AJ Styles omitted from WWE star's message ahead of SmackDown

AJ Styles last held the WWE Championship five years ago. Moreover, despite his popularity as strong as ever among diehard fans, his stock may have reduced in the last few years owing to booking tropes.

In the initial years after signing with WWE, Styles had some remarkable feuds against top stars. Perhaps the 46-year-old veteran is looking to redeem himself as one of the company's biggest names.

Upon return late last year, the Phenomenal One has shown a darker side of his character while seemingly stepping away from The O.C. stable. On Instagram earlier today, Mia Yim shared a picture of herself with The Good Brothers, referring to the trio as The O.C.:

"This is us. A little bit crazy. A little bit loud. A whole lotta love. #TheOc #Wwe #Smackdown," she captioned her post.

Styles is looking to capture his third WWE World Championship at Royal Rumble. The upcoming fatal four-way between him, Randy Orton, LA Knight, and Roman Reigns is one of the most anticipated contests in recent memory.

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AJ Styles is looking to retire from WWE with contentment

AJ Styles has reiterated in the past year that he hopes to reach the levels he did early on by working twice as hard. He has even admitted that his current run will be his final and that retirement for good will happen sooner rather than later.

His contract is set to expire this year, but it's not out of the question that he signs another. While speaking to the Metro last year, the Phenomenal One explained why it will be easy for him to retire when all is said and done:

"Once it’s over, I think it’s gonna be easy for me to go, 'Okay! I did what I was supposed to do! I fought as hard as I could for as long as I could to the point where I hopefully didn’t embarrass myself'," before adding, "No more missing birthdays, high school, elementary school stuff. I’m gonna be there as a father to see that. I’ve missed enough."

He also added that it is working with the younger talents during his hiatus in early 2023 that gave him a newfound inspiration as a pro-wrestler:

"Being able to be with them and show them little tricks that I’ve found out over the years and share that information was a blessing. It inspired me to make the rest of my career the best it possibly could be."

One of The Bloodline's victims in the recent past is AJ Styles. It seems he wants to make a statement by taking away The Tribal Chief's Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the Royal Rumble.

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Do you believe a world title win is on the horizon for AJ Styles? Sound off in the comments section below!