AJ Styles has definitively ended speculation that he could leave WWE for AEW.
At the 2026 Royal Rumble, Gunther brought AJ Styles’ career to an end with a Sleeper Hold. After the match, Styles began to take his gloves off to leave them in the ring, but instead, he put them back on and posed before heading to the back.
Many fans thought the gesture might mean he was finishing up his WWE career, but not necessarily retiring from the ring completely. Many went on to speculate that The Phenomenal One could leave WWE behind and sign with AEW for a final run of dream matches with the likes of Kenny Omega, Konosuke Takeshita, and Kyle Fletcher.
However, on a special tribute edition of Raw, The Undertaker surprised AJ Styles with the announcement that he would be part of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2026. The surprise announcement so quickly after Styles’ retirement match led to rumours that WWE planned it to prevent Styles from leaving the company anytime soon. However, the two-time WWE Champion has now put all of the speculation to rest.
On the latest edition of the Talk’N Shop Podcast, Styles told Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson that he had simply chosen to retire from the ring with no ulterior motives.
“Let me give you something to talk about. So, everybody wants to say, ‘Oh, WWE put him [AJ Styles] in the Hall of Fame so that he couldn’t go to AEW.’ Guys, I am retired from wrestling in the ring. Like, that’s all this is. I make my own choices, I make my own decisions. I was ready.”
AJ Styles Plans To Continue Working With WWE
Styles went on to reveal that he will still be working with WWE and wants to help young talent starting out in the company.
“I am still going to be working with WWE. That’s not going to change. I have these dreams of helping out young talent. If somebody is not ready once they get there, it’s my job to hopefully help them get to that point to where they can do it, and they are confident when they step into a WWE ring. Being able to help with that is a blessing.”
H/T to F4WOnline for the above transcription.
