WWE Turns Off-Air AJ Styles Promo Into Storyline Content

AJ Styles let it rip during the September 8 episode of WWE RAW—but most fans watching live never saw it. During a commercial break just before his match with El Grande Americano, Styles grabbed a mic and unleashed a raw promo that wasn’t meant for broadcast… or so it seemed.

“For the first time in my career, I’ve got no one watching my back. Gallows, Anderson, they’re not here. Michin, she’s on SmackDown. It’s like someone orchestrated a way for me not to win anymore, not to have help. I’ll let you make your own conclusions.”

Styles continued, hinting that what he was saying wasn’t intended for public consumption.

“By the way, we are here right now and all over the world, but to rest everybody, is it a commercial break. I’m telling you something that you’re probably not supposed to hear, but somebody doesn’t want me here.”

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Despite being recorded during a commercial break—where most fans on the ad-free Netflix tier saw alternate content—WWE has now released the full promo on its website and YouTube channel. That raises a major question: why air something that most of your audience didn’t even get a chance to hear live? To make things more suspicious, WWE titled the video “AJ Styles GOES OFF on Monday Night Raw officials” and described it as:

“‘The Phenomenal’ AJ Styles doesn’t hold back in his criticism towards unnamed Monday Night Raw officials.”

But Styles never directly named anyone—especially not Adam Pearce, the only on-screen official consistently featured. In fact, there’s been no storyline heat between them at all. So why frame it that way? The promo itself ended with Styles declaring war on whoever he believes is trying to push him out.

“What we’re going to do is you’re going to beat the piss out of Grande Americano tonight so that the person that doesn’t want me here anymore can feel a little bit of his pain and mine also.”

It’s rare for WWE to use off-air promos in major storylines—especially ones that weren’t seen by a good chunk of their audience due to Netflix’s ad structure. So either WWE is doubling down on real-life tension, or this is a carefully designed slow burn designed to blur reality and storyline.