Photo: Nicole Mastrogiannis
All Elite Wrestling CEO, President, General Manager and Head of Creative Tony Khan praised A.J. Styles following his reported WWE retirement and speculation that he could possibly join the company during an exclusive interview with the Battleground Podcast this week.
“Oh, I’m a huge fan of AJ Styles. I think he’s incredible. He’s had great matches all over the world,” Khan stated. “We were just talking about ROH. He did some incredible things in ROH that are a part of our library, and also with our partners at New Japan Pro-Wrestling, he was involved in some of the all-time greatest matches.
“His match with Minoru Suzuki is one of my all-time favorites, and he’s had great matches with multiple companies all over the world. He’s never been in AEW before, but he’s certainly, with a lot of the promotions we work with, and of course, in ROH, he has a great history, and for me, he’s one of my all-time favorites, just personally. I think he’s one of the greatest wrestlers ever. So, I have only the highest praise for AJ Styles."
Styles, 48, was defeated by Gunther at the Royal Rumble premium live event in Saudi Arabia on Saturday (January 31) with the stipulation that his WWE career would end with a loss. Styles' status was reportedly "a big topic of conversation" during AEW's Dynamite taping last week, though nobody seems to know his official status, however, will approach him if he becomes available, according to Fightful Select.
AEW was launched by Khan along with executives 'The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson) and Kenny Omega -- along with Cody Rhodes who has since returned to WWE -- who are all close friends and former 'Bullet Club' stablemates with Styles prior to his 10-year run with WWE. The 48-year-old found success in all other major wrestling promotions before signing with WWE in 2016, having won the WWE Championship twice, the Intercontinental Championship one, the United States Championship three times and the RAW/World Tag Team Championship twice during his 10-year run with the company.
AEW Dynamite will air live from the Pearl Theater at the Palms in Las Vegas, Nevada, Wednesday (February 4) night.