AJ Styles has admitted that he went into his 2024 WWE Championship program with Cody Rhodes knowing he was not going to walk out with the title, telling Phenomenally Retro listeners that the booking math of WWE’s “American Nightmare” reign at that point made the outcome inevitable from the moment the pitch crossed his desk.
The Styles-Rhodes program ran across the spring and summer of 2024 in the aftermath of Cody winning the Undisputed WWE Championship from Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40. Styles, who was working a vicious heel character at the time, won a number-one contender’s triple threat over Kevin Owens and Rey Mysterio at the April 12 SmackDown and edged LA Knight a week later in a rematch from WrestleMania to lock in his Backlash France title shot. Rhodes retained at Backlash France in Lyon, then again in the I Quit Match at Clash at the Castle in Glasgow that followed.
Speaking on his Phenomenally Retro podcast, Styles reflected on the booking reality.
“I remember when Cody won the World Championship and AJ Styles was going through his dark time. The pitch was for AJ Styles to wrestle Cody Rhodes. I was like, ‘Well, freak. I just tried to get this character over being just a vicious heel, and I’m gonna have to lose if I’m wrestling Cody because we can’t flip flop the title. That’s not the way it’s gonna work.’ So it was nice being back in the main event on the PLEs and whatnot.”
Rhodes won via a Cross Rhodes after a 25-minute back-and-forth. Styles followed up at Clash at the Castle with an I Quit match, ultimately losing after Rhodes used a Pedigree on the ringside steps and forced him to verbally quit.
Styles is 48. He has worked a part-time, lessened-schedule deal with WWE in 2026 and has been increasingly working in a behind-the-scenes capacity, having been part of WWE’s NXT scouting infrastructure.
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