AJ Styles WWE Contract Details – Multi-Year Deal, Retains Naming Rights
AJ Styles has kept ownership of his name and other “various trademarks” in his new multi year WWE contract, reports ProWrestlingSheet.com
According to the site, WWE officials surprisingly didn’t have much of an issue with letting AJ keeping rights to his famous name. The deal apparently gives WWE use of all trademarks that surround the AJ character while he’s under contract, and retain certain rights to his name to use in video once he’s gone.
Other trademarks retained by Styles include “The Phenomenal One” nickname and “The Styles Clash” finisher. He didn’t hit a Styles Clash in the Rumble match, but the announcers did say it.
In other AJ related news, the brand new AJ Styles “I Am Phenomenal” t-shirt, pictured below, that was released after the Royal Rumble, sold out in around two hours on WWE Shop website. As of this time, all adult sizes are sold out until further notice.
Ski’s Take – Two hours!! I can see there being only a small print run made for the AJ tees but jeez! Two hours to sell out. Now that must show the higher-ups in the WWE how popular Styles is.
In regards to his contract, AJ Styles has repeatedly said that he will always do whats best for his family. And this news about his contract proves that. I would imagine he has a rather hefty downside guarantee, but keeping his naming rights is huge news.
Like Samoa Joe, Tomasso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano and more recently Austin Aries, being recognized for the name you have used in other promotions is extremely helpful in the WWE. You bring the audience that know you for that name from those promotions with you, in turn helping you get over even quicker than being saddled with a generic name that the WWE Naming Dept (I doubt they exist but I kinda hope they do. What qualifications would you need to come up with such classics as Husky Harris and Skip Sheffield?) have given you.
It also fills me with hope that when Shinsuke Nakamura debuts, he will be shown on screen as Shinsuke Nakamura, and maybe, just maybe, continue his feud with AJ from New Japan Pro Wrestling…..