SmackDown segment exposed AJ Styles' major weakness, claims former WWE employee (Exclusive)

WWE star AJ Styles set a perfect ruse with his retirement promo. During the segment he attacked Cody Rhodes, sending out a strong message to the entire SmackDown roster.

Styles met with Nick Aldis backstage asking for some TV time to address his future. In the show's final segment, he came down to the ring and said that he was thinking of hanging up his boots for a while. However, things soon took a turn as Cody came out to bid farewell to the veteran but Styles blindsided him.

On the latest episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk podcast, Mantell acknowledged that some astute fans saw through the angle. He pointed out that AJ Styles was a great performer but was never known for his mic skills. The veteran felt AJ's promo was a bit weak but WWE got the angle over because of how the drama played out on screen.

"AJ's mic work is not his strong point. They got this across by the story and it was good." [From 16:37 onwards]

During the same conversation, Mantell claimed as a wrestling fan, he enjoyed how the segment played out. He was glad to see AJ Styles back in the title picture after the loss at Backlash France.

"I enjoyed this. I enjoyed that they caught me in the moment. Now we're off and running. We got a whole new angle. AJ is a son of a b***. I won't say it. Now he's back in it." [From 17:16 onwards]

It will be interesting to see how Cody Rhodes responds to this attack next week on the blue brand.

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