Indie superstars The Young Bucks, in an interview with Vice Sports, have revealed that they were close to joining AJ Styles when the latter made a move to WWE earlier this year. The Massie brothers claimed that had the talent raid happen a few weeks earlier; they might have followed The Phenomenal One into the WWE:
When A.J. was about to leave, he pulled us aside before anybody knew anything and he asked us about our contracts. At that point, it was December and we had just signed—we signed in November.
He's like, 'You did? Ughhh.' The idea was he was going to try and get us to walk out with him and be the guys with him... If we never signed, there's a great chance we could have been walking out on Raw with those guys, I feel."
In January 2016, WWE raided New Japan Pro Wrestling; a move that saw AJ Styles and his two Bullet Club comrades, Doc Gallows AKA Luke Gallows and "Machine Gun" Karl Anderson move to the company. The three of them formed The Club in the WWE, which was a take on their NJPW faction, Bullet Club.
Also read: WWE Rumours: WWE want to sign Kenny Omega
Styles, in particular, has had a tremendous debut year. The Phenomenal One is the current WWE World Champion and is the Alpha Male of the blue brand. Within one year, Styles has managed to attain two singles wins over the most decorated pro wrestler of the modern era - John Cena.
Here’s AJ Styles’ last appearance for NJPW:
As per earlier reports, Triple H was going to raid independent promotions like ROH earlier this month, as multiple contracts were set to expire by the end of December.
The Young Bucks were reportedly WWE’s top targets. However, the duo has reportedly opted to re-sign with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and Ring of Honor (ROH) in a two-year deal. Therefore, it could be a while before they join The Phenomenal One, if it ever happens.
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