AJ Styles To Join AEW After WWE Retirement?
AJ Styles went up against Gunther at WWE Royal Rumble 2026 in a career-altering match.
The stipulation set for the match was that if The Phenomenal One lost to The Ring General, that would be the end of his career.
However, it was, of course, limited to WWE. Styles is free to work elsewhere!
AJ Styles to join AEW?
During the match, fans were convinced that Styles would win because even though he said he would retire in 2026, it couldn’t be this early in 2026. However, after a brutal back-and-forth, Gunther locked Styles in a sleeper hold, and the referee called for the bell.
On Notsam Wrestling, Sam Roberts claimed that Styles opened his gloves and was about to leave them in the ring, but he put them back on. This could indicate that he is not done yet or that he is going to continue being a wrestler, just not in WWE.
It’s possible that, you know, wrestlers are going to be wrestlers and workers are going to work, and he leaves WWE and he allows his contract to expire and then he goes to AEW. But I don’t think WWE’s that careless. I don’t think they’re putting work into elevating AJ Styles on the way out so he can go and work somewhere else. I just don’t see it.
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It does align that WWE might not let him go this easily, especially when AJ Styles is red hot!
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