AJ Styles is taking WWE releasing his friends and stable mates Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows hard – even blaming himself.
The former WWE champion, who hasn’t been on “Monday Night Raw” since his Boneyard match with the Undertaker at WrestleMania 36, spoke about his fellow OC (Original Club) members being let go by the company during a Mixer live stream on Thursday.
“If you guys didn’t know, Gallows and Anderson, guys that are like my brothers were released yesterday,” Styles said on the stream. “That one hurt really bad. The only way I know how to explain it is that these guys are my family, and I couldn’t take care of my little brothers.
“That’s the way I feel about it: I’m the oldest, and I’m supposed to take care of them. I didn’t manage to do that, and I feel responsible in some weird way for them being released. It’s devastating. I don’t know any other way to explain it.”
Gallows and Anderson, who reportedly signed five-year contracts with WWE in 2019, were part of a massive day of cuts by billionaire Vince McMahon’s company on Wednesday due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic. They even were part of Styles’ Boneyard match at WrestleMania.
WWE cut more than 20 wrestlers, including Kurt Angle, longtime superstars Heath Slater and Zack Ryder, Rusev, Sarah Logan and others. Referees, ring announcers, backstage producers and writers were also let go or furloughed as part of cost-cutting measures by the company.
“It’s just weird, this stuff is expected with everything that’s going,” Styles said. “I’m just shocked as you are [about] some of the guys who got released.”
The move comes as WWE continues to produce its television shows from its Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., after the company was deemed an “essential” business by Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
Anderson, who worked with Styles and Anderson in New Japan Pro-Wrestling before coming to WWE, appeared to hint at a return to Japan in a Twitter post. It will likely will be awhile before that could happen: NJPW, along with most other wrestling promotions around the world, is shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.