Poor AJ Styles. Ever since he and Omos broke up, he hasn’t really had any friends on WWE programming, having to go it alone except for temporary alliances against The Judgment Day. But that could be changing soon, if reports about two men who have fought alongside him plenty of times in the past returning to WWE turn out to be on the money.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports that “Luke/Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson are believed to be WWE-bound,” according to his sources within WWE. Johnson adds that “Gallows, Anderson and Styles were all spotted together yesterday in Washington, DC, likely to film something for WWE” and that they are expected to reunite as a unit, potentially before the end of October.
Gallows and Anderson were last seen in WWE from 2016 to 2020, almost always wrestling as a duo and generally as buddies with Styles. They were heels for most of their run as well, with one notable exception when they aligned with another friend from their NJPW Bullet Club days, Finn Balor.
Along with providing much needed backup for Styles, Gallows and Anderson could help reinvigorate WWE’s men’s tag team division, which has been barren as of late. They have held the Raw Tag Team Championship on two occasions in the past, as well as winning the WWE Tag Team World Cup in 2019.
Johnson notes that Gallows and Anderson have essentially been free agents since their Impact Wrestling contracts expired in July. Their immediate plan future appeared to be in NJPW, with Anderson potentially having “a high profile singles bout” at Wrestle Kingdom in January.
That obviously won’t be the case if the WWE reports are correct. It’s interesting to consider that WWE seemed to have a difference in opinion with Gallows and Anderson about what they were worth financially during their last run, with money widely reported to be the reason the two sides drifted apart. But many things old are new again with a new regime in charge of the company, and certainly Styles, for one, will be happy to see them again.