As of this week, AJ Styles has still not signed a new contract to stay with TNA Wrestling. TNA has been filming about a half dozen episodes of Impact Wrestling in advance, and have filmed up through the January 9th edition of the show, which featured Styles putting his World Heavyweight Championship on the line against the winner of the world title tournament and alternate TNA World Champion, Magnus. The match was booked as a No Disqualification match, allowing Styles to wrestle "for one night only" to determine an Undisputed TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
In the match, which will air January 9th on Spike TV, Magnus defeated AJ Styles to become Impact Wrestling's one and only world title holder, officially ending the reign that Styles began this October at Bound for Glory. The match was said to be very convoluted, and involved interference from Bad Influence, Bobby Roode, Dixie and Ethan Carter, Rockstar Spud and several referees. While "The Icon" Sting attempted to save his fellow TNA veteran, the heels held him back as Magnus became the Undisputed Champion.
After the match, in a segment that may have been filmed for television but could have been off camera, AJ Styles said that "storyline or no storyline", Dixie Carter could "forget about AJ Styles". He thanked the fans for his career, and for allowing him to wrestle for them over the years. Styles went around shaking hands and celebrating with the fans to end the Impact taping event.
As of right now, the "Phenomenal One" AJ Styles is without a contract in TNA Wrestling. That might make two top names to finish up with the company, as Jeff Hardy cut a similar promo in Wednesday night's Impact Wrestling taping, telling the fans that he was done, and that he had wrestled his last match with TNA. That being said, it wouldn't be unheard of for the creative team to be "working" the fans, as they build up their own version of WWE's Authority faction, only to bring back AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy at a later date. With rumors that Sting and Kurt Angle's futures in the company are uncertain, TNA may very well be playing off that hype to further their own angle. However, as of right now and the storyline playing out on television in the coming months, you can expect both AJ Styles and Jeff Hardy to be off television.
