Report: AJ Styles asking for ‘reduced schedule’, negotiating 3-year deal with WWE

AJ Styles was the WWE Champion for over a year, putting together several memorable matches during one of the most lengthy title runs of the modern era. However, he’s reportedly looking for a reduced workload going forward, likely with his family in mind.

Since joining WWE, AJ Styles has become a fan favorite and a favorite of Vince McMahon’s. The WWE 2K19 cover star held the WWE Championship for 371 days, winning the title in Manchester, England against Jinder Mahal on Nov. 7, 2017 before dropping the title on the go-home show before Survivor Series to Daniel Bryan.

Fightful.com’s Sean Ross Sapp reports that Styles is “still negotiating” a contract with WWE, noting that one of the sources he spoke with confirmed that the two sides are working on a three-year deal.

Styles first appeared in WWE at the 2016 Royal Rumble, so he’s closing in on three years with the company, which have included two WWE Championship victories and many memorable matches, including a pair of acclaimed bouts against John Cena at SummerSlam 2016 and Royal Rumble 2017.

Per Sapp’s report, Styles is looking for a “reduced schedule” akin to Randy Orton’s. That would enable Styles to work fewer live events, which would undoubtedly help him reduce the wear-and-tear on his body.

More from Daily DDT

• It’s time for Adam Cole and MJF to drop the ROH tag team titles
• Tom Lawlor talks MLW return, AEW opportunity, CM Punk’s WWE return and more
• Eddie Kingston stands to gain the most from the AEW Continental Classic
• Trish Stratus on WWE NXT would help elevate that women’s division
• Randy Orton signs with SmackDown to go after The Bloodline

Styles, 41, has been wrestling for 20 years after debuting in 1998, and while he has a few years of high-level wrestling left in him, being smarter about his usage would be best for both “The Phenomenal One” and WWE. Furthermore, Styles is a “family man”, as his on-screen feud with Samoa Joe and recent “WWE 365” documentary made clear, and this reduced schedule would allow him to spend more time with them.

That is worth keeping in mind, because Sapp was also told that Styles wanted to drop the WWE Championship, as the grind of defending it for a year caused him to spend time away from his family.

It seems clear that Styles will be spending the remaining years of his wrestling career in WWE, perhaps moving into a backstage role later, being a road agent or coaching wrestlers in NXT like Shawn Michaels. There’s still plenty for Styles to accomplish in WWE, and he’s fit the promotion perfectly since signing in 2016. Styles’s matches have been extraordinary, the fans have certainly taken to him, and his promos have improved significantly.

More updates on Styles’s status should be forthcoming, but it would be a surprise for both sides to not come to an agreement. They are a perfect match, and it makes all the sense in the world for Styles to ask for a decreased workload – and for WWE to agree, especially with how stacked the rosters are getting.

Sapp closes his report by informing readers that he is speaking with wrestlers about expected pay raises, because WWE has signed a massive deal with FOX for SmackDown’s TV rights and is airing huge Network Specials overseas.

Hopefully, WWE’s increased financial success aids the performers, but, unfortunately, “trickle-down” theory is rarely valid in even a micro sense. Still, there’s reason for optimism, and Styles’s contract situation will be one to monitor closely, given that WWE values him greatly.