A personal rivalry nearly went further
AJ Styles has revealed that WWE once discussed a more elaborate twist for his heated 2018 rivalry with Samoa Joe, but the idea was rejected before it made it to television.
According to eWrestlingNews, Styles spoke about the unaired concept on his Phenomenally Retro podcast, explaining that Road Dogg, real name Brian James, had pitched a home invasion-style angle during the feud.
The rivalry between Styles and Joe had already become one of WWE’s most personal championship programmes of the year. Joe repeatedly brought Styles’ family into the story, turning what began as a WWE Championship feud into something more emotional and uncomfortable.
Road Dogg’s green-screen idea
The proposed angle would reportedly have seen Joe appear to go to Styles’ home, only for the audience to discover that Styles had not actually been there. The twist involved a green screen, with the reveal showing that Styles had tricked Joe.
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Styles said the idea came from Road Dogg and praised its creativity, but Vince McMahon, then WWE chairman, ultimately decided against using it. The reported concern was that viewers might not understand the green-screen reveal, weakening the impact of the segment.
It was an ambitious idea for a WWE television angle, particularly because the feud was already built around Joe crossing personal lines. But the company chose not to push the story into that territory.
Joe’s family taunts defined the feud
The rivalry had already used Styles’ family as a central part of the story by the time the idea was discussed.
As described by WWE in its SummerSlam 2018 report, Joe pointed out Styles’ wife and daughter at ringside before telling them: “Daddy’s coming home.”
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That line helped define the feud. Styles reacted furiously during the match, attacking Joe with a steel chair and losing by disqualification, though he retained the WWE Championship.
The feud continued later in the year, with Styles eventually beating Joe at Crown Jewel to keep the title and bring his reign close to the one-year mark.
Styles’ reign ended soon after
Styles’ second WWE Championship reign ended the following month.
According to WWE’s SmackDown report from November 13, 2018, Daniel Bryan defeated Styles in the main event after using a low blow while the referee was down, then hit the Running Knee to win the title.
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Bryan attacked Styles after the match, completing a sharp character shift and changing the direction of WWE’s main-event scene before Survivor Series.
The unused home invasion angle remains one of the more striking examples of how far WWE considered taking the Styles-Joe feud before deciding that the idea was too risky, or too difficult to execute, for its television audience.
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