AJ Styles Discusses Transitioning From Vince McMahon's WWE Creative Direction To Triple H's
After 40 years of being in charge at WWE, Vince McMahon has stepped down and retired from being Head of Creative, CEO, Chairman of the Board, and all other positions he held within the company. The landscape of the company is already beginning to change, with the biggest immediate alteration being the shift of powers.
Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan have officially taken over as co-CEOS of WWE, while Triple H has taken over as Head of Creative. Triple H also took over as Head of Talent Relations following the termination of John Laurinaitis' contract. The retirement of Vince and the releasing of Laurinaitis came following allegations brought forward by The Wall Street Journal stating that Vince had paid off women he and Laurinaitis had sexual relations with using WWE's company money in order to keep their silence.
The most recent total amount of money that has been found comes to $19.6 million, with multiple different women involved over the last couple of decades (via a WWE SEC filing). Many wrestlers have voiced their opinion on the changing of the guard in WWE, and one of those names now includes WWE Grand Slam Champion AJ Styles, who, as a current talent in WWE, would be affected directly by the change.
Styles thought Vince would be in charge forever
"I haven't really had that opportunity to, you know, sit down with [Triple H] and chat up with him because at this point, you're just so busy in that position and it's hard to find time," AJ Styles said while appearing on "Inside The Ropes." "It's different for sure because it's not Vince and I had a great relationship with Vince. It's not bad or anything, I'm very optimistic about how everything is going, it's just, it's just different. I never thought that there would be a time where I wouldn't work for Vince."
Vince announced his retirement via Twitter on July 22nd, 2022 prior to that night's edition of "Friday Night Smackdown," a day that will forever live in immortality. Styles discussed whether the roster were part of a meeting that discussed the changing of power.
"We had a chat and everything was understood who was in charge and whatnot and everybody is well respected in that position," Styles said. "I don't think anybody is worried ... I think it's a great thing, it's just, again, when you report to someone and that one person that you had to get your answers from, that one person that mattered is not there anymore, it's different."
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Inside The Ropes" with an h/t to Wrestling INC. for the transcription.