Backstage News On AJ Styles' Delayed WWE Return, Whether He'll Be On SmackDown

Fans tuning into "WWE SmackDown" Friday night in hopes of glimpsing something phenomenal might want to make other plans. According to Pro Wrestling Insider, while "The Phenomenal One" AJ Styles is ready to make his return to WWE programming any time, it will not be during the Tribute to the Troops. This report runs counter to one made earlier in the week by The Wrestling Observer's Dave Meltzer, who claimed Styles would coming back tonight.

Back in November, PWI reported that Styles was "penciled in" to make his return on the 11/10 episode of "SmackDown, having been off TV for more than a month after a storyline beatdown from The Bloodline. If so, those pencil marks were clearly erased; Styles did not appear on that episode, nor has he appeared on any episode since, and PWI is now reporting that his return has been delayed for creative reasons.

Styles last wrestled on the September 15 episode of "SmackDown," losing to Finn Balor. Later in the same episode, Styles got involved with The Bloodline by coming to the defense of John Cena. Styles and Cena were originally scheduled to take on Bloodline members Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa at WWE Fastlane, but a backstage attack by Sikoa rendered Styles unable to compete; he would ultimately be replaced by LA Knight.