WWE Website Picks Up On Rumors Of AJ Styles And Other NJPW Stars Coming In

WWE's website has picked up on the rumors of New Japan Pro Wrestling stars AJ Styles, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson and Shinsuke Nakamura possibly leaving NJPW for WWE.

It's rare that WWE's website covers rumors like these and they are promising updates. Below is what they wrote:

Are AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows coming to WWE?

The sports-entertainment world has been buzzing this week with speculation that WWE has signed four massive international Superstars.

Numerous media outlets reported Monday that AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Karl Anderson and Luke "Doc" Gallows — most recently of New Japan Pro Wrestling — are in negotiations to compete under the WWE banner.

The office of WWE COO and EVP of Talent Relations, Triple H, declined to comment on the rumors for WWE.com.

Reports began circulating late Sunday that all four had reportedly given their notices to New Japan management. Fueling the rumors that Styles, Nakamura, Anderson and Gallows were WWE-bound was a series of tweets involving reigning NXT Champion Finn Bálor.

Until recently, Styles, Gallows and Anderson were all part of New Japan's Bullet Club faction, a stable formerly led by Bálor when he wrestled in Japan under the alias Prince Devitt. For months, Bálor has made it clear that he's still tight with the Bullet Club members, even tweeting photos of them wearing his "Bálor Club" T-Shirts. On Monday, Bálor stirred the pot again, tweeting an image of Anderson sporting trunks that bore Finn's "demon" design. Additionally, the official Twitter account for the Bullet Club tweeted the NXT Champion Monday, telling him to keep more Bálor Club shirts on hand in case they need them. That tweet has since been deleted.

Rumor Mill - WWE Reportedly Signs AJ Styles And Other Top NJPW Stars

WWE has reportedly signed New Japan Pro Wrestling stars AJ Styles, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson and current IWGP Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, according to F4WOnline. We first exclusively reported in early December that WWE was interested in signing Nakamura. The group reportedly informed NJPW booker Gedo that they were finishing up before WrestleKingdom 10 this morning.

No word yet on when the four will begin work with WWE but Nakamura apparently is not leaving early as he will most likely drop his title before leaving.

F4W added that Anderson was reportedly also in talks with TNA and close to signing but the WWE deal came through instead. Anderson, Gallows and Nakamura are expected to honor their Ring of Honor dates for February and AJ is likely done with ROH going forward.

Which Wrestler Topped The 25th Annual PWI 500?, Full Top 10 Listing

The 25th annual PWI 500 is now available for download at pwi-online.com. Topping this year's list, for the first time, is WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, whose unexpected title win at WrestleMania, combined with several key victories throughout the evaluation period helped him lock down the number 1 position.

"Thanks @OfficialPWI for the number 1 spot," Rollins tweeted Thursday. "But let's be honest here...was there really ever a second option? Mwuhahahaha!!"

Rollins joins an elite group of wrestlers who have topped the PWI 500 since it debuted in 1991, including Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin and, last year's top-ranked wrestler, Daniel Bryan.

Rounding out this year's Top 10:

2. John Cena, who achieved his 12th consecutive Top 10 ranking.
3. AJ Styles
4. Roman Reigns
5. Shinsuke Nakamura
6. Randy Orton
7. Jay Briscoe
8. Rusev
9. Alberto El Patron
10. Kevin Owens

The PWI 500 is compiled each year using criteria that includes win-loss record, championships won, quality of competition, major feuds, prominence within their individual promotion(s), and overall wrestling ability. The evaluation period was from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015.

The print edition of the 2015 PWI 500 hits news stands on Sept. 29, but the digital edition can be downloaded now for just $3.50 at pwi-online.com.

WWE Star Tops PWI 500 List

WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan was the #1 ranked wrestler on the 24th annual “PWI 500″ list.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated selected this year’s list by evulating all pro wrestlers between July 1st, 2013, and July 31st, 2014. The rules state wrestlers must have competed in a minimum of twenty matches, or at least one match in seven separate months in the specified time frame.

The top ten of the PWI 500 list is as follows:

Daniel Bryan
Randy Orton
John Cena
AJ Styles
Kazuchika Okada
Bray Wyatt
Roman Reigns
Magnus
Adam Cole
Bully Ray

Can TNA Get Over?

Rumors have swirled about the demise of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Is this the end for the company? And will professional wrestling ever support two major promotions again? Click here.

source: grantland.com

IMPACT Wrestling Results - AJ Styles Returns

AJ Styles Talks About WWE Not Having Interest In Signing Him

AJ Styles recently spoke with F4Wonline.com about TNA, ROH and more. Regarding WWE, AJ said he understands WWE is putting a lot into their developmental system and just may not be interested in him.

It was pointed out that a wrestler in AJ’s position not being signed right away by WWE would have been unthinkable 10 years ago and that this is an indication of how much the business has changed. AJ responded, “Yeah. Lucky me, huh?”

AJ Styles Returning to Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor announced that AJ Styles will be at their show at the Tennessee State Grounds on January 4th. This marks Styles return to the company since Death Before Dishonor IV where he beat Davey Richards. AJ is scheduled to face Roderick Strong, that will air on ROH Tv on the weekend of February 1st.

AJ Styles Issues Statement on TNA Departure

Today for the first time in 11 years, AJ Styles awakes to find himself without a professional wrestling contract. I can't help but think how did I get here, what must I have done wrong, did I not deliver in the ring, etc. All of those are pertinent questions that any man or woman who finds himself or herself unemployed would ask.

I have always prided myself in being the wrestler that stays away from the things in this business that could easily destroy myself, my family, my marriage, and even my career. A wrestler who goes above and beyond to give the fans what they paid to see.

I move forward not bitter, but better for the blessings and memories that I have been a part of since TNA's inception.

When this contract renegotiation journey started several months ago, my wife and I began praying for God to close doors that needed to be closed and to open the doors that He wanted us to walk through. We asked him to prepare us for this journey and to help us to have the faith to be obedient to what He would have us to do. I am assured by the name Immanuel in Matthews 1:23 that I will never be alone. Hebrews 13.5, says He will never leave us or forsake us. There is a lot in this world that I am unsure of, especially in this moment, but there is one thing that I am certain. Contracts may expire, but the promise of Immanuel will never expire.

As my family and I move forward with my wrestling career, we will turn to Jabez's prayer found in 1 Chronicles 4:10.

Oh, that You would bless me indeed,
and enlarge my territory,
that Your hand would be with me,
and that You would keep me from evil.

My family and I are both grateful for the platform that TNA has allowed me to experience. TNA has been a blessing to our family for many years. We have made many friendships and many more memories. While you may not be seeing AJ Styles in TNA, you can be sure that he will be traveling the world and delivering many more Phenomenal matches. Visit AJStyles.org for a complete list of bookings.

Sincerely,

AJ Styles

AJ Styles Leaving TNA

Unless something changes over the next few days, AJ Styles will be leaving TNA for the first time since the company was founded in 2002 next week.
Styles' current contract extension expires on 12/16, PWInsider.com has confirmed. As of 12/17, he is a free agent and has already begun to accept independent bookings via his long-time agent Bill Behrens at Showbis@aol.com.

As PWInsider.com has reported for months, Styles and TNA have been far apart on money. The two sides did not really begin negotiating until Styles' last long-term deal was close to expiring and signed a two month extension in order to continue working together while they attempted to seal a new deal.

Unfortunately, the two sides just couldn't make a deal happen. We have heard that it was a situation where TNA just wasn't able to offer Styles what he had been earning and he, feeling correctly that he had been a big part of the heart and soul of the company, would not agree to take a lesser deal. The situation put both sides in between a rock and a hard place, leading to the breakdown between sides.

In a lot of ways, Styles' exit has sent a bad signal to other TNA "originals" who have deals coming up as the message being sent is that the company, which has been cutting corners, will play hardball financially even at the cost of losing their own homegrown players. Styles was one of the company's legitimate main eventers who had been been with the company as it evolved and matured, becoming the centerpiece for the X-Division before evolving into a legitimate main eventer. While he wasn't the draw that Sting was during Sting's heyday in WCW, Styles was very similar to Sting in that he was closely branded as a TNA star and as someone who was loyal to the company - just as Sting was when World Championship Wrestling existed.

Styles officially finished up with the company last week at the Impact tapings in Orlando, Florida with appearances for episodes that will air in early 2014.

Styles is already moving forward with outside projects. He has an autobiography set to be released in the first quarter of 2014 and will be making an appearance next year as part of a talking tour in the UK. Initial dates for that tour had been announced but the tour will be pushed back as Diamond Dallas Page had already scheduled a similar tour for the same time period and the decision was made that it wasn't right to compete with something already scheduled.

News from the TNA Hall of Fame Ceremony

TNA inducting Sting into their Hall of Fame last night in Phoenix. We know that the welcome was done by Jeremy Borash, Mike Tenay handled the opening remarks and then speeches were done by AJ Styles, Hulk Hogan and Lex Luger. The actual induction was done by Dixie Carter. Pretty much the entire TNA roster was in attendance but at best we can tell, there was no appearance by WWE Superstar Christian. Highlights from the ceremony will air tonight on the Bound For Glory post-show.

WWE & TNA Up for Shorty Awards

WWE is up for several awards in this year's Shorty Awards. The Shortys honor the best producers of short content on social media including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and other sites. WWE is up for the Best TV Show award while Zack Ryder is leading the Best Webshow category and The Rock is in the top 10 for the Best Actor category. Several WWE Superstars are in the running for the Best Athlete award including John Cena, Kelly Kelly, The Bella Twins, CM Punk and others.

TNA stars Rosita, Velvet Sky, AJ Styles, Mickie James, Brooke Adams and others are also nominated.

source: allwrestling.com

Rumor Mill - Hogan Lobbied To Have Roode Lose; Issues with AJ Styles

PWInsider is reporting that Bobby Roode was scheduled to win the world title from Kurt Angle.

Hogan lobbied to have Angle go over Roode because he felt that Roode wasn't ready for a run with the title as he doesn't feel the time is right for Roode to be the top guy.

In addition to Hogan's opinions on Roode, there was a lot of a banter as reported on Twitter between Hogan and AJ Styles. According to reports, there was a lot of resentment towards Hogan from the long time company employees as Hogan criticized Styles on Twitter after Styles missed Saturdays fan interaction event due to a death in his family.

AJ Styles: Pairing with Ric Flair "Didn't Fit My Personality"

Alex Marvez is featuring an interview with TNA Wrestling star AJ Styles in his syndicated column discussing why his pairing with Ric Flair didn't fit his personality.

"It didn't fit my personality at all. Ric casts a big shadow. I think I've learned more about how to get out of that shadow when I was up against him rather than with him. When you're with Ric, he's going to get your attention. I definitely learned some stuff like the way to cut an (interview) and stuff like that. I respect him. Even though he's 62, he's still one of the most entertaining guys in pro wrestling."...More?

A.J. Styles Injury Status

TNA star AJ Styles posted the following on his Twitter page concerning his injury:

"Sorry guys it's true. I tore me my hip flexor and hip labrum. I'll be back wrestling real soon. Not going to be on the UK tour :( I'll be out 6 to 8 weeks hopefully and if it doesn't get better I'll will have to have surgery. It is what it is."

AJ Styles Comments on Losing the Title to RVD

I definitely didn’t understand it. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand it. I was very surprised that I would lose that title after holding it for so long, and to somebody who has basically been out of wrestling for over a year, and was coming in from WWE. And he should have been tired from wrestling a match before that. It was like I’m not the star I thought I was. I guess I’m just a guy in TNA.

2010 PWI 500

1. AJ Styles
2. John Cena
3. C.M. Punk
4. Randy Orton
5. Chris Jericho
6. Batista
7. Shinsuke Nakamura
8. The Undertaker
9. Kurt Angle
10. Sheamus
11. Triple H
12. The Miz
13. Rey Mysterio Jr.
14. Takashi Sugiura
15. Rob Van Dam

Click here for 16-500.

Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s “PWI 500″ 2010 Winner

“The Phenomenal” AJ Styles has been named Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s “PWI 500″ winner for 2010. He is the first TNA wrestler to top the annual chart, which is now in its twentieth year. To view the magazine’s cover, click here. The issues hits newsstands August 3rd.

source: wrestleview.com

Surprising Return at TNA House Show

Former World Champion Booker T returned to TNA last night at the TNA live event in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The main event last night was scheduled to be Rob Van Dam vs. AJ Styles but it was announced that Styles wouldn't be appearing because his flight was detoured to another city.

source: lordsofpain.net

Rumor Mill - AJ Styles Not Happy About Dropping the Title

AJ Styles was not a happy camper last night. Not only was Styles upset about having to drop the title, he was also quite upset when Van Dam failed to hook his leg for the pin. When Styles returned to the back, he simply changed and left the building without conversing with others.

The backstage reaction was mixed with some feeling Styles was being a bit of baby for not wanting to drop the title, as others felt management didn't keep Styles strong as he looked weak losing the strap the first time he didn't have Ric Flair in his corner.

In recent times, Styles has been keeping to himself, doing his own thing backstage and not always tuned in to television monitors to watch the show.

source: wrestleview.com