Like I said, I think he left so he could be his own guy and call his own shots. The reason commercial success is not important to him is because he knows he can't have it. If he could be his own guy and have big success, he would. That is evident by the last album he put out, which was Bon Jovi Richie style. There was nothing fresh or groundbreaking there, it was a highly produced, polished pop-rock album that would have fit right in if Jon had been singing.

They both are and always were commercially driven artists. I think that's Ok btw, but pretending Richie was secretly different for thirty years is a stretch. Jon is in the position of being able to call his own shots and continue to chase commercial success. Richie would do it is he could, but can't. So, he chose to at least be able to call his own shots. Fair play to him.

And his ambitions or direction never (not for one moment) had to be aligned with Jon's. He could have simply pulled shop and left earlier if he always been against this vision. If he has yearned for a more artistic approach he could have left, or put out a more artistic album than Aftermath.

For me, something happened between the documentary and WAN that changed Richie's prospects in the band. Jon is being clear these days that Bon Jovi his him. It has always been that by design, but I think he used to like and even rely upon the band dynamic. Perhaps Richie saw or was told about a shift in Jon's attitude and didn't like the new deal, so to speak.

As for Jon, he has driven Bon Jovi into the ground The Circle, Greatest Hits, and WAN. Lost Highway and HAND were acceptable, but the Shanks era bent the band's legacy over and f**ked it, at least in terms of musical output. At least now he seems to be realizing things have been done badly and changing it.