AJ Styles Blasts Vince McMahon & Defends Major WWE Change

AJ Styles has aimed a shot at Vince McMahon following fan backlash as a WWE Hall of Famer has been promoted to a lead writer role.

In September, SmackDown left Fox and returned to the USA Network ahead of Monday Night Raw’s move to Netflix in January. In early 2025, the show moved to three hours for the first time. However, SmackDown will return to its previous two-hour run time in the weeks after WrestleMania 41.

Since the turn of the year the WWE roster has been in a state of flux with several stars switching brands. This has seen the likes of Bayley, Logan Paul, and AJ Styles move to Raw, with Damian Priest, Drew McIntyre, and more heading to the blue brand. But more changes are at play behind the scenes.

WWE Hall of Famer Road Dogg Brian James is now co-lead writer of SmackDown. The star is sharing the position with John Swikata. But WWE fans online didn’t greet this appointment with universal approval due to his past work on the main roster.

Vince McMahon Chastised For Picking Apart WWE Ideas

Former WWE Champion AJ Styles thinks that criticism is unwarranted, however, as he defended Road Dogg while taking a thinly veiled shot at former WWE boss Vince McMahon on social media as he wrote:

Before judging this guy from his past performance as the head writer. Just know that there was a man who picked it apart to the point that it was no longer his ideas anymore.

Before judging this guy from his past performance as the head writer. Just know that there was a man who picked it apart to the point that it was no longer his ideas anymore. 🤔 https://t.co/WnDXRjyuEI

— AJ Styles (@AJStylesOrg) February 17, 2025

Vince McMahon was forced to resign as Executive Chairman of TKO after a lawsuit accusing him of serious sexual abuse was filed in early 2024.