I think a lot of people are missing a huge point here. People think that IF AJ were to jump to the WWE, they would get the TNA version of AJ but only in WWE.
Not happening.
See, you won't get AJ Styles, The Phenomenal One, with all his brilliant moves and sweet matches in the WWE. You will most likely get Alex Jones, this great kid who flies around the ring and is so exciting to watch, with his "educated feet" and he's like a "video game character".
One half of AJ's whole appeal and gimmick IS the fact that he has been in TNA since day one and that he was one of the key figures that helped built the company. The other half is his abandon and freedom in the ring which translates into amazing matches.
Clearly if he goes to the WWE they will absolutely NEVER acknowledge his accomplishments in TNA and his importance to that company. The most they'll do is simply mentioned he's a star from another company, and I doubt they'll even do that. Half of AJ Styles - gone.
Then you have AJ's moveset, his creativity and his storytelling. Out the fucking window. AJ will have to adjust to WWE's standards, wrestle WWE's style, tell WWE's stories. In addition, AJ will have to study scripts, rehearse and do all the stuff WWE makes their superstars (I hate that fucking term) do. As we all know AJ is not exactly the next Pacino. He's fake as FUCK in TNA where his promos are not scripted and man oh man is he going to blow in the WWE.
With that said, you hinder AJ's freedom in the ring and you chain him in your bullshit scripts, causing him to cut dreadful promos for maybe even more dreadful storylines, thus giving creative a reason to stuff his ass in the mid-card, job him out and basically wreck his image among the people who know him.
Moreover, AJ is I believe 34 or 35. I'm sorry, unless WWE is planning to bring him in and push him STRAIGHT into the Main Event and book him as a big shot for the next five years, AJ Styles is in no position to be re-created. It took him 10 years to get to where he is now, he can't afford to start all over again. It's not even about condition. AJ is barely any slower or less agile than he was in 2003-4, that guy will go for years. It's a career issue.
And talking about shooting AJ straight into the Main Event, WWE won't do that. He'll have to start from scratch. It's not because WWE doesn't recognize his talent, it's because there is NO money in that. There has NEVER been a lot of money in AJ period, but for WWE to have him come in and start feuding with the big boys off the bat he'd have to be a huge star and as of this writing, TNA is a fart in the wind for WWE, thus MOST of WWE's audience have no fucking clue who he is or do, but can't appreciate him truly since they're not too familiar with AJ.
So what do we end up with? Alex Jones, limited moves, hindered promo ability, mid-carding his ass off at 35 years of age hoping everything works out. You'll do that shit for money? You'll ruin everything you worked for in TNA for cash? And why are we assuming he's not getting paid well in TNA?
At the end of the day, AJ in WWE will fucking SUCK. We'll be able to see the strings, we'll know these moves are not his own. Let's face it, there's not a single TNA fan out there who wants to see AJ working for the man and the lot of WWE fans want to see him in TNA so they can boast and feed their superiority bullshit in order to shove the fact that they "stole" AJ away from TNA.
AJ shouldn't swallow his ego, the OP should just ... swallow.
This is exactly what I expected out of you. That's not a positive or negative sentiment, just that you are incredibly predictable. You have this set way to think and no matter what happens, you stick to it. Noble I suppose, but oh so wrong in this case.
If you read what I wrote, you'd see a fair assessment of AJ Styles in WWE. It's not a wrestling mark take and it's not a TNA mark "they're gonna screw him up!" take. In its simplest terms, AJ Styles is a midcarder in TNA and that's where he's going to be for the forseeable future. He's not the face of the company despite what fans want and he's not a main player in what they are doing. To put it in perspective, the only person to lose cleanly to Bobby Roode during this title reign is AJ Styles. What that means is that he's good enough to put in there but not good enough to look as good or better than the champ as a face. That means jobber to the stars/midcarder.
My argument is that if AJ is able to obtain that same role in WWE which is not that hard to fathom, he'd be better off in WWE. First off, let's talk about why it's not hard to believe AJ would be at least a viable and visible midcarder in WWE. To start, this isn't 1991 and being AJ's size isn't a hindrance. Considering he's bigger than main eventer Daniel Bryan, it can't be. He also has name recognition. This isn't Chris Harris who no wrestling fan gave a fuck about outside of his tag team, this is AJ Styles. While he's not "WWE popular", enough people know about him. CM Punk and Daniel Bryan were indy popular which is less than TNA popular and that built in popularity helped them. I'd imagine the same would hold true for Styles. People are smarter these days and they'd be excited to see AJ in WWE.
Right off the bat, that popularity would make him a viable midcarder. As for the "moveset" argument, Evan Bourne was allowed to do a shooting star press because he proved he can do it without botching. Same goes for Justin Gabriel and the 450. If there's something AJ wants to do and he's consistent with it, he'll get to do it. I'd think AJ's athleticism (while he still has it) is marketable so why not let the fans pay to see it while he's stll got it?
I wouldn't worry about the match side much. Again I point to Daniel Bryan. He decided on his own to go to developmental to make sure he understood the WWE style and it has paid off. He has put on some great matches and he is at the top of cards now putting on matches people are paying to see. If DB can do it with NO prior TV experience, AJ can do it.
All of this is fodder though. I mean, let's assume that he's Kofi status in WWE. A reliable midcard face who puts on fun, solid matches and can get a midcard title at any time (he'd get one likely within months of his arrival but that's not that important to the argument). He's in that position in TNA and they don't have a viable midcard title at the moment. Essentially he's in midcard feuds with the SAME GUY and putting on the same matches he has for years. This "he built TNA" stuff is great, but management today doesn't see it and doesn't care. He's a midcarder there and TNA midcarder < WWE midcarder. As a WWE midcarder, he'd have more exposure, more visibility, more of an opportunity to make money for his family, and everything that goes with that. Basically your profile is much greater. With Impact going live, the schedule at TNA isn't going to be much greater so there isn't that anymore and like I argued earlier, lets say AJ wants to retire by 40 or so. For the next 5-6 years he could either work TNA midcards and make ok money or work WWE midcards and MAYBE some main events (again if DB can do it, why not AJ) and make A LOT more money doing so. The years would be better spent in WWE where he might be able to make enough money to retire at a young age and be there for his family.
The only reason to think that this life isn't available to him is to maintain an anti-WWE sentiment like you clearly have. To think "he'll be changed and this and that BOO HOO". Thing is, WWE might be a lot of things, but stupid businessmen isn't one of them. They know that AJ Styles is a known name to wrestling fans and they'd capitalize on that while they could. He wouldn't be some nobody starting from scratch. He might get a name change but Daniel Bryan did and he's doing ok. People still know him and the crowds would dictate whether he should be pushed and the crowds would undoubtedly react to the guy.
All I'm saying is that he's a husband and father. You have formidable years of providing in this life. It's nice to have loyalty but if you were given the opportunity to provide more for your family and it didn't involve doing something illegal, would you do it? Most people would and I think AJ would. It's not a negative thing to think that way and while I don't know if the opportunity exisits, I wouldn't fault AJ Styles if he ever came to the WWE to better feed his family. He certainly would be able to do so and I think it would actually help his career profile, not hinder it.
