WWE News: AJ Styles Believes His Return Was Wasted After ‘Boneyard Match’

AJ Styles made his television return to WWE this past week, but the former world champion doesn’t feel as if it was all it could have been. It was an overly successful comeback, as he earned the final spot in the Men’s Ladder Match at Money In The Bank. Still, Styles believes that after his “Boneyard Match” loss to The Undertaker, WWE completely wasted his return to television when they could have done so much more.

In a Last Chance Gauntlet Match on Monday Night Raw, Styles survived several other superstars for the victory. The final elimination was Humberto Carrillo, who came so close to fighting for a future shot at a world championship.

Despite earning the prestigious spot, Styles believes the event could have been bigger.

At WrestleMania 36, he was literally buried in a match against The Undertaker and disappeared for a month. Ringside News is reporting that Styles agrees with his fans who were overly critical of his return on Raw.

“I’ve heard people talk about, ‘Well, I mean, kind of just wasted it. AJ Styles was buried alive. Could’ve came back as a different character in a different mood and a different look. Something different about AJ Styles, and he came back, and he was exactly the same before he got buried.’

I’m with you.”

Other than coming back and entering the Men’s Ladder Match on Sunday, there was nothing different about Styles upon his return.

The only significant difference is that The O.C. is no longer in existence since the releases of Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows. Styles no longer has his back-up, and he’s now entirely on his own.

Styles isn’t entirely sure why his comeback was so lackluster, but he feels it could be due to what’s missing at Money In The Bank. He believes that WWE may have needed some “more star power” in the match, but he isn’t entirely sure if that is the situation.

Before Styles earned his spot, the match already included Daniel Bryan, Aleister Black, King Corbin, Otis, and Rey Mysterio. That’s hardly a lack of talent or star power for a match with only six participants in it.

There will always be fans wondering what might have been if WWE brought back Styles with an entirely new look or gimmick. Even the former champion wishes they would have waited longer and done more with him, but it simply wasn’t meant to be this time around.