Frankie Kazarian: AJ Styles doesn’t represent where TNA is going
It sounds like there could be some issues between Frankie Kazarian and AJ Styles brewing in TNA.
Last week, it was announced that Styles is returning to TNA Wrestling for an appearance on Impact’s AMC premiere this Thursday night. Frankie Kazarian — the current TNA World Champion — reacted to that news during an interview on Busted Open Radio this morning. Kazarian’s answer seemed to include some storyline comments aimed at Styles, painting him as someone who represents TNA’s past while Kazarian represents both the past and present.
“Always great to see AJ. He is my friend, that’s not, you know, breaking news,” Kazarian said. “But to your point, what I was talking about earlier, I represent where we’ve been and where we’re going. AJ 100 percent represents where we have been and is a massive part of where TNA has been. He doesn’t represent where we’re going. I do. So as long as those lines are drawn and everybody understands that, we’re good. It will be good to see AJ and shake his hand and catch up.”
Kazarian is defending his TNA World Championship against Mike Santana in the main event of the AMC premiere episode. Styles’ role for the show has not been confirmed yet, past that he will be appearing live.
Recently, Kazarian has said he’d be excited to face Styles in TNA if WWE would allow that match to happen. Styles is retiring from the ring at some point in 2026, so there is not a ton of time left if he is going to have one more TNA match before his career ends.
Thursday’s Impact is being held in Garland, Texas and will be broadcast live on AMC and AMC+ from 9-11 p.m. Eastern time. TNA announced today that Busted Open host Bully Ray will be returning as a special guest commentator for the Kazarian vs. Santana match.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.