Report: AJ Styles Has Been "Quietly Running Things" At WWE's Performance Center

It looks as though several shake-ups are in store behind the scenes in WWE’s creative process, with reports this week revealing that NXT’s Shawn Michaels was expected to take over the main roster creative position of Bruce Prichard, who is winding down his roles in the coming months. There is already some speculation regarding Michaels’ successor. 

Following his retirement earlier in 2026, AJ Styles revealed that he’d entered a scouting role in WWE, scouring indies and online content to try and find new talent to bring into the promotion, with him also bringing a selection of names to WWE’s SummerSlam tryouts. On the back of potential talk of Styles taking a bigger role in WWE, there has been some rumblings of his current position. 

Andrew Baydala has reported that on the back of speculation of Styles taking over from Shawn Michaels in NXT, he has been influencing things far more than people realize. It is noted that Styles has been “quietly running things” at WWE’s Performance Center for several months, hinting that he may be being primed for a larger promotion in the near future. It isn’t specifically stated what Styles has been doing at the PC, but it is safe to assume that he is working his way up the ladder and dealt a lot of trust.