AJ Styles Says Fewer WWE Live Events Are Hurting In-Ring Chemistry

Posted by admin on May 4th, 2026

AJ Styles believes WWE’s reduced live event schedule is making it harder for wrestlers to develop the chemistry needed to call matches in the ring, and he expects the issue to grow over time.

Speaking on the Phenomenally Retro Podcast, the recently retired Hall of Famer explained why the traditional approach of improvising matches has become more difficult in today’s environment.

AJ Styles on WWE Live Events Decline

Styles pointed out that previous generations benefited from constant repetition, working with the same opponents night after night.

“Here’s what’s hard with that now. I think a lot of the older guys who said, ‘Nah, we’ll call it in the ring, kid,’ well, a lot of times they had the ability to wrestle so many different guys and they were able to call it in the ring because they weren’t sidelined by time limits or whatever. You have to hit your times or they’ve wrestled the guy so many times before. Of course you can call it. I could call a lot of things. The more I wrestle one guy, ‘Hey man, we’ll just do what we did here,’ and boom, and it’s that quick. But we’re not having live events like that anymore so guys aren’t getting any reps with each other,” Styles said.

Without those repeated matches, performers have fewer chances to build familiarity and timing.

Fewer Reps, More Difficulty

Styles said that lack of experience together will eventually limit what wrestlers can do in the ring.

“I think that it’s going to be a lot harder to call. Yeah, sure, we can call the basic stuff, but sometimes basic isn’t very entertaining and that’s our job, is to be as entertaining as we possibly can. So I think that’s going to be more difficult as time goes on,” he added.

Modern Style Adds Complexity

He also praised today’s wrestlers for their diverse and high-level styles, while noting that this evolution makes improvisation even more challenging.

“There’s a lot of different styles that we now bring to the ring. It’s not the same. It’s not just shoulder tackles, grab hold, suplex, power slams, not a finish. There’s a lot of different things, and a lot of different moves that guys and girls do. It’s pretty unbelievable. In fact, when you think about it, diving out of the ring and all these things have to take place, I don’t know that it could be done as well and as flawless as it was back then because it was so basic back then,” Styles said.

What “Rehearsal” Means in WWE Today

Styles also clarified how preparation works in modern WWE, stressing that matches are not fully rehearsed.

“Once you get to the ring, there will be some things where we’ll rehearse. And by rehearse, we’re not rehearsing the wrestling. We’re not doing that. We want to see what cameras are going to be in the position that we’re doing a certain thing so we get the best shot on the finish. That’s kind of what we rehearse, or maybe somebody does a run-in, want to see how everything’s done so that we get the best shot. So those things happen,” Styles explained.

Styles retired from in-ring competition after a 26-year career at the Royal Rumble earlier this year and has since been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He is now working in a backstage role at the WWE Performance Center, where he continues to contribute to talent development.