During his latest Twitch stream, AJ Styles talked about his status with the platform now that WWE is planning to take over talent accounts. Styles noted that he is uncertain about the future of his channel and feels there have been communication issues between WWE and talents. Styles went into details:
“We’re not pro gamers, so we’re not making millions on Twitch. That’s not what is happening. I feel like for us, it’s an opportunity to do what we love. Play video games, interact with our fans, appreciate you guys appreciating us. That’s basically what’s [going on]. And especially with what’s going on right now, there’s no — we don’t get to see you guys anymore, unless you’re on the video screens in the ThunderDome. We don’t get to see you, we don’t get to talk to you, we don’t get to do much of anything when it comes to seeing or at least talking to our fans. So this is the next best thing. I don’t know what they’re hoping to get out of this. The communication has not been as great as we’d like. And there’s a lot of us, we are all on the same page, we’ve talked with each other. We’re all facing the same [thing], either doom and gloom or, ‘Oh, that’s all they want.’ You know? I feel like this is an opportunity for me and my channel to say, ‘Okay listen, this is what’s really going on,’ and debunk some stupid rumors that are going on. And give you my opinion.”
“Listen, WWE is a great place to work. Despite what people think. Despite what’s going on with the Twitch, and stuff like that. There just needs to be better direction, lines in the sand, I guess you could say. Like, ‘You don’t cross this. You can’t do this.’ Because there is that crazy thing about us being an independent contractor. I know, it sounds crazy; yes we are. But there’s rules we have to follow as if we are not independent contractors. That’s a whole other can you don’t even want to open up. It’s just, trust me on this one. And I don’t want anyone else to open it up. I understand what is expected of me, and I’d rather keep it that way. But we need to know exactly what they want when it comes to — and I say ‘they,’ WWE. We are WWE. We need to figure out what is needed of us when it comes to our platforms. So I don’t know. It seems like a roundabout way to tell you I don’t know what’s gonna happen.”
(quotes courtesy of 411Mania.com)
