WWE Superstar AJ Styles found himself in an awkward position during a recent live event in Tampa, Florida.
While interacting with fans at ringside during the WWE Holiday Tour house show on December 27, 2025, Styles was presented with an AEW World Championship replica belt by a fan hoping for an autograph. In a video that has since gone viral on social media, the “Phenomenal One” can be seen gracefully declining the request. Despite the refusal, Styles handled the situation with class and even used the moment to send a shoutout to his old friends in AEW.
“Nick [Jackson], Matt [Jackson], I love ya, I can’t sign this though!” Styles said to the fan, referencing The Young Bucks.
Styles and the Jackson brothers share a deep history, having been key members of the Bullet Club faction in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Their tenure together helped revolutionize faction warfare in modern wrestling and laid the groundwork for the eventual creation of AEW. While Styles chose to join WWE in 2016, his bond with the AEW Executive Vice Presidents remains evident.
Earlier in the night, Styles had teamed with Dragon Lee to successfully defend the WWE World Tag Team Championships. The interaction highlights the unique landscape of modern wrestling, where personal relationships often cross promotional lines, even if signatures do not.
Styles is currently embroiled in a tag team title reign on SmackDown, but with his contract status often a subject of rumors, interactions like these tend to spark conversation among the fanbase. WWE SmackDown returns to the USA Network for a three-hour premiere on January 2, 2026, where Styles and Dragon Lee are expected to continue their run as champions.
