AJ Styles Wins Prestigious Honor, Class Action Lawsuit Against WWE

AJ Styles Wins Prestigious Honor

AJ Styles has received a prestigious honor, being named Wrestler of the Decade by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. He is only the second person to win the award, with Ric Flair being the other. Before getting the decade award, Styles was named PWI’s Wrestler of the Year between 2016 to 2018. Oddly enough, the only person to get that regonization three years in a row is Flair.

For the past decade, Styles has fought for several major wrestling promotions. He worked for Impact Wrestling since the beginning, where he held numerous titles. He was their first Triple Crown and Grand Slam winner. After 12 years with Impact Wrestling, Stylers would leave when they offered him a new deal worth less money. During his stint, Styles was known as the face of Impact Wrestling.

Following his departure from Impact Wrestling, Styles worked the Indy scene and more prominently for New Japan Pro Wrestling. He captured the IWGP Heavyweight on two occasions and was best known for being the leader of the Bullet Club.

In 2016, Styles debuted for WWE as a surprise entrant in the Royal Rumble. He was never supposed to receive a massive push, but the fans allowed him to quickly enter the main event picture. Styles would win the WWE Championship twice and the United States Championship three times. He signed a WWE contract about a year ago and plans to retire when the deal expires. 

Although not yet confirmed, Styles will wrestle the Undertaker at WrestleMania 36. That feud began at last month’s Super ShowDown. 

Reaction To Styles Accomplishment

Class Action Lawsuit Against WWE

Recently, a class action suit was filed against WWE by Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP. According to Business Wire, it involves WWE’s relationship with Saudi Arabia that has caused stock to plummet. Back in February, WWE stock dropped over $100 per share. 

The complaint alleges WWE, “made false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose adverse information regarding WWE’s business and operations. Specifically, defendants failed to disclose that WWE was experiencing rising tension with the Saudi government and a breakdown in negotiations over a renewed broadcasting distribution deal; that the Saudi government and its affiliates had failed to make millions of dollars in payments owed to WWE pursuant to existing contractual commitments between the parties.”

In November 2019, there were big issues with WWE’s Crown Jewel event. Saudi Arabia owed Vince McMahon money, so the WWE boss threatened to cut the live feed until paid. Eventually, both sides came to an agreement. But, after Crown Jewel problems arose. 

The plane carrying almost the entire roster was delayed for over 24 hours. Mechanical issues were blamed, but the wrestlers were not buying the story. They believed Saudi Arabia was getting retribution against McMahon. Although, McMahon denies those claims. In conclusion, WWE’s deal with Saudi Arabia continues to cause problems.