AJ Styles’ legendary WWE career came to a heartbreaking end at the 2026 Royal Rumble in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as The Phenomenal One tapped out to Gunther in a retirement stipulation match, The loss means Styles must officially retire from WWE competition, per the terms of the match. After the match AJ Styles shared a moment with the fans and he took his gloves off, then put them back on which left a lot of fans to wonder if he’s really retired.
WrestleVotes Radio on Fightful Select is reporting that people they have spoken to within WWE believe Styles isn’t done wrestling in some capacity, although no specific details have been given.
Furthermore, a report from earlier this week suggests that several outside companies, including AEW and NJPW, are interested in Styles should he become available. His current contract status with WWE remains unclear, as it was initially believed to expire in February 2026
During his appearance on the most recent episode of Stephanie McMahon’s “What’s Your Story”podcast, Styles commented about putting his gloves back on.
“Never say never, right? That’s the saying. I know there’s – I think everybody’s allowed at least once coming out of retirement. I’m not saying that I’ll do it anytime soon. I mean, what if my son wrestles? The opportunity to tag with him once. You never know. There’ll be a time when the gloves never go back on and it may be now, but we’ll see.”
