8 Superstars who could have signed with WWE earlier than they did

#1. AJ Styles - signed with WWE in 2016

AJ Styles

There is no better example of perfect timing in WWE than AJ Styles' arrival. He had received a WWE contract early on, but he opted not to sign and went to TNA instead. It turned out to be the best decision he could have made, as the platform allowed him to prove himself as one of the best in-ring talents of his generation.

He had a falling out with the company and opted to sign with NJPW in 2014. While he was there for only two years, he was already viewed as one of the best in the world, taking little to no time to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

His two-year run in NJPW was so impactful that it helped establish AJ Styles as arguably the biggest star in wrestling not signed to WWE. That all changed in 2016, and to some initial surprise, it took him only a few months to prove to WWE higher-ups that he was the best in-ring talent of his generation.

He's now a two-time World Champion in WWE and has been a consistent main event star in his five years with the promotion. WWE will be his final destination, and there were even rumors that Vince McMahon wished that he had signed AJ Styles years before.

AJ Styles could have signed with WWE in the early 2000s, but 2016 proved to be the perfect time to begin what is shaping up to be a Hall of Fame-worthy career.