For those that may have missed it yesterday, TNA Wrestling issued a strongly-worded statement that stated that the company had been in serious discussions with AJ Styles for the past several months which escalated into Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson also coming in and that those talks culminated on December 14th at the home of TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter in Nashville, Tennessee where a handshake and written deal between Styles, Gallows, Anderson and TNA Wrestling was agreed upon and signed by all parties which included start dates being determined, creative decided, merchandise designed and plane tickets purchased, however the company then noted that the wrestlers stopped communication after the Christmas holidays and after lawyers had finalized the long form agreement and that Styles’ lawyer contacted the company and stated that the wrestlers had changed their minds in regards to joining TNA Wrestling and would not be honoring their commitment.

According to a report from PWInsider.com, Styles’ agent Bill Behrens is stating that there was no contract finalized or signed by any parties involved and that once Behrens learned that Styles had signed an agreement without his supervision and involvement, he did not react in a positive way and was against the deal and began communicating with TNA Wrestling who were having their lawyers work on the long form contracts going into the Christmas holidays.

The report states that discussions began back in November when TNA Wrestling and AJ Styles began talking and that both sides did not talk while Styles was under contract to New Japan Pro Wrestling and that there was an internal feeling that Styles returning, along with the new TV home on POP would be a good way for the company to show their fans that they were starting to turn things around and that the talks went on daily through November and December, leading to the idea of Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows coming in with him in the coming months as both were looking to leave New Japan for several reasons and while Gallows was not under contract, Anderson was then and still is until February 1st. The company purchased tickets for Styles to attend their Bethlehem, Pennsylvania IMPACT Wrestling tapings in early January with the plan to have him film vignettes at a local hotel that would be inserted into the live POP TV broadcast as a big surprise before he would make his in-ring return during the company’s upcoming tour of the United Kingdom.

The report goes on to note that the December 14th meeting at the home of TNA Wrestling President Dixie Carter in Nashville, Tennessee had Dixie Carter, AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows and John Gaburick all present and that the group met all day at what was described as a summit and one that could not have gone better as they locked in start dates, came up with a logo and worked on creative storylines as mentioned above before Styles, Anderson and Gallows were presented with a contract and after meeting privately, returned with requested amendments that the company later agreed to, one being that Styles’ deal would be for 3 years, with the option for a one-year extension, however after the holidays, TNA Wrestling stopped hearing from all 3 men and calls and text messages were not returned before Behrens later contacted the company and told them that the deal was not happening, which shocked TNA Wrestling as they felt that they had already signed the trio and from out of nowhere their big reboot storyline had disappeared as plans that were finalized at the meeting in Dixie Carter’s home were supposed to carry the company through the most of 2016 and there was also the feeling that Styles was the one “TNA Original” that they could not live without.

The report concludes noting that TNA sources are adamant that all 3 wrestlers signed agreements with TNA officials and while there were no lawyers involved, it was decided that all three would be coming in, but as of this week, TNA Wrestling have not heard a response from Anderson or Gallows personally, however AJ Styles HAS had some sort of communication with the company to the point where he told them that he was going to do what is best for his family and that in regards to the statement that the company put out last night, TNA were said to be frustrated over communications stopping, the wrestlers backing out of the deal and the feeling that they did the right thing but were still wronged by the trio and that officials did not want to look like a patsy and look like they let their TNA original leave for the WWE without letting people know that they had tried and wanted to get him back and that TNA Wrestling executives reportedly wanted what they believe is the truth to be out there for the fans.

There is said to be a lot of speculation as to whether TNA Wrestling will pursue legal action against all three men, or event against the WWE, however no decision is yet to have been made. There is also some speculation that TNA Wrestling timed their statement for this weekend with the idea that it could put a potential debut for AJ Styles at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view into jeopardy.