AJ Styles is a WWE superstar who wrestles on ‘SmackDown Live.’ (WWE.com)
Next week on Monday Night Raw and SmackDown Live, WWE superstars will be traded between shows. This is the first time that this has happened since the 2016 brand split, and now, it seems that AJ Styles may be moved from team blue to team red.
According to this week’s episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, AJ Styles will be going to Monday Night Raw in the superstar shake up.
When the superstar shake up was announced on Monday, the natural first thought that a lot of fans had was that AJ Styles would go to Raw. After all, Styles is someone who has spent the past few weeks complaining about not being respected on SmackDown Live, with this escalating into a feud with his boss, Shane McMahon.
And after the superstar shake up was announced, AJ Styles took to Twitter to say that this could be a great opportunity to jump ship and go to Raw.
A superstar shakeup, huh? Could be a #phenomenal opportunity.. #Raw #SDLive
However, things became more complicated on SmackDown Live this week, when AJ Styles entered the ring and told Shane McMahon that he does not want to go to Raw after all. The reason he gave was that SmackDown Live is the house that AJ built, and he wants to stay with the blue brand.
Still, that doesn’t mean AJ isn’t going to Raw. With this SmackDown segment, AJ appears to be turning face, and being screwed over by the authority during the superstar shake up could help him earn quite a bit of sympathy rather than seeming like the arrogant jerk leaving for better things.
Also, within the storyline, Daniel Bryan would be the one making the decisions about superstar swaps, not Shane McMahon, and so just because AJ seemed to get on Shane’s good side this week doesn’t necessarily mean anything. If Daniel Bryan gets a good offer for AJ, he may still accept it even if AJ wants to stay at SmackDown.
So who would AJ be traded for? Two strong possibilities would be Seth Rollins and Sami Zayn, although a Seth Rollins trade may not be possible seeing as he is currently rumored to be fighting Samoa Joe at Payback. Sami Zayn, on the other hand, is totally free.
Fans have had mixed feelings about moving AJ Styles to SmackDown. On the one hand, Styles fans are excited about the idea of seeing him working with Samoa Joe and Finn Balor among other Raw superstars, although now that Shinsuke Nakamura has debuted, it would be a bit disappointing if AJ immediately leaves for Raw and the two of them never get to interact on SmackDown.
The superstar shake up will take place next week on Raw and SmackDown Live.