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.
While speaking to Stephanie McMahon about his retirement on What’s Your Story? AJ Styles made it crystal clear that he’s not ruling out an in-ring return in the future.
“I don’t know. I don’t know. Never say never, right? That’s the saying. I think everybody’s allowed at least once to come out of retirement. I’m not saying that I’ll do it anytime soon. What if my son wrestles? The opportunity to tag with him once, you never know. So, there’ll be a time when the gloves never go back on. It may be now, but we’ll see.”
