible. For some of you who have not viewed TNA yet, i won't spoil it. Although now TNA is copying WWE its getting to much for me.

Re Edit: As of now TNA has been doing well recently as of late, but it will not be the same without AJ Styles, at least he is doing independence, and that he is on ROH here and there popping up.