AJ Styles Breaks Silence On AEW Rumors After WWE Retirement

AJ Styles retired from wrestling following his loss to Gunther at the 2026 Royal Rumble.

Since then, several reports have claimed that he might jump ship and join another promotion, with AEW also in contention, as Jacksonville was much closer to his hometown of Gainesville, Georgia.

On the February 23 episode of WWE Raw, Styles was honored with an induction into the Hall of Fame class of 2026. During his speech, the 48-year-old revealed that he retired so he could be a full-time father.

Elsewhere, a report from Justin Barraso of Undisputed stated that the Stamford promotion may have added him to the company’s Hall of Fame in order to keep AEW from approaching him.

AJ Styles told his side of the story while speaking on the Talk N Shop Podcast, thwarting all reports by claiming that he was indeed retired from wrestling and that he intended to accept another role in WWE.

Everybody wants to say, ‘Oh, WWE put him in the Hall of Fame so that he couldn’t go to AEW.’ Guys, I’m retired from wrestling in the ring. That’s all this is. I make my own choices. I make my own decisions. I was ready.

AJ Styles To Continue His Association With WWE

Despite retiring from professional wrestling, AJ Styles has no intention of stepping away from the sport.

On the podcast, he confirmed that he was interested in working with the Stamford-based company and nurturing young talent with the experience he has accumulated in all these years.

I’m 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: Fightful