Backstage Update on AJ Styles’ Appearance at TNA Slammiversary 2025 & TNA’s Plans for Styles Being Changed “A Few Times”

As noted before, this past Sunday’s TNA Slammiversary 2025 event in Elmont, New York featured AJ Styles making an appearance. During the show, Styles came out to the ring and gave a speech praising both TNA and Leon Slater following Slater’s record setting TNA X-Division Championship victory.

Sports Illustrated’s Jon Alba reported that his sources stated that cameras had followed Styles backstage for a part of the evening including leading into his entrance on the show. Alba reported that it is currently not known if they were WWE or TNA cameras nor what will come of that footage.

Alba reported that those spoken to within TNA and WWE stated that the original creative plans for Styles at Slammiversary 2025 may have changed during the evening. Styles reportedly was expected to be in a segment involving Frankie Kazarian but those plans shifted in the hours prior to the event.

Those spoken within TNA reportedly stated that they believed WWE may have had some say in not wanting to promise a future match for Styles in the promotion that they were not going to deliver on. Alba reported that the reason might have been due to no main roster talent has worked a TNA match so far into the partnership between both companies. Alba also reported that it is currently not known if Styles will be making an appearance again in the future for TNA.

In an interview with the outlet, TNA President Carlos Silva confirmed that TNA’s creative plans for Styles had “changed a few times” in the lead up to the event. Silva reportedly also stated that while the plans had changed, the original plan was always to celebrate Styles’ X-Division history in the company.