I think a bigger question is does the WWE want AJ Styles?
I'm not disparaging him as a wrestler by any means, he is arguably one of the best guys TNA has right now (possibly, within TNA itself one of the best TNA stars ever? - had he had a career in WWE like he has in TNA he would be a sure-fire HOFer already.)
But here's the thing.
AJ is no spring chicken. He's 35 already and maybe, MAYBE has 5-7 years in him before he should be considering retirement. Add to that the points that Jack-Hammer made about sending guys to FCW and the expectations he is likely to have about pay and place on the roster and his chances of being a worthwhile investment for WWE diminish. Add in that this isn't the Monday night wars, so poaching another company's star doesn't draw anymore. (if it did, TNAs ratings would surely be higher) and it becomes an even less promising investment.
Styles is talented and if he were to jump ship to the 'E I have no doubt he would do well - he would likely go straight into the upper-Midcard, roughly where Punk was before "that" promo. The question is knowing that a) stealing him isn't likely to be a draw and b) he probably has five years maximum left in him. I would say that the WWE is less inclined to sign him in any circumstance (barring of course a total financial collapse of TNA, and even then I suspect he would be fourth or fifth on the list of targets for WWE)
I'm not disparaging him as a wrestler by any means, he is arguably one of the best guys TNA has right now (possibly, within TNA itself one of the best TNA stars ever? - had he had a career in WWE like he has in TNA he would be a sure-fire HOFer already.)
But here's the thing.
AJ is no spring chicken. He's 35 already and maybe, MAYBE has 5-7 years in him before he should be considering retirement. Add to that the points that Jack-Hammer made about sending guys to FCW and the expectations he is likely to have about pay and place on the roster and his chances of being a worthwhile investment for WWE diminish. Add in that this isn't the Monday night wars, so poaching another company's star doesn't draw anymore. (if it did, TNAs ratings would surely be higher) and it becomes an even less promising investment.
Styles is talented and if he were to jump ship to the 'E I have no doubt he would do well - he would likely go straight into the upper-Midcard, roughly where Punk was before "that" promo. The question is knowing that a) stealing him isn't likely to be a draw and b) he probably has five years maximum left in him. I would say that the WWE is less inclined to sign him in any circumstance (barring of course a total financial collapse of TNA, and even then I suspect he would be fourth or fifth on the list of targets for WWE)