Amidst his loss of his WWE Championship and rumors he's looking for a lighter load, reports are AJ Styles will not return to Mixed Match Challenge.
WWE has confirmed that AJ Styles will not be returning to the second season of Mixed Match Challenge. He was replaced by Jeff Hardy after Styles lost the WWE Championship to Daniel Bryan on the pre-Survivor Series SmackDown Live but it was indicated Styles would be returning to Mixed Match Challenge. Apparently, that is no longer the case.
Styles will be returning, or so it seems, but it just won't be for the MMC.
What's interesting is that this news comes amidst speculation that Styles is looking for a lighter load in WWE. Styles' contract is up soon and according to Fightful, he is interested in working a reduced schedule as part of his new deal. At the age of 41, with four kids and with nagging but not serious injuries, it makes sense.
Styles is one of the hottest things in WWE right now and it doesn't sound like he wants to give up wrestling by any means, but there have been questions about how much longer he wants to do what he does, considering he's been at it for over 20 years. In his recent 365 episode that aired on WWE Network he noted that he didn't know when the time would come that he'd be ready to hang it up. But, the insinuation is that it could happen tomorrow or years from now and even he doesn't know.
What This Means
That Hardy is now taking AJ's place to team with Charlotte Flair is an indication WWE is giving him some much-needed rest. He's not been on tv since losing the title and if the plan to give him some time off, having him travel and stick around only for Mixed Match Challenge doesn't make much sense.