The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has refused to let its competitor Total Nonstop Action (TNA) from inducting star wrestler AJ Styles into its Hall of Fame.
TNA Bound for Glory Pay Per View (PPV) took place last Saturday. Amidst a plethora of amazing in-ring action, Late TNA co-founder Bob Ryder as well as former Tag Team Champion Rhino took their deserved places in the TNA Hall of Fame. Rhino is still an active wrestler with the company and appeared in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet match on the PPV.
According to various news media outlets, however, there were to be more names due to be inducted into the prestigious Hall of Fame.
It was reported that the Phenomenal AJ Styles, who was one of the most pivotal performers for TNA when he rose to prominence alongside Monty Brown (known as Marcus Cor Von in the WWE’s reboot of ECW) were both under consideration to be inducted, but due to reasons that have yet to be made clear, WWE passed on the opportunity. It is thought that the primary reason for this has to do with AJ Styles’ recent injury.
There was reportedly some optimism about the possibility of him wrestling in TNA, though it’s uncertain whether any talks took place. Recently, Styles stepped outside WWE, making a notable appearance in Japan to wrestle Naomichi Marufuji for NOAH in July.
However, on October 4, he suffered an ankle injury during WWE SmackDown. Following this, reports surfaced suggesting that WWE had plans for a farewell and retirement tour storyline for him, which were still being considered while they awaited MRI results to evaluate the extent of his injury.
Given WWE and TNA’s ongoing collaboration this year, which has involved multiple talent exchanges, there’s still a chance that a return to TNA could be part of this storyline. Media reports fail to mention any updates regarding Brown, who had a long run in TNA during the 2000s before moving to WWE. Brown has been retired since 2007 and hasn’t wrestled since.